Director, Career Ladders

Director, Career Ladders

100% Remote within California, Must reside in California  

Career Ladders Project (CLP) promotes equity-minded community college redesign. We collaborate with colleges and their partners to discover, develop, and disseminate effective practices. Our policy work, research, and direct efforts with colleges lead to system change—and enable more students to attain certificates, degrees, transfers, and career advancement.

CLP is seeking a Director to lead our initiatives and projects focused on college and career pathway development, sector partnerships, and secondary and postsecondary education reform strategies. This position will report to the CLP Chief Program Officer. This is a full-time, exempt position requiring travel within California.

The physical CLP office is located in Oakland, CA, and there are employees who live outside the Bay Area and telecommute. The Director would preferably reside in the Los Angeles or San Diego metro areas. CLP has projects throughout the state, including the Central Valley, the greater Los Angeles area, the Inland Empire, San Diego, the Central and North Coasts, and the Bay Area.

About CLP

CLP provides assistance to a range of community college-centered programs, including the Dual Enrollment for Equitable Completion project. CLP works closely with policymakers and state agencies, including the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and the California Department of Education, to make evidence-based, practitioner-informed recommendations to achieve equitable student outcomes. CLP works with colleges and their education and community partners to transform educational structures, policies and practices to eliminate equity gaps and improve postsecondary credential attainment. CLP also works in partnership with a wide array of organizations in the educational reform space, including the Puente Project, Umoja Community, COLEGAS, EdTrust-West, JustEquations, the Research and Planning Group, the Linked Learning Alliance, and the California EDGE Coalition. Initially established by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, CLP operates under the fiscal sponsorship of the Foundation for California Community Colleges, the non-profit auxiliary for the California Community Colleges. More information is available at www.careerladdersproject.org