Executive Director

The University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) is a nationally recognized center committed to the belief that all students deserve a schooling experience that builds their agency and self-efficacy, and ultimately leads to limitless futures for themselves, their families, their communities, and the world.

We are a practice-based, professional services center within the University of Washington’s College of Education (COE). Our office is in Seattle, Washington, where our shared values of curiosity, collaboration, learning, and integrity guide the work of our primarily remote team of 20. We value the people who make up our team, and we are relentless in our pursuit of impact.

CEL is a self-sustaining organization through program service fees and grant funding. CEL’s budget for the 2024-2025 school year is $3.2M in revenue and funding. Our organization is dedicated to partnering with courageous leaders in classrooms, schools, and the systems that support them to create cultures of rigorous teaching, learning, and leading. To do this, we offer a variety of evidence-based and research-driven professional learning services, all aimed at building teacher and leader capacity, including:

• Multi-year system-wide engagements to build equity-focused instructional leadership capacity at scale
• Programs to build role-specific skills, such as for principal supervisors and instructional coaches
• Engagements with central office leaders to ensure school leaders have what they need to be successful

Over the last 5 years, we have facilitated professional learning with:

• Over 125 school systems in more than 30 states
• 1.75 million students served through our support of schools and system leaders
• 94% of CEL’s professional learning participants report that skills they’ve gained will lead to greater on-the-job impact

MISSION OF THE ROLE

CEL’s Executive Director will lead an exciting and dynamic organization focused on impacting the quality of school leadership. In its 23 years, CEL has grown to support hundreds of schools and districts across the country to strengthen their school leadership. The next executive director will expand on this vision, charting out the next 5-10 years of CEL’s journey, and will be responsible for harnessing the resources and excitement necessary to achieve this vision. Specifically, the executive director will grow CEL’s impact by expanding the organization’s current work through innovation to make its offerings accessible to more school systems and organizations, strengthening its long-term financial sustainability, attracting and retaining top talent, and broadening support for CEL's work in the research and philanthropic community. The executive director will be a visionary executive with an understanding of the professional learning needs of K-12 leaders, a proven network that can expand CEL’s work, a strong ability to collaborate with a team to innovate CEL’s offerings, and the strategic skill to help CEL adapt to the changing K-12 marketplace. This position reports to the Associate Dean for Research in the College of Education.

This is a full-time, 12 month annual appointment at the non-tenure rank of Educator III. The base salary range for this position will be $17,917-$20,417 per month, commensurate with experience or qualifications. Other compensation associated with this position may include a relocation incentive.

The executive director’s time will likely be divided between

• 40% External relationship building with potential fee-for-service partners and funders while also growing CEL’s network
• 25% Actively engage in CEL’s field work, team learning, and innovation
• 20% Strategic planning and vision-setting for the organization
• 15% Internal team management and coordination
• Please note: The executive director will travel nationally for conferences, field work, and networking opportunities. Travel will vary month to month, and up to 40% of the time will involve travel.

What is rewarding about the role

• You will inherit a strong, stable team that is passionate about their work and is deeply skilled.
• You will be coming into an organization with an outstanding reputation whose services are in strong demand.
• You will enhance CEL’s voice and strength by sharing its work in ways that impact students, teachers, and leaders across the country.
• You will have the opportunity to work across the country with leaders of top school systems, networks, and national organizations.
• The organization possesses strong intellectual property, including frameworks, tools, and an online leadership assessment.
• You will work with a high degree of autonomy while also being able to engage closely with the University of Washington College of Education faculty and those from other leading Colleges of Education.

What is challenging about the role

• The K-12 marketplace is ever-changing and requires close attention to policy and economic trends impacting school systems.
• Maintaining a focus on equity and impact while working to meet the immediate needs of school systems and leaders.
• Ensuring the financial stability of the organization by balancing deeply impactful long-term partnerships and shorter-term financial goals.
• Sustaining staff connection and culture in a remote environment while the CEL team provides on-the-ground professional learning for school systems across the United States.
• You will be working in ambiguity and managing multiple competing priorities.
• The work is fast-paced and requires juggling many projects at the same time.

WE SEEK AN EXPERIENCED LEADER TO JOIN OUR TEAM AS THE NEXT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.

We are looking for someone who

• Is passionate about the role of school leadership in improving educational outcomes for all students, but particularly those least well-served in America’s schools.
• Believes that leader professional learning is critical to addressing systemic educational inequities.
• Is experienced and confident in their ability as an inclusive and equity-driven leader.
• Leads teams with humility and kindness, providing direction and support and fostering a culture of learning and accountability.
• Provides strategic leadership including setting mid to long-range direction, attracting and retaining talent, fostering strong staff culture, leading the leadership team, and advancing racial equity.
• Builds and maintains relationships with school system leaders and funders that inspire them to partner with CEL.
• Brings creative ideas about new revenue streams or new ways to influence the ecosystem around school leadership.
• Is eager to embrace the opportunity to expand CEL’s impact and innovation.
• Brings operational expertise in managing and supporting a remote and lean team.
• Understands the value of leading a practice-based center that is part of a large research university and College of Education.

