Title: Managing Director, National Program Implementation and Impact - California/West Coast

Location: California

Job Description:

What We Do

At Leading Educators (LE), we know that excellent teaching is the most important driver of student success. The moment a student steps foot in the classroom, their ability to learn depends on how prepared their teacher is to convey complex content knowledge as engaging, student-centered lessons that help students learn deeply and apply their thinking to the real world.

That’s a big lift, and teachers often do this alone. As a national nonprofit, we partner with school systems to overcome persistent instructional challenges, foster intentional collaboration and adult learning by design, and ignite new possibilities through systemic solutions at the intersection of teaching, talent, and technology.

We work shoulder-to-shoulder with educators at every level of the education system to strengthen their instructional and leadership practices, bring a vision for excellent instruction to life with consistency, and ultimately ensure that every student has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Through direct support, strategic advising, innovation pilots, and best-in-class research, we help educators shape a future where every student can thrive. Learn more about our work at leadingeducators.org.

Deadline to Apply: Ongoing

Position

The Managing Director, National Program Implementation and Impact - California/West Coast is a strategic leadership opportunity for an experienced education leader ready to drive excellence in program implementation across Leading Educators' West Coast district partnerships, with California as our strategic priority for growth and expansion.

In this role, you'll manage a portfolio of Senior Directors overseeing eight or more major district projects across the entire West Coast region. Your primary strategic focus will be deepening our implementation excellence, student reach, and impact in California—a priority state for Leading Educators' expansion. Simultaneously, you'll oversee implementation across all West Coast partnerships, ensuring consistent quality, outcomes, and client satisfaction across the region.

You'll be both a program strategist and a people leader—coaching and supporting Senior Directors to implement with excellence, troubleshoot challenges, and maintain deep relationships with senior district leaders throughout California and the broader West Coast. You'll lead the scoping and pricing process for expansions and renewals, ensuring all work aligns to our service packages and organizational priorities. Beyond day-to-day program management, you'll partner cross-functionally on workforce strategy, capacity planning, and resource allocation, working closely with colleagues in Operations and People & Talent to ensure staffing decisions maximize impact and efficiency.

This role demands someone who brings established relationships with senior leaders in California school districts, state education agencies, and funders. You'll leverage your network to originate new partnership opportunities and expand our reach and student impact in California while managing implementation excellence across all West Coast partnerships. You'll play a critical organizational leadership role, leading significant change management efforts, fostering adaptive mindsets, and aligning your team's perspectives and practices with our evolving strategic vision. This is a role for a leader who thrives in complexity, embraces innovation (including AI adoption), and is deeply committed to advancing student success across the West Coast, with California as our strategic priority.

Do you have expertise in…

• Managing large-scale, multi-site program implementation and district partnerships across the West Coast, with particular strength in California?
• Coaching and developing senior leaders to ambitious results, cultivating high-performing and collaborative teams?
• Scoping work, pricing accurately, and aligning service offerings to established packages and organizational standards?
• Leveraging data for continuous improvement, strategic planning, and communicating impact outcomes?

Do you enjoy…

• Building and maintaining strong relationships with senior district leaders and state education agency partners in California and across the West Coast?
• Leading through organizational change, shifting team perspectives toward new strategic visions, and fostering adaptive mindsets?
• Collaborating across functions on workforce strategy, capacity planning, and resource allocation decisions?
• Learning and adopting new tools—including AI—and leading your team in integrating them to increase efficiency and effectiveness?

