Director, College & Career Pathway Partnerships

About UNITE-LA

For more than 25 years, UNITE-LA has established itself as a trusted education and business intermediary, dedicated to improving the economic mobility and well-being of the region’s diverse rising workforce. Leveraging strategic cross-sector partnerships at local, statewide, and national levels, we advance policies, practices and systems that strengthen anti-racism and equitable education and workforce outcomes from cradle through career.

Position Overview:

The Director, College & Career Pathway Partnerships will be a pivotal role on UNITE-LA’s Systems Change team by supporting the successful implementation of two major regional initiatives: the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative and the L.A. Purposeful Career Pathways Project.

This role is primarily focused on strengthening K–12 and community college partnerships—building and maintaining robust student-centered initiatives that advance dual enrollment, college and career advising, and career-connected learning. The role will work closely with school-site leaders, district administrators, and system leaders across K-12 and postsecondary systems to support coherent, equitable education-to-career pathways.

The L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative is a multi-year, cross-sector initiative uniting K-12 districts, community colleges, CSU campuses, and regional employers to accelerate equitable degree completion and expand high-demand career pathways in health care, engineering, and computer science. UNITE-LA serves as the regional intermediary—supporting 5 subregional partnerships in advancing collaborative strategies related to dual enrollment expansion, transfer redesign, and integrated work-based learning.

The L.A. Purposeful Career Pathways Project is a three-year initiative funded by the Gates Foundation and co-led by UNITE-LA and the California Community Foundation. The project aims to develop “proof points” within two K-16 subregions (Long Beach and the South Bay) that show how high schools and community colleges can integrate advising, dual enrollment, and career-connected learning into coherent, equitable pathways that strengthen student belonging, purpose, and social capital.

Across both efforts, the Director will lead strategy development, day-to-day project management, partner convening, grant and impact reporting - ensuring strong implementation and alignment across K-12, community college, and regional partners.

Primary Responsibilities

• Strategy & Vision: Co-develop and execute regional strategies that strengthen dual enrollment, advising, and college and career pathways for L.A. area students. Identify strategic opportunities and translate regional and subregional priorities into actionable plans that support coherence across K–12 and community college partners. Ensure local systems-change efforts align with statewide policy priorities and emerging opportunities that advance educational and economic mobility.
• Project & Initiative Management: Support day-to-day management and coordination of the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative and the L.A. Purposeful Pathways Project, including developing and monitoring work plans, timelines and deliverables in Asana. Coordinate workflow and communications across external collaborative partners and consultants to keep initiatives on track.
• Partner Convening and Engagement: Plan and manage convenings with K–12, community college, and regional partners focused on dual enrollment, advising alignment, transfer, and pathway design. Develop agendas, materials, presentations, facilitation tools, and meeting summaries, and ensure strong follow-up with partners.
• Relationship and Stakeholder Management: Build and maintain strong relationships with district, college, and regional partners; steward ongoing engagement and communication. Collaborate internally with UNITE-LA staff to align workstreams and manage institutional relationships.
• Data, Learning & Continuous Improvement: Track student engagement and pathway participation metrics across partners. Analyze data and partner feedback to inform continuous improvement, strategy refinement, and funder reporting.
• Fund Development & Grant Management: Support narrative and budget development for funding proposals and provide input on competitive or invited funding opportunities. Track grant deliverables; support partners in meeting reporting requirements; contribute to development of funder reports and compliance documentation.

Skills for Success

• Content Expertise: Strong knowledge of and direct experience in dual enrollment, college advising, and college and career pathways. Understanding of career/technical education or work-based learning models is a plus.
• Project Management: Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multi-partner initiatives with clear work plans, timelines, and deliverables. Skilled in prioritizing multiple workstreams and using project management tools (e.g., Asana, Salesforce) to track progress.
• Initiative, Reliability & Execution: Proactive, self-directed, and able to drive work forward with minimal oversight. Consistently delivers high-quality, accurate, timely work products.
• Strategic Thinking & Problem Solving: Ability to synthesize information across systems, identify challenges, and develop actionable, collaborative solutions, leveraging the expertise and input of others.
• Data Analysis & Synthesis: Proficient in analyzing and synthesizing data to inform strategic decisions, continuous improvement, and effective reporting on initiatives.
• Cross-Sector Partnership Building: Exceptional relationship-building skills with K–12, community college, and regional partners. Experience fostering collaboration across diverse teams and sectors to advance shared goals.
• Adaptability & Inclusion: Demonstrates flexibility, openness to change, and a solutions-oriented mindset. Actively seeks and integrates diverse perspectives; collaborates effectively with colleagues and partners of varied backgrounds.
• Communication & Storytelling: Articulates thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively for the appropriate audiences. Create compelling narratives and content that effectively communicates our mission, initiatives, accomplishments, and impact.
• Grant Reporting & Compliance: Strong attention to detail to ensure accurate reporting and compliance with grant requirements.

Compensation and Position Details

This is a full-time, exempt position with a starting annual salary of $92,400 - $108,000. The full range for this position is $92,400 - $120,750. If you are offered a position at UNITE-LA, your final title and compensation will be based on factors such as relevant skills, experience and/or education. In addition to those factors, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider the internal equity of our current team members as a part of any final offer. Our competitive benefits package includes paid sick leave, vacation, and work-life harmony time, in addition to a robust paid holiday schedule; 401(k) participation with employer contribution; competitive health, vision and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, and more. UNITE-LA promotes a culture of work-life harmony with flexible schedules and offers employee growth development plans to support career pathway development.

This position is based out of Los Angeles. While UNITE-LA maintains a primarily remote working environment, this position will be required to attend in-person meetings across the Los Angeles region 2-5 times per month. Common offsite travel locales are Downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach, Hawthorne, Pomona, Glendale, and Sylmar.

To apply, please e-mail a cover letter and resume to highered@unitela.com with the subject line “Last Name - College and Career Pathways”. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, with a priority submission date of April 8, 2026.

UNITE-LA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to developing and sustaining a diverse workforce, because we believe that it makes our organization stronger. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race ,color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or age. We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

This is a full-time, exempt position with a starting annual salary of $92,400 - $108,000. The full range for this position is $92,400 - $120,750. If you are offered a position at UNITE-LA, your final title and compensation will be based on factors such as relevant skills, experience and/or education. In addition to those factors, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider the internal equity of our current team members as a part of any final offer. Our competitive benefits package includes paid sick leave, vacation, and work-life harmony time, in addition to a robust paid holiday schedule; 401(k) participation with employer contribution; competitive health, vision and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, and more. UNITE-LA promotes a culture of work-life harmony with flexible schedules and offers employee growth development plans to support career pathway development.