Established in 1946, with headquarters in Arlington, VA, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit institution that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance and capacity building services in the U.S. and internationally in health, education, workforce development, and social and community development. AIR’s mission is to generate and apply evidence to contribute to a better, more equitable world. In alignment with our mission, AIR provides services to and works in partnership with a growing roster of clients and stakeholders, including federal, state, regional, and local organizations, foundations, and AIR’s own Equity Initiative.

AIR is seeking a Vice President, Education Systems & Policy (ESP) Program Area. AIR’s ESP Program Area studies and supports organizations and infrastructure at the local, state, and national levels to focus on the people who operate education systems with the goal of improving the organization of schooling and advancing the organizations within those systems. We do this work in partnership with federal, state, regional, and local agencies; leading foundations; higher education institutions and systems; school districts, community-based organizations; private businesses; and professional associations. Our evidence-building, systemic improvement, and change management efforts contribute to the development of more equitable systems and improved learning opportunities for students.

The Program Area VP will oversee a portfolio of work that combines research and technical assistance to develop, implement, and test solutions to persistent problems in the design and operation of education systems. We create research-based interventions to support the growth of learning organizations by combining what we learn from our own study findings with the latest research in the field. We implement those interventions with expert technical assistance staff. Along the way, we develop and implement plans to test variations of the core components of our interventions to better understand what works in which contexts. We also conduct research and evaluation of policies and programs developed by partner organizations to expand what is known about what works to improve student outcomes.

The ESP Program Area focuses on the following broad topics:

• Systemic Improvement (accountability systems, civic education, collective impact, district support services, education finance and resource allocation, equity, Indigenous education, rural education, and school and district quality reviews)
• Secondary Pathways (career and technical education, chronic absenteeism, college and career readiness, credit recovery, deeper learning, dual enrollment, early warning systems, and school counseling)
• Knowledge Use (data infrastructure, data literacy, evidence translation, and evidence synthesis)

Reporting to the Senior Vice President (SVP) for the Human Services Division, the Program Area VP will be responsible for the people, projects, and pursuits in the ESP Program Area, including talent development, client service, business development, quality assurance, and the efficient operation of their team. Program Area VPs are responsible for effectively leading the staff and day-to-day operations, ensuring adherence to client contracts and budgets, driving revenue growth, managing senior staff, and developing next generation leaders. They routinely identify mission-aligned business development opportunities to expand the depth and breadth of work and lead the efficient and successful pursuit of those opportunities. Program Area VPs are also responsible for driving strong, consistent communication and coordination within and among Program Areas and across Divisions, with a spirit of transparency, collaboration, and inclusion. Program Area VPs are essential in carrying out AIR’s strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and cultural and linguistic competence (CLC) in the execution of Program Area work, including project staffing, methods, and approaches.

Program Area VPs also contribute to the overall vision and strategic direction for the Human Services Division and engage in strategic planning and problem solving to help meet Division goals, elevating the quality of the Division leadership team’s strategic thinking, creativity, and innovation. The ESP Program Area VP will be a member of the Human Services Leadership Team, working in close collaboration with leaders of five other Program Areas and three cross-cutting Functional Areas (focused on business development; project execution; and human capital and talent development).

This position is based in the United States and the Program Area VP must be able to travel as needed. The selected candidate can work out of any of AIR’s U.S. offices or work remotely.

• Leads a Program Area including the execution and management of business pursuits, projects, and staff.
• Works with Division and Program Area leadership to develop a division culture consistent with AIR mission and values.
• Contributes to the development of annual budgets and strategic and operational plans for the Division in support of AIR’s overall strategic direction. Implements budgets and plans for the Program Area.
• Represents AIR and serves as a visible leader in meetings with clients, staff, partners, and stakeholders, as appropriate.
• With a DEI focus, leads workforce planning and recruitment, project staffing, staff management, and professional development for their Program Area and contributes to these activities for other areas in the Division and other Divisions.
• Implements strategies to attract, motivate, retain, and effectively manage a cohesive, diverse, and highly capable team of employees to meet the needs of the Program Area.
• Serves as a champion for one or more AIR Employee Resource Groups.
• Oversees activities of a set of operating “Practice Hubs” within the Program Area, which coordinate business development and employee engagement activities for the lines of work within the Program Area (e.g., Systemic Improvement).
• Develops and implements new business plans and strategies for the Program Area; identifies business development opportunities and builds a robust new business pipeline in collaboration with Practice Hub leads and other Program Area staff.
• Supports the achievement of goals related to staff engagement and growth, DEI, and client satisfaction.
• Supports achievement of financial goals (revenue, profitability, sold time, growth) and business development goals (win rate, backlog, return on investment).
• Provides technical and budget review for proposal pursuits in the Program Area.
• Serves as project reviewer for projects in their Program Area or delegates responsibility to another senior staff member to assess health (i.e., financial, contractual, DEI, etc.) of projects bimonthly.
• Serves as technical and/or content expert in one or more areas under the ESP Program Area and helps to facilitate communities of practice around cross-cutting key topics and methods.
• Enhances AIR’s external reputation in collaboration with Corporate Communications.
• Establishes and maintains broad and deep relationships with client organizations within the Program Area and becomes seen as a trusted advisor to clients.
• Leverages relationships to bring in new opportunities.

• An advanced degree in a social science or related field.
• Minimum of 20 years of overall experience in school improvement in the K-12 education system.
• Minimum of 5 years in a leadership role.
• Experience in designing and successfully leading multiple complex implementation projects, training/technical assistance projects, and/or research/evaluation projects in one or more of the Program Area’s focal topic areas.
• Experience with and a commitment to DEI and CLC.
• Professional services industry knowledge with business development experience in Federal and/or state government contracting, and/or with foundations.
• Proven program leadership and high-level management experience, with a documented record of delivering results.
• Excellent planning skills, analytic and process orientation, and a disciplined approach to managing programs.
• Ability to demonstrate a commitment to both the institution’s mission and financial viability.
• Demonstrated ability to guide business development activities.
• Experience developing and implementing strategic direction and assessing progress and performance against defined objectives.
• Demonstrated ability to develop rapport with and lead mission-driven teams with both internal (staff) members and external (subcontractor and consultant) members.
• Experience integrating teams and leading through times of transition.
• Experience championing, enabling, and developing internal talent.
• Demonstrated commitment to support staff growth and open leadership opportunities to staff at all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated capabilities in working with diverse leaders and personalities.
• High emotional intelligence to lead and collaborate in a complex organization.
• Flexibility and ability to manage change and adapt to changing circumstances and needs.
• Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to listen and understand concerns as well as the ability to communicate clearly with a variety of audiences, both internal and external.

AIR’s commitments to DEI and CLC are essential to our mission and pivotal to our strategic goals. Staff members at every level in AIR are engaged in intentional and comprehensive efforts to integrate the principles and practices of DEI and CLC into every facet of their work. We constantly assess where we are as an institution, we set goals and benchmarks, and we create opportunities to share and course-correct as necessary to drive our improvement and progress. Learn more about AIR's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Journey and hear from our staff by clicking here.