If you've answered affirmatively to these questions and meet the following prerequisites, we urge you to seize this opportunity. This role calls for the following:

• Minimum 10 years of related experience, including 5+ years of management experience, with a strong background in education, instructional leadership, and California district partnerships
• Demonstrated success managing large-scale, multi-site educational implementation initiatives to achieve measurable outcomes
• Experience scoping work for renewals, pricing accurately, and aligning offerings to service packages
• Proven ability to coach senior leaders to ambitious results and cultivate high-performing, collaborative teams
• Experience collaborating on staffing strategies, capacity planning, and resource allocation
• Skilled in leveraging data for continuous improvement and strategic planning
• Demonstrated ability to lead through organizational change and shift team perspectives toward a new strategic vision
• Proven ability to establish trust with senior California district leaders and navigate complex political and organizational contexts
• Comfortable leading through ambiguity and change in dynamic environments
• Proven ability to learn and adopt AI tools, integrate them into team workflows, and lead others in doing the same to increase efficiency and productivity

Travel Requirements

• This is a remote position based in California, requiring up to 8-12+ trips per year for organizational retreats, programming, job-related travel, and professional development. You will work from a home office located in California.

Questions? We’re here to help.

If you have questions about this role or about our hiring process at any point, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at talent@leadingeducators.org. This inbox is monitored regularly, and we aim to respond within two business days. To ensure your question receives a thoughtful and timely response, we kindly ask that you refrain from emailing individual staff members or members of our HR team directly. The best way to connect with us is always through talent@leadingeducators.org.

Why Work at Leading Educators?

Imagine being part of an organization where your ideas and perspectives are highly valued. At Leading Educators, we believe in fostering individual strengths, encouraging personal growth, and embracing innovative ideas. If you thrive in a remote working environment, with the added excitement of travel, we're the perfect fit for you. By joining us, you become part of a powerful community of peers nationwide. Regardless of your location, you possess the power to make a significant impact on both students and teachers who rely on us daily. Join Leading Educators and play an integral part in shaping the future of education.

Learn About Our Mission & Values:

Mission: Leading Educators partners with school systems to sustain the teaching, leadership, and conditions for every student to succeed in school and in life.

Values:

• Build on strengths: We affirm and begin with the unique and collective talents, experiences, and wisdom of ourselves and others.
• Continuously learn: We develop ourselves and others. We apply new learning and deepened self-awareness to our relationships and practices.
• Prioritize people: We build trust and reflect on the impact of different perspectives and experiences.
• Champion success for all: We re-imagine structures, habits, and mindsets to ensure every learner has access to evidence-based learning opportunities.

Use of Artificial Intelligence in Hiring

We use artificial intelligence–enabled tools throughout our hiring process, from the moment a candidate applies through the offer stage, to support administrative tasks and the initial review of candidate materials. These tools help us organize, analyze, and surface relevant information efficiently, but they do not make hiring decisions. All candidate materials—including applications, resumes, assessments, and interview feedback—are reviewed and evaluated by people. All hiring decisions, including interview selection, advancement, and offers of employment, are made by humans. We use AI solely as a support tool to assist with early-stage reviews and process efficiency. We do not use AI in ways that discriminate based on protected characteristics, nor do we use ZIP codes or similar data to target or exclude protected groups. Our hiring practices are designed to be fair, consistent, and aligned with equal employment opportunity standards.

Compensation:

• If hired for this position, the base salary range is $156,808 to $217,686 per year. Most new hires enter the range at a specific point based on their qualifications and the role level. For this position, the standard starting salary is $184,480, which is based on meeting the minimum requirement of 10 years of relevant experience.
• If you have more than 10 years of directly relevant experience, your starting salary may be adjusted higher within the range, up to a maximum starting salary of $196,339. This approach ensures that candidates with additional experience beyond the minimum are recognized in the initial salary offer.
• This role will receive a geographic multiplier based on where you reside in California.

Benefits:

100% paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for individual employees. Additional premium costs are covered 60% by Leading Educators for partners and dependents on medical, dental, and vision plans. 4% matching 401k plan, Flexible Spending Accounts for medical, childcare and commuter expenses, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Benefits are valued at or above $9,000 for employees.

Time Off:

• First three years of employment, full time staff accrue 22 days a year.
• Five additional days are accrued after the third and sixth year of employment.
• Leading Educators also offer 16 additional paid days off for various holidays, including three floating holidays staff may use at their discretion.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Leading Educators is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations.