REDI Director

Join Us in Rethinking What Education Can Be

At Big Picture Learning, we believe young people thrive when they are known, trusted, and empowered to design lives of their own design. For nearly three decades, we’ve worked alongside schools and systems to make that belief a reality through student-centered, interest-driven, real-world learning.

We are practitioners. We are story-doers. We work with urgency and heart. And we are looking for a REDI Director who wants their work to matter.

About the Role

The REDI Director plays a key role in advancing BPL’s mission by leading the development of Big Picture Learning's organizational evidence strategy by building systems for data collection, evaluation, research partnerships, and continuous learning. This role will help BPL better understand, demonstrate, and improve its impact by connecting data, research, and practitioner learning across the organization.

Initially, the Director will personally lead the design and implementation of key data collection and evaluation systems while cultivating external research partnerships and advancing BPL's research and learning agendas. This role serves as a bridge between internal improvement efforts and external evidence generation, ensuring that BPL's work is informed by both meaningful data and strong research partnerships.

This position is ideal for someone who thrives in a collaborative, entrepreneurial environment and is energized by building systems, relationships, and solutions that help leaders, educators and youth flourish.

At BPL, roles are not silos — they are contributions to a shared vision. You will work alongside passionate colleagues across the country who believe deeply in reimagining education and the power of young people.

Role Overview

• Location: Remote, U.S.-based
• Reports To: Co-CEO
• Employment Type: Full-Time
• Travel: Occasional travel for annual conferences and team gatherings

What You’ll Do

Primary responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Research Strategy & Partnerships

• Develop and steward BPL's multi-year research and evaluation agenda.
• Cultivate and manage partnerships with universities, research institutions, evaluators, funders, consultants, and aligned organizations.
• Identify opportunities for collaborative research, longitudinal studies, and evidence generation.
• Coordinate organizational oversight of research projects, including future work associated with a research repository and annotated bibliography initiative.
• Work with the development team to identify and cultivate funding resources for research projects.

Data Systems, Collection & Analysis

• Design and lead organization-wide data collection strategies and systems.
• Oversee collection, management, quality, and reporting of programmatic, school network, and organizational data.
• Develop dashboards, reporting tools, and data visualizations that support decision-making.
• Support evaluation and feedback systems across BPL initiatives, events, and programs.

Evaluation, Learning & Organizational Improvement

• Lead development of evaluation frameworks and improvement measures across BPL programs.
• Design and implement feedback systems for participants, schools, partners, and stakeholders.
• Build organizational capacity for inquiry, reflection, and evidence-informed decision making.
• Partner across departments to identify priority learning questions and measure progress toward strategic goals.

Knowledge Management & Research Infrastructure

• Build and steward systems that organize, curate, and make accessible BPL's growing body of research and evidence.
• Maintain research repositories, evidence libraries, and knowledge-sharing systems.
• Explore AI-supported and other emerging tools that increase access to organizational knowledge while maintaining ethical, transparent, and human-centered practices.
• Develop sustainable systems for preserving institutional learning and making research actionable across the network.

General

• Future growth of the REDI function will likely include oversight of alumni outcomes tracking and alumni engagement strategies.
• Support efforts to foster fairness and belonging while actively advocating for equal opportunity at the personal, organizational, and systemic levels.
• Support, participate in, and attend annual BPL conferences and other org-wide events as needed.
• Other responsibilities may be assigned based on organizational need and individual skills and interests.

Qualifications & Experience

• Passion for Big Picture Learning’s mission, vision, values, and commitment to student-centered, deeper learning.
• BA and advanced degree preferred (EdD, MBA, MEd, MPA, PhD, or similar). However, as research demonstrates that formal education requirements can deter qualified candidates from applying, we encourage candidates with the professional experiences, technical skills, and leadership qualities outlined in this position specification to apply.
• Deep knowledge of K-12 education, with preference for experience in competency-based, student-centered, deeper learning, youth development, and related educational approaches.
• Strongly prefer at least 10 years of demonstrated experience leading quantitative and qualitative research, evaluation, and data initiatives, including designing studies, developing data collection systems, analyzing data, developing findings, and translating evidence into actionable insights that support organizational learning and continuous improvement.
• Proven ability to think strategically and lead implementation, including managing complex projects, building systems and processes, and balancing multiple priorities in dynamic environments.
• Demonstrated success building and managing relationships with diverse stakeholders, including schools, researchers, universities, funders, consultants, and cross-functional teams.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to synthesize and present complex information clearly and persuasively to a wide range of audiences.
• Familiarity with both traditional and nontraditional indicators of student success, such as measures related to agency, belonging, engagement, purpose, wellness, relationships, and real-world learning.
• Commitment to ethical research and data practices, including thoughtful use of emerging technologies and AI-supported tools to strengthen learning, accessibility, equity, and organizational effectiveness.
• Ability to travel up to 25% to collect data, manage projects, attend conferences and retreats, make presentations, and meet with partners, schools, and funders.

