Who We Are

You are reading this job description because somebody taught you how. You became somebody as a result. At Lit, we are building a world where everyone gets to be somebody.

Our mission is simple and ambitious: every kid, everywhere, is a reader.

The science of reading confirms it is possible. Possibility becomes reality when everyone responsible for teaching kids to read, from the superintendent setting the vision to the principal walking classrooms to the teacher delivering instruction every day, works from the same research-aligned playbook with the structures to sustain it long after any one program or partner is gone. That is what Lit builds: self-sustaining reading ecosystems that ensure every kid, everywhere, is a reader.

We partner with K–12 school systems to create reading ecosystems grounded in research and designed to live at the intersection of science and instructional equity. Our focus is intentional: we work with systems that serve students most often pushed to the margins — children of color and those from underserved communities — because they deserve nothing less than excellence.

To date, our work has impacted more than 80,000 students and 6,000 educators across 50 school systems in 23 states.

In 2025, we expanded into educational technology with Bloom, our first K–2 reading product. Bloom allows us to extend Lit’s system-level work into daily classroom practice so that more students experience strong foundational reading instruction every single day.

Find out more at wearelit.org.

If you believe every kid, everywhere, is a reader, we hope you will join us.

What You Will Do

Reporting to the Chief Program Officer (CPO) and working closely with our Managing Partners on the program team, the Senior Director of Business Development (SDBD) executes Lit’s business development strategy and drives Lit’s relationship-centered sales cycles with education systems and local philanthropic partners. Lit’s engagements often unfold over multiple months or years and require thoughtful cultivation of relationships, clear articulation of outcomes and expectations, and disciplined qualification of opportunities. This role sits at the intersection of strategy, storytelling, and execution.

The SDBD will: cultivate the two relationships most critical to Lit’s financial sustainability, school districts and local philanthropy; bring Lit’s story to life to open doors that allow our program team to do their best work with school and system leaders; partner with the CPO and CEO to implement Lit’s revenue strategy; and build the pipeline, turn prospects into partners, and ensure Lit has the resources it needs to reach every kid, everywhere.

Our ideal candidate is a collaborative and service-oriented sales leader who has navigated the full district sales cycle from cold outreach to signed contract, supplemented earned revenue with local philanthropic funding, and built a pipeline from the ground up in a growing organization.

Key Responsibilities

Drive School District Sales and Local Philanthropic Relationships

• Lead outreach and discovery with school district prospects
• Work closely with Managing Partners to design scopes of work and respond to RFPs that meet district needs while advancing Lit’s model and outcomes
• Move the sales process from first contact through signed contract with the support and involvement of the Managing Partners
• Tell Lit's story compellingly and authentically: in discovery calls, presentations, proposals, and donor conversations, bring the data, the heart, and the 'so what' together in a way that moves school system leaders and local funders to act
• Cultivate relationships with local philanthropic funders to support and supplement Lit's engagements with school districts
• Prepare the CEO for major philanthropic asks by developing materials and providing district and market context, so Lit puts its best foot forward on the largest opportunities
• Partner with Managing Partners on renewals, ensuring alignment between contracted engagements and on-the-ground program delivery
• Craft proposals and shepherd negotiations using Lit’s pricing models to ensure both fiscal sustainability and partner satisfaction, coordinating contract signing with Array Education

Execute Lit’s Business Development Strategy

• Implement outreach plans and a clear client journey for school district and local philanthropic prospects, translating the CPO and CEO’s direction into concrete action
• Segment and prioritize Lit’s prospect lists, identifying the school districts and local funders most likely to become long-term partners
• Qualify opportunities to ensure time and resources focus on eng