Manager, Curriculum & Design

DESCRIPTION OF THE POSITION

The Manager, Curriculum and Design leads BEAM’s efforts to design and implement rigorous STEM enrichment and STEM career exploration curricula for our middle and high school age students. BEAM's curricular work is unlike that of most other programs. Focusing on problem solving (and, in particular, students learning to solve novel problems that they haven't been explicitly taught), mathematical reasoning, and how students synthesize ideas into big-picture perspectives of a field, our courses unlock future opportunities in STEM and might not be available anywhere else. Classes run both pure and applied mathematics, and are built on best practices in other enrichment programs, creating a powerful and eye-opening experience for students.

The Manager partners closely with BEAM’s local STEM Enrichment and Access teams to design, build, pilot, and launch new program models. In collaboration with the Data and Operations team, they monitor performance, assess learning outcomes, and refine program design until success indicators are met.

ABOUT CENTRAL PROGRAM SERVICES

The Central Program Services team is the backbone of BEAM’s programs, making sure they are strong, scalable, and true to our mission. We design, refine, and strengthen programming while also building the data and operational systems that keep everything running smoothly. This is a new team founded to proactively support BEAM's future growth.

Most of our focus is on year-round programming for middle and high school students—like afterschool and weekend enrichment and our 8th grade transition programs—but we also contribute to other parts of BEAM’s work when needed, such as elementary teacher support, middle school summer camps, and college success services.

Our role is to equip BEAM’s local program teams in Los Angeles and New York City with materials, tools, and systems they can adapt to their communities and bring to life with students. In doing so, we make sure every student experience is both rooted in BEAM’s mission and responsive to local context.

The team is made up of two groups:

• Curriculum & Design, which shapes the learning experiences students receive.
• Data & Operations, your group, which develops the systems, workflows, and tech solutions that fuel efficiency and enable BEAM to keep growing while staying true to our roots.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Team Leadership & Staff Management (15%)

• Lead the Curriculum and Design team with clear goals, reflection cycles, and collaborative practices.
• Communicate progress and program design updates to staff and leadership.
• Develop job descriptions and rubrics for hiring BEAM faculty in summer and year-round enrichment programs.
• Support faculty hiring across all summer sites, including recruitment, interviews, training, and selection.

Curriculum Development (50%)

• Project manage the build-out of curricula, lesson materials, capstone projects and assessments.
• Recruit, supervise, and support curriculum specialists to create and refine content.
• Support their curriculum development work, answer questions, and review their materials for alignment to BEAM's learning objectives.
• Oversee the launch of courses, gather faculty and student feedback, assess outcomes, and revise curricula for launch.

Program Model Design (20%)

• Integrate courses, assessments, and experiences into a cohesive, scalable program model.
• Collaborate with senior leadership to define measures of success and implementation requirements for new program models.
• Partner with local program teams to adapt delivery for maximum student engagement and access.
• Document and codify design principles to ensure consistency across BEAM’s program continuum.

Program Training & Implementation Support (15%)

• Develop instructional resources to support adoption of new program models.
• Contribute to marketing materials that drive family engagement and student recruitment.
• Lead training for local staff and part-time faculty on curriculum, instruction, and assessments.
• Monitor implementation fidelity and performance, providing feedback and coaching to local teams.

QUALIFICATIONS

We understand that there are many paths to acquiring experience and therefore welcome candidates from diverse and nontraditional backgrounds for this role who have demonstrated equivalent transferable skills to carry out the major duties outlined in this job description.

• Mathematical Problem-Solving Pedagogy – Expertise in designing curricula that foster logical reasoning, proof-based thinking, non-routine problem solving and exploration
• Curriculum Design Expertise – Skilled in designing, piloting, and refining STEM curricula that are rigorous, project-based, engaging, and equity-focused.
• Project Management – Strong organizational and planning skills with the ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and stakeholders.
• Data-Informed Decision Making – Ability to interpret student learning data and program evaluation results to drive continuous improvement.
• Team Leadership – Experience supervising staff and contractors, providing feedback, and fostering collaboration.
• Equity & Inclusion Mindset – Commitment to supporting students from historically marginalized communities and designing programs that expand opportunity.
• Communication & Facilitation – Clear written and verbal communication skills; effective in leading training, presentations, and cross-team collaboration.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in mathematics, STEM education, curriculum design, or related field required.
• Master’s or doctoral degree in STEM education, instructional design, or related field preferred.

Technical Skills

• Experience with higher level mathematics and STEM, including mathematical proof, solving non-routine problems, and substantive applications of mathematics to STEM fields.
• Proficiency with curriculum design, project based learning and assessment.
• Strong data analysis skills, including ability to use Excel/Google Sheets for reporting.
• Experience using AI

Professional Skills

• 4–6 years of experience in teaching STEM courses, curriculum development, instructional design, or related STEM education work.
• Demonstrated ability to manage projects from design through implementation.
• Experience leading or supporting professional development for teachers or program staff.
• Strong collaboration skills; able to work across teams and adapt to dynamic organizational needs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with middle and high school students in STEM contexts.
• Knowledge of enrichment programs, STEM career pathways, and programmatic opportunities for students.
• Prior experience in nonprofit, enrichment, or out-of-school learning settings.
• Knowledge of college and career readiness programming, especially for STEM fields.
• Familiarity with learning management systems and digital learning tools for the purposes of providing greater access to curriculum
• Bilingual or multilingual skills are a plus.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Must be able to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation

• Sitting - constantly (50%+)
• Repetitive movements - typing (50%+)
• Moderate noise levels