Core Values & Professional Qualities

• Steadfast belief that students should be at the center of their own learning and that education (in particular public education) is due for a reorientation that allows students to be confident in the pursuit of their own passions and interests.
• Strong internal accountability (especially important due to the geographic spread of BPL’s work and our virtual teams), comfort juggling multiple projects and prioritizing tasks, and the ability to work remotely in distributed teams across multiple time zones.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills (speaking, writing, listening) in person and virtually.
• Commitment to continuous improvement, a relentless approach to growth and learning, and an openness to constructive critical feedback.
• Collegial and empathetic approach to working with others, while bringing a creative, flexible and thoughtful approach to your work.
• Ability to use - or quickly learn - multiple tech platforms (e.g., Google Suite, Salesforce, Asana).

Mission & Mindset

Big Picture Learning team members are united by a deep belief that students belong at the center of their own learning and that education must evolve to empower young people to pursue lives of passion, purpose, and possibility. A commitment to advancing this work with urgency and care is essential.

As a fully virtual organization operating across time zones, we value colleagues who are self-directed, internally accountable, and comfortable navigating complexity. Those who thrive at BPL move work forward in the face of uncertainty, take thoughtful risks, and carry ideas from conception through implementation.

Culture matters here. We prioritize connection and mutual support, ensuring every staff member feels valued and equipped to grow — anchored by strong supervision, collaborative peers, and clear agreements about how we work together. The work is demanding and mission-driven, and we approach it with creativity, empathy, and joy.

Compensation

The starting annual salary range for this position is $112,064 - $129,574.

Big Picture Learning is committed to fair and transparent compensation practices. Salary offers are determined based on relevant experience, skill transferability, and assessed readiness for the role. This structured approach allows us to account for the unique strengths and backgrounds each candidate brings while maintaining consistency across the organization.

To promote equity and reduce bias in compensation decisions, offers are determined using this criteria-based framework and are not subject to negotiation. We are committed to placing candidates as accurately as possible at the time of hire.

To ensure equitable and accurate placement, all new hires participate in a six-month salary review. This review considers initial contributions, growth, and development in the role, and may result in an adjustment to better align compensation with demonstrated performance and responsibilities.

Our approach is designed to provide clarity, fairness, and opportunities for growth over time.

Benefits & Investment in People

At BPL, we believe our staff should feel supported, valued, and able to thrive — personally and professionally. Our benefits reflect that commitment.

Health & Financial Security

• Fully paid medical, vision, and dental coverage
• Fully paid life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability coverage
• Pension plan with a 5% employer contribution, 100% vested after six months

Time to Rest & Recharge

• 8 weeks of paid parental leave and 4 weeks of paid medical leave (after 12 months)
• 13 paid holidays, + 2 religious floater holidays
• Organization-wide holiday break (Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day)
• 11 personal/sick days, plus a paid birthday
• 18 days of paid vacation, accrued at 1.5 days per month beginning the first full month
• 3 annual “Chill & Recharge Days” dedicated to supporting work-life balance and intentional focus on health and wellness

Tools & Remote Work Support

• Company-issued laptop
• Home office equipment (printer/scanner/copier and supplies)
• Cell phone coverage (company plan or up to $400 toward a new device)
• Coverage of TSA Pre-Check, CLEAR, or Global Entry enrollment fees
• Reimbursement for approved organizational travel

At BPL, we believe our staff should feel supported, valued, and able to thrive — personally and professionally. Our benefits reflect that commitment.

Health & Financial Security

• Fully paid medical, vision, and dental coverage
• Fully paid life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability coverage
• Pension plan with a 5% employer contribution, 100% vested after six months

Time to Rest & Recharge

• 8 weeks of paid parental leave and 4 weeks of paid medical leave (after 12 months)
• 13 paid holidays, + 2 religious floater holidays
• Organization-wide holiday break (Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day)
• 11 personal/sick days, plus a paid birthday
• 18 days of paid vacation, accrued at 1.5 days per month beginning the first full month
• 3 annual “Chill & Recharge Days” dedicated to supporting work-life balance and intentional focus on health and wellness

Tools & Remote Work Support

• Company-issued laptop
• Home office equipment (printer/scanner/copier and supplies)
• Cell phone coverage (company plan or up to $400 toward a new device)
• Coverage of TSA Pre-Check, CLEAR, or Global Entry enrollment fees
• Reimbursement for approved organizational travel