Associate Director, Partnership for the Future of Learning

Associate Director, Partnership for the Future of Learning

Associate Director, Partnership for the Future of Learning 150 150 atellishNPESF
National Public Education Support Fund
Published
April 6, 2020
Location
Washington
Job Type
Address
1900 L Street NW
Contact Name (not public)
Anthony Tellish

Description

ANNOUNCEMENT
The National Public Education Support Fund is seeking a highly skilled, experienced and motivated Associate Director, Partnership for the Future of Learning with at least five years professional experience who is committed to collaborative strategies to improve public education.

This full-time position will work with the Partnership for the Future of Learning and its senior peer group on a variety of strategic initiatives, and will hold primary or shared responsibility for ensuring effective execution of network-based strategies, operations and fundraising.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, with priority given to those applications received by Tuesday, May 5, 2020. The salary range for this full-time position is $70,000 to $100,000, commensurate with experience. NPESF employees enjoy a strong benefits package. While NPESF is located in Washington, D.C. this role will not require relocation for consideration.

OVERVIEW
The National Public Education Support Fund (NPESF, the Support Fund) connects influential leaders in education philanthropy, advocacy, research, policy, and practice. The mission of NPESF is to promote equitable opportunity for all children to receive a high-quality education from birth through college and career. NPESF currently is the organizational and fiduciary home to three networks: (1) The Education Funder Strategy Group, a learning community of leading foundations focused on education policy from early childhood to college and career readiness and success; (2) Grantmakers for Thriving Youth a diverse funder’s forum building a robust community of grantmakers working in coordination to help youth thrive; AND (3) the Partnership for the Future of Learning (the Partnership).

Since its launch in 2015, the Partnership has grown to become a network of leading education and social justice-focused organizations and foundations that have come together around the belief that America’s national well-being depends on a future for public education where meaningful learning serves both the individual and the collective public good.

Those in the Partnership network believe that advancing a bold affirmative vision and values is essential to protect public education and advance the future of learning. To meet the challenges of the present and the future, U.S. K-12 school systems need significant boosts in remodeling work already underway to pursue deeper learning outcomes through student-centered learning approaches, with a focus on equity, democracy, and mutual accountability characterized by respect and shared responsibility among educators, parents, students, community leaders and public officials at all levels.

The Partnership has three simple, audacious goals:
1. Public education is modernized.
2. Learning is meaningful.
3. Students and communities are powerful.

At the heart of the Partnership’s change strategy is the belief that connecting and aligning efforts among funders and allied groups already pursuing a forward-looking vision can energize a movement that not only furthers these individual efforts, but collectively brings to life this new, broad vision of public education for the nation’s children.

Finally - and importantly - under leadership of the Support Fund’s new Executive Director, Frank L. Gettridge, the organization will be aiming to more intentionally foster greater unity across its three principal networks of EFSG, GTY and the Partnership. While the precise contours of this strategy are still under development, this represents an important directional shift for three communities that have been aware of each other but have worked almost completely on separate tracks.

This role will principally focus on the Partnership for the Future for the Future of Learning, and so the selected candidate will work under the supervision of, and in close collaboration with NPESF Senior Director for Strategy and Program Cyrus Driver. Mr. Driver has principal responsibility for coordinating the Partnership’s strategy, and for assuring effective execution of the strategy and its components.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Lead in executing key components of the Partnership’s strategy, including:

  • Orchestrating collaborative development of agendas and materials for large gatherings of partners and funders
  • Facilitating such gatherings alongside other staff, consultants and network leaders
  • Managing the team of consultants responsible for The Partnership’s collaborative Shared Policy and Key Places strategies, with occasional support for and participation in the Shared Story staff and consulting team
  • Acting as a primary liaison to the Partnership’s Shared Systems strategy that is being led by our network partner, the National Education Policy Center
  • Managing consultants and engaging with partners who are leading on the Partnership Network Priority Strategies of: (1) community schools, (2) building a diverse and well-prepared educator workforce, and (3) resource equity
  • Identifying and supporting execution on tactics that weave across strategy components and network priorities

Lead and coordinate the Partnership staff/consultant team on strengthening the operational infrastructure to execute on strategy, including:

  • Leading the collaborative development of an overall Partnership work plan, and monitoring its progress
  • Setting of contracts, deliverables and timelines with consultants, and monitoring these contracts, and working with the Senior Director to determine re-contracting or new contracting needs
  • Agenda setting and facilitation of staff/consultant/key partner team meetings and work plan development
  • Refinement, development and maintenance of project management and workflow tools (Asana), including maintaining calendars that benchmark progress on key projects

Work with NPESF’s Director of Operations and Organizational Effectiveness to maintain accurate tracking of the network’s budget and finances, alongside the Senior Director, including maintaining cash flow tracking

Write proposals, grant reports and collaboratively develop budgets (with the NPESF Finance and Operations Director) for the Partnership, EFSG and for NPESF as a whole.

Provide needed additional or coordinated support for the execution of Partnership and other NPESF meetings, convenings, and conferences. This could include representing the Partnership or NPESF at external conferences, events, virtual convenings, etc.

Act as a thought partner and support to the Senior Director who hold principal responsibility for the Partnership’s strategy development, including

  • Co-create strategic documents for Partnership, including those necessary to support meetings and convenings
  • Support on fundraising strategy development and execution (e.g., meetings with funders)
  • Engagement in the development of the Partnership’s learning and evaluation agenda and activities
  • Contribute to network growth through communications and connection with potential new partners and funders, and engagement of current partners

Fulfill other related responsibilities as necessary.

Requirements

KEY ATTRIBUTES
This position calls for a highly skilled and discriminating person who embodies collaborative leadership, including the following attributes:

  • A commitment to building the capacity and involvement of each NPESF and Partnership member, funder, and allying organization
  • Strong facilitation, meeting and materials design and production skills
  • Proficiency in project management approaches/strategies, tools and software (e.g., ASANA)
  • Deeply believe in the mission of NPESF, and and Partnership’s vision and values and understand and communicate these values in action
  • Be able to translate strategy into operational plans and execution
  • Be deeply collaborative and a strong listener - be able to build and maintain authentic, trusting relationships that facilitate shared action
  • Recognize that the Partnership is a deeply challenging effort to remodel the complex set of systems we call public education and that this is at once a technical, political and cultural change effort that, and values diverse communities of families and educators
  • Have an understanding of (or a willingness to learn about) the field of American public education, its historical and current challenges including issues related to equity, democracy, and the role of major institutions (e.g. unions, system associations etc.)
  • Be able to navigate, manage support and contract with a diverse array of skilled professionals
  • Excellent writing/editing and verbal communication skills, with grant writing, reporting and administration background
  • Experience interacting with community, government, civic, business, and philanthropic leaders, along with media and community-based organizations.
  • Ability to navigate complex information and make sense out of a multitude of data.
  • Experience doing something hard that required teamwork, coordination, and communication.
  • Ability to develop and manage budgets.
  • Familiarity with contact and database management systems.
  • Willingness and flexibility to work "campaign hours" when necessary (nights and weekends);
  • Ability to work well across multiple projects and deadlines, and willingness to travel across the U.S., estimated at 3-5 days per month
  • Sense of perspective and humor.

How To Apply

STEPS TO APPLY

Get to know NPESF and its family of networks:

Get your professional digital footprint together, resume on LinkedIn, and references ready.

Prepare 1-2 paragraph answers to the following questions to be submitted as a document:

  • What do you do now or did recently? Why do you do it?
  • Tell a true story of making change in the world through your work or activities.
  • Have you overcome a dip - a real setback? Tell us about it.
  • Why are you interested in this role, at this moment?
  • Share three questions, maxims, or general advice you’d offer us based on what you see and know.

Please attach 1-3 samples of your work products (e.g., policy brief, grant proposal, work plan)

Submit everything by email to humanresources@npesf.org by Tuesday, May 5th, 2020. Please make sure attachments are in PDF or Office format (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and if using google drive, that sharing access is turned on. Questions or need assistance? Please email us at humanresources@npesf.org.

SELECTION PROCESS

Following review of all materials submitted, we aim to offer brief interviews for 5-7 applicants. A smaller number of candidates will then be invited for extended interviews with key staff members, ideally including in-person meetings in Washington, DC pending updates to public health guidance regarding COVID-19. We hope to have a new staff member named to this role in June, 2020.

NPESF is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, religion, HIV serostatus, disability, height, weight, veteran status or marital status.