In this role, you will

Be the Executive Leader

• Provide visionary, thoughtful, proactive and hands-on executive leadership for the organization.
• Lead with an equity lens and is passionate about advancing a culture of status, agency, and belonging for all staff and partners.
• Work with the CEL team to set goals, ensure accountability, and drive results.
• Foster a culture that honors the backgrounds and strengths of individuals and the collective power of the team.
• Build a culture of continuous improvement by developing staff professional skills and expertise.
• Manage a leadership team that leads the day-to-day operations of the organization.

Develop the Resources Needed

• Lead ongoing efforts to develop long-term fee-for-service partnerships with school systems, state departments of education, and regional and national organizations.
• Lead product and service innovation and development to broaden the reach of CEL's professional learning offerings.
• Lead and take responsibility for leveraging existing and cultivating new funder relationships.
• Develop new funding mechanisms and sources that allow for more diverse funding streams to enhance long-term organizational stability.
• Monitor the budget and financial operations to ensure maximum utilization of resources and optimum financial positioning for the organization.
• Assume responsibility for the fiscal integrity of the organization.

Serve as the External Voice for the Organization

• Represent the organization and serve as lead spokesperson.
• Engage in writing and public speaking that broadens CEL’s reputation and connects our work with ongoing national conversations about k-12 research and school leadership.
• Pay careful attention to the education landscape and build relationships across the country.
• Ensure high visibility to the public and build interest in the role of school leadership as a lever for school improvement and improved experiences for students.

Other duties as assigned

ATTRIBUTES OF A SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE

• Deep commitment to equity, a passion for CEL’s mission, and a desire to support CEL’s work in the field in service of student learning and success.
• Deeply knowledgeable about the trends and latest research in K-12 leadership and leadership for equity.
• Collaborative and engaging leader who is able to listen, learn from mistakes, and learn from others while sharing their knowledge and expertise.
• Approaches situations and issues with an open-minded and adaptable learning stance.
• Strategic thinker and communicator with the ability to translate strategy to tactical delivery and successful implementation.
• Curious, problem-solving mindset and multi-disciplinary thinker who is able to make connections across various strands of work.
• Grounded in the reality of school systems while entrepreneurial about possibilities.
• Builds relationships through influence and listening, rather than through “sales.”
• Fosters trust amongst team members, allowing for the distribution of leadership across the organization.

Location

Our office is located near the UW campus at 3903 Brooklyn Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98105. Some periodic travel is required, and the executive director must live in the Seattle area.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in education, teaching and learning, educational leadership or related field, to include a minimum of 10 years in a senior management role, ideally within an educational leadership or non-profit organization or school system.
• Experience as a school leader or central office leader in multiple K-12 settings.
• Experience leading a high-functioning, diverse organization, including managing managers and navigating change.
• Experience nurturing relationships with funders and securing grant funding.
• Strong writing and public speaking skills.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Doctorate degree in education, teaching and learning, educational leadership or related field
• Experience as a trainer or consultant providing professional development using multiple delivery methods in the K-12 environment.
• Experience in an urban school setting.
• Experience with design thinking principles and practices.
• Knowledge of the K-12 leadership professional development marketplace.
• Policy and advocacy skills.
• Experience leading the product development lifecycle of a service, from applying an idea from research to designing a service that is tested, revised, and measured in the field.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration. We encourage you to apply even if you don't meet all of the listed requirements. We value diverse experiences and perspectives and believe that skills and passion can be developed. If you're excited about this role and think you have the potential to thrive in it, we'd love to hear from you!

Applications must include:

1. A detailed letter describing how your qualifications specifically meet each of the minimum qualifications listed in this job position
2. A curriculum vitae/resume
3. A diversity statement describing your experiences with and commitment to equity and justice, and how your experience and commitment to being an equity-driven leader align with both CEL’s approach to addressing issues of equity in schools and your interest in the executive director position.
4. Names and contact information for at least three references (please do not send recommendation letters at this time, as letters will be requested for all semi-finalists).

Please submit applications electronically to Interfolio at https://apply.interfolio.com/158281. The search committee will begin reviewing applications on January 6, 2025. Appointment to commence no later than July 1, 2025.

Send queries about the position to celjobs@uw.edu.

To learn more about the University of Washington (http://www.washington.edu), the College of Education (http://education.washington.edu), and the Center for Educational Leadership (https://www.k-12leadership.org)) its mission and goals, research and outreach activities, faculty, and academic programs, please visit us on the web. University of Washington faculty engage in teaching, research and service.

University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.

A summary of benefits associated with this title/rank can be found at https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/benefits-orientation/benefit-summary-pdfs/.

The University of Washington is committed to building diversity among its faculty, librarian, staff, and student communities, and articulates that commitment in the UW Diversity Blueprint (http://www.washington.edu/diversity/diversity-blueprint).

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