Associate Director, Creating Conditions for Impact Full-time

Associate Director, Creating Conditions for Impact

This position will lead the Creating Conditions for Impact Team, which works nationally to catalyze systemic change by shaping policy, building professional networks, and driving workforce alignment across PK-12 and postsecondary systems. Reporting to the Director of Systemic Transformation, the Associate Director will be a close strategic thought partner to the Director, bringing substantial influence to team strategy and priorities for systems change across both PK-12 and postsecondary education.

Strategic Leadership

• Serve as a close strategic thought partner to the Director of Systemic Transformation, contributing substantively to the vision and strategy for the Creating Conditions for Impact Team, especially from a postsecondary systems lens, and ensuring alignment with the Dana Center's mission.
• Partner with leadership of the communications, evaluation, and development to ensure the team's policy and systems-change strategies are grounded in current research and evaluation findings as well as effectively communicating and contributing to the field.
• Lead the team in cultivating and sustaining professional networks that foster collaboration, innovation, and shared accountability across systems, especially in postsecondary education.
• Lead the design and execution of systems-change, and workforce-alignment initiatives, with particular attention to postsecondary mathematics, that remove barriers for students and connect PK-12, postsecondary, and workforce preparation systems.
• Shape strategies, drawing on deep field expertise and postsecondary mathematics and workforce alignment knowledge, that connect and strengthen collaboration between postsecondary mathematics and workforce systems, ensuring seamless transitions for learners and alignment with workforce needs.

Operational Oversight and Staff Development

• Supervise the Manager of Systems Engagement for Impact and other project staff, providing mentorship and support to foster professional growth and leadership capacity.
• Establish and refine team structures and processes that enable collaboration across teams, roles, and projects to ensure timely, high-quality, and impactful outcomes.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and with the highest standards of quality.
• Maintain a clear understanding of staff workloads and capacity, ensuring that priorities, timelines, and resource allocations are realistic, sustainable, and aligned with organizational priorities.
• Cultivate a positive team culture focused on collaboration, innovation, and shared accountability.

Partnership and Relationship Management

• Build and sustain strong relationships with national education leaders, funders, policymakers, and workforce stakeholders, with particular attention to postsecondary mathematics departments and programs.
• Cultivate relationships with leaders across K-12, postsecondary, and workforce sectors to advance systemic change and foster collaboration across these systems.
• Represent the Dana Center in high-level forums to advance systemic change efforts and expand the Center's influence.
• Collaborate with the Director of Systemic Transformation and other Center leaders to identify new opportunities for partnerships and field engagement.

Field Influence and Thought Leadership

• Advance the Center's reputation as a leader in evidence-based systemic change by guiding the development of influential content and findings, contributing to publications, and disseminating its work at conferences and forums.
• Shape the Center's approach to systemic change by advancing policies and practices that foster scalability and long-term impact, informed by the evidence base developed by the Evidence, Impact, and Learning team.
• Shape the national conversation on systemic alignment by advancing innovative strategies and solutions that connect PK-12, postsecondary, and workforce preparation systems, with particular expertise in mathematics, statistics, and data science.

Resource Development and Sustainability

• Collaborate with the Director of Systemic Transformation and Dana Center leadership to identify funding priorities and develop evidence-based scopes of work and aligned budgets for proposals.
• Cultivate relationships with funders and stakeholders to help maintain and grow the Center's funding portfolio.
• Ensure funding proposals are aligned with the Center's strategic priorities and grounded in evidence of impact.

Required Qualifications

• Doctoral degree in Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, Mathematics Education, Statistics Education, Higher Education Leadership, Public Policy, or a related field.
• 10-12 years of experience in postsecondary education, with demonstrated expertise in postsecondary mathematics, statistics, data science, policy development, systems change, or workforce alignment.
• 5 years of leadership experience in a postsecondary setting (e.g., Department Chair, Principal Investigator, Program Leader, Dean, Associate Dean, Provost, etc.) with a specific focus in mathematics, statistics, or data science.
• Demonstrated experience in postsecondary mathematics — (e.g., teaching, program leadership, curriculum or pathway reform, or leadership with systemic change work within postsecondary mathematics departments or programs).
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically and creatively, balance multiple priorities, work collaboratively across teams, and work well under pressure.
• Demonstrated experience supervising developing staff and managing complex projects.
• Strong organizational and communication skills, written and verbal.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with national organizations and experts, policymakers, and facilitating professional networks to advance policies and practices that drive systemic change and scalability.
• Demonstrated ability to work across systems, including PK-12, postsecondary, and workforce preparation, to foster alignment and collaboration.
• K-12 leadership experience, or experience building partnerships between K-12 and postsecondary systems, that supports cross-system alignment.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively use data, research, and evidence to inform policy and practice.
• Demonstrated ability to build partnerships and lead systemic change efforts in education.
• Experience advancing postsecondary mathematics policies and practices that directly connect to workforce readiness and postsecondary success.
• Experience partnering with evaluation or research teams to use evidence to demonstrate impact and inform strategy.
• Proven success in securing funding and managing relationships with funders.

Salary Range

• $115,000 – $130,000

Working Conditions

• Remote work possible
• Travel will be required
• May work around standard office conditions
• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation
• Use of manual dexterity

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest