Director, Design & Strategy

This is a full-time position located from a remote office anywhere in the country with a requirement of up to 40% national travel in accordance with public health guidelines.

What You’ll Do

As the Director of Program Design & Strategy Program Services, you will independently lead and champion the strategic direction, design, and continuous improvement  of our organization's core service delivery model and accompanying tools, training, and resources. This pivotal role demands a visionary leader with a proven track record of driving significant, organization-wide change initiatives, and designing impactful, aligned, and scalable resources.  You will be instrumental in ensuring our service offerings are not only innovative and effective but also deeply aligned with overarching organizational goals and the strategic impact of our CSR initiatives.

A key focus of this role will be leading the scaling and successful implementation of our updated core service model starting in the 2026-2027 academic year. You will provide critical strategic guidance and hands-on support during this vital period of organizational transition and growth.

The ideal candidate will possess an extensive background in program and learning design, advanced continuous improvement methodologies, and strategic planning, coupled with a profound passion for driving impactful and sustainable change in service delivery. You will operate with a high degree of autonomy, engaging in a continuous learning and improvement cycle throughout the year to strategically pilot designs and experiences, rigorously measure internal and external impact, and iterate/improve designs based on comprehensive key learnings. You will also serve as a lead learner and exemplary model of facilitation and adult learning best practices, significantly influencing and supporting delivery team members through advanced coaching and professional learning experiences, ultimately building influence across all levels of the organization.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Service Line Design & Leadership: Support, and at times independently lead the comprehensive redesign and ongoing strategic evolution of our core service model, ensuring it proactively anticipates and meets the evolving needs of our partners and delivery team members, with a particular focus on integrating and advancing our organizational CSR objectives.
• Core Service Redesign Scaling & Implementation: Drive the successful scaling and implementation of our updated core service model (the "core service redesign") starting in the year 2025-2026 to prepare for scaling in 2026-2027. This includes developing comprehensive implementation plans, managing pilot phases, and ensuring smooth transition and adoption across the organization.
• Organizational Change Management & CSR Initiative Leadership: Spearhead organization-wide change management initiatives related to service delivery enhancements, particularly those tied to our Core Service Redesign (CSR) programs. Develop and execute communication strategies, stakeholder engagement plans, and align professional development to ensure successful adoption and sustained impact across the organization with a focus on the Associate Project Director role and impact. 
• Advanced Tool & Resource Development: Drive the independent development of sophisticated tools, resources, and deliverables that significantly enhance service delivery efficiency and effectiveness, leveraging cutting-edge best practices and highly innovative solutions that scale across the organization.
• Continuous Improvement & Innovation: Champion and implement robust continuous improvement methodologies across the entire service model and design processes, fostering a pervasive culture of innovation, excellence, and agility.
• Strategic Feedback & Data Analysis: Design and implement comprehensive feedback collection and advanced analytical frameworks from diverse stakeholders and data sources to strategically inform program services and materials design, ensuring alignment with organizational learning objectives and strategic impact. Lead and make decisions regarding measurement plans and learning summits, with support and guidance from the manager.   Gather learning and insights on the capabilities, challenges, successes, and learning needs of the Associate Project Director role to inform scaling and future support of the role. 
• Data-Driven Strategic Impact Measurement: Independently analyze and interpret complex data from multiple sources to quantitatively measure the direct impact of program design changes, identify critical areas for strategic improvement, and inform future decision-making, particularly concerning CSR impact.
• Senior Coaching & Organizational Support: Provide high-level coaching, mentorship, and strategic support to delivery team members (focusing on coaching of the Associate Project Directors), fostering their advanced professional growth and ensuring deep alignment with overarching program design and organizational goals. 
• Cross-Functional & Inter-Departmental Influence: Cultivate and lead strategic collaboration with cross-functional teams and other departments, serving as a lead designer and influential thought partner across the Program Design and Support Team (PDST) and beyond, to ensure seamless alignment, integration of efforts, and shared organizational success.
• High-Level Strategic Planning & Direction: Play a critical role in the strategic planning processes by providing deep insights, informed recommendations, and clear strategic direction based on extensive program design and service delivery outcomes, directly contributing to the organization's long-term vision.
• Building Organizational Influence & Partnerships: Proactively build and nurture strong, influential relationships across the internal matrix, with senior leadership, and with external partners, effectively championing our service delivery model and CSR initiatives to foster buy-in and collaborative success.
• Independent Research & Thought Leadership: Independently conduct ongoing, in-depth research into emerging best practices across the field (both academic and action-based) and translate complex learnings into actionable, innovative designs that position the organization as a leader in service delivery and CSR.

• Demonstrated commitment to excellence in instruction and equitable outcomes for all students.
• At least 5+ years of progressive experience in program design, learning design, or a related field, with a significant portion dedicated to leading strategic initiatives.
• Minimum of 3+ years of leadership experience specifically leading change management initiatives at an organizational or multi-departmental level, particularly related to the successful implementation of strategic programs or initiatives (e.g., CSR or large-scale service model rollouts).
• Proven track record of independently leading effective user-centered tool and resource design and delivery for diverse, complex stakeholder groups.
• Exceptional detail orientation, organizational skills, and a strong sense of follow-through, even on highly complex projects.
• Superior oral and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and persuasively to diverse audiences, including senior leadership.
• Highly comfortable navigating ambiguity and independently leading sophisticated continuous improvement cycles.

• Deep and demonstrated internalization of the science of adult learning and a mastery of how effective adult learning is designed, delivered, and evaluated at scale.
• Extensive experience independently leading complex design projects with multiple, often competing, stakeholders in areas with ambiguous or undefined solutions.
• Exceptional ability to build and leverage positive relationships across lines of difference with team members and senior stakeholders, adeptly navigating complex situations and driving collaborative solutions.
• Proven ability to independently contribute to and manage a diverse portfolio of strategic projects across various teams, utilizing robust internal project management systems.
• A profound passion for continuous learning and an innate drive to stay at the forefront of emerging best practices across the field, translating cutting-edge knowledge into actionable strategies.
• Comprehensive understanding of researched best-practices aligned to school leadership and systemic educational improvement.
• Demonstrated expert ability to strategically manage organizational change and champion new work across a wide variety of stakeholders, consistently building influence and buy-in.

• Occasional travel to schools and systems in multiple states, as well as travel twice a year for team and org-wide retreats.
• Travel often includes early morning departures and/or overnight stays and is estimated to be 30%.
• A flexible schedule Monday through Friday is required. Instruction Partners covers all travel expenses.