Senior Program Director

About Deans for Impact (DFI)

DFI supports educator-preparation programs to bring the science of learning into teaching practice; partners with policymakers to ensure pathways into teaching are accessible, practice-based, and focused on instruction; and equips leaders with the tools to address today’s most pressing challenges in educator preparation. Guided by principles of learning science, we aim to help aspiring and early-career teachers create rigorous and affirming classrooms where all children thrive.

To learn more, visit our website, hear from leaders we have worked with, and read about one of our networks and the policy initiatives we have helped to lead.

About the role of Senior Program Director

DFI works closely with non-profit partners, state leaders, and leadership and faculty teams from EPPs to redesign learning opportunities for aspiring and early-career teachers, anchoring them in principles from learning science. Building on a track record of success in supporting EPPs to prepare novice teachers to understand and implement in their practice well-established scientific principles of how children learn math, DFI supports networks of EPPs aiming to improve the way they prepare aspiring teachers around effective math instruction using high-quality instructional materials (HQIM).

The Senior Program Director will work with leaders and teacher-educators across multiple DFI-facilitated networks, supporting them to develop frameworks for best practices, deepen their knowledge of effective math instruction, redesign coursework, and clinical experiences that better support teacher-candidate learning and ensure the sustainability of those efforts over time. The Senior Program Director will build relationships with EPP, district, and systems-level leaders (e.g., state education agencies, university systems, and intermediaries), coach individual faculty, develop professional learning opportunities and cross-program learning structures, and facilitate change processes at the participating organizations.

Responsibilities

The Senior Program Director will be responsible for:

• Program Design and Management (40%)
  • Setting the vision and strategy across multiple DFI-led programs for supporting systems-level leaders (e.g., State education agencies, intermediaries, and university systems), EPP leaders, and teacher-educators to redesign coursework and clinical experiences and sustain those changes over time
  • Independently managing the day-to-day work of multiple large-scale (e.g, multi-year, multi-state partnerships) DFI-led programs, including: managing relevant budgets, creating and managing work plans, coordinating communications with external participants, developing structures to share learnings, and identifying, designing, and implementing processes and systems required to carry out the work
  • Independently designing systems to collect, analyze, and share evidence on the impact of DFI-led programming, including in collaboration with partners
  • Independently managing internal communications about relevant DFI-led programs and leading cross-team and/or cross-functional groups to advance program goals
  • Effectively structuring and managing the work of project consultants and of other DFI staff, including supporting DFI staff performance and development in alignment with our organizational values
  • Proactively cultivating relationships with and representing the work of each DFI-led program to external stakeholders, including partner organizations, state leaders, and leaders of EPPs across the field
• Program Participant Learning and Course and Program Redesign (45%)
  • Leading the design and facilitation of meaningful, rigorous, affirming learning experiences to support EPP faculty and leaders in building understanding of evidence-based math skills and how to effectively use high-quality instructional materials to build knowledge in the elementary classroom
  • Supporting faculty – through ongoing, individualized coaching – to redesign coursework and clinical experiences and implement content that will support teacher-candidates to enact instruction aligned with evidence-based math skills and effectively use high-quality instructional materials
  • Supporting faculty and EPP leaders in reflecting on evidence from implementation to create more effective learning experiences for teacher-candidates
  • Proactively building and sustaining positive, productive relationships with leaders and teacher-educators at participating EPPs and leaders from their states
• People and Culture (15%)
  • Contribute to regular team activities, including weekly team meetings, bi-annual retreats, and other individual and organizational learning structures
  • Proactively steward a values-centered team and culture

About you

We’re looking for someone with expertise in practice-based teacher preparation and experience facilitating organizational change efforts.

We understand that people gain skills through a variety of professional, personal, educational, and volunteer experiences. We encourage candidates to review the key responsibilities and desired qualifications below. If you believe you have the transferable skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of this role, we encourage you to apply. We will consider candidates with greater seniority and are open-minded about adjusting the role to match experience level.

• Experience:
  • Required
    • You bring deep expertise in elementary mathematics education, with a strong understanding of teacher preparation, research-based practices, current field trends, standards, and certification expectations.
    • You have at least three years of experience supporting the development of elementary mathematics teachers through the use of practice‑based teacher‑educator pedagogies.
    • You have at least eight years of professional work experience in teaching or teacher preparation.
    • You have experience leading improvement initiatives that require buy-in from stakeholders at multiple levels of the system (e.g., state leaders, district and school leaders, EPP leaders, teacher educators)
    • You have experience in instructional coaching and/or facilitation of adult learning
    • You have experience managing the work of others and supporting their performance and development
  • Preferred
    • Experience working for a nonprofit that provides technical assistance to teacher preparation programs, with a strong foundation in program management and facilitation
    • Background as a teacher-educator in a teacher preparation program, bringing deep insight into leadership development and organizational change.
    • Experience in supporting multilingual learners and students with disabilities is a plus
    • Experience cultivating and nurturing virtual communities that foster engagement, collaboration, and sustained participation among educators or stakeholders.
• Skills and qualities:
  • You can set a vision and strategy for a body of work even when faced with ambiguity and align and manage activities, stakeholders, and resources in support of that strategy.
  • You are an effective facilitator and coach of adult learners and have a strong track record of driving stakeholders towards consensus using data and evidence to ground your efforts and drive improvement.
  • Effectively plan, execute, and oversee projects by setting clear goals, defining roles and responsibilities, managing timelines, and ensuring deliverables are met while adapting to evolving priorities and constraints.
  • You can juggle multiple tasks simultaneously, manage time and resources effectively, and deliver high-quality work on time, and support others to do the same
  • You listen carefully, and think about how your history and experiences influence your perceptions
  • You take initiative, anticipate challenges, and proactively pursue solutions to problems ranging from the mundane to the complex

Location, Benefits, & Compensation

DFI is a national remote organization. The Senior Program Director will work flexibly from a location of their choosing in the U.S. Occasional travel for programming and team events (estimated to be 25%) is expected. This estimate reflects the expected annual average. Actual travel requirements will likely fluctuate based on the time of year and activities that are often aligned with educator preparation program scheduling.

This is a full-time, salaried position with competitive salary and benefits and a flexible, mission-driven professional environment. DFI’s compensation and benefits are intended to support our ability to recruit and retain a diverse and talented team and ensure internal consistency and equity. The salary range for this role is $115K-130K. New hires will be offered a salary at the starting point of the range. To ensure that starting compensation decisions are consistent and transparent, DFI does not negotiate starting salaries.

DFI offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• 12 holidays plus a winter break from Dec. 24 - Jan 1.
• 20 PTO days, prorated during a new hire’s first year
• Generous parental, medical, and bereavement leave policies
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (covered at 90% individual, 70% dependent-only), life insurance, short and long term disability coverage, health and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts
• 401k plan with an automatic 4% employer contribution
• One-time stipend to support employees’ home office set-up and reimbursement of ongoing monthly internet and cell phone use, and
• Dedicated funds for each employee to support professional learning and growth

At DFI we believe that diverse perspectives and backgrounds create a rich work environment and enhance our ability to pursue our mission. We hope you will join us as we continue to build an organization where people from all backgrounds are welcomed and all identities are affirmed.

DFI provides equal opportunity in employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or parenthood.

Our Hiring Process & Timeline

We want to be transparent about the scope and pacing of our hiring process—because we know it’s a significant time investment. Our process is intentionally comprehensive, designed to give both candidates and our team multiple opportunities to learn more about each other and determine alignment from multiple angles.

Below, you’ll find key dates for each stage. While timelines may shift slightly, we’ll communicate any changes proactively. Because things move quickly once interviews begin, we encourage candidates to plan ahead and hold time during the windows noted below.

Week(s) of

Process Stage

May 26th - June 16th

Application Review

June 9th - June 20th

Phone Interview (30 min)

June 23rd

Performance Task (up to 3 hours)

July 7th

In-Depth Interview (60 min)

July 14th - July 25th

Finalist Interview (90 min)

• Facilitation & Role Play Activity (30 min)
• Small Group Q&A (30 min)
• One-on-one with DFI’s Executive Director (30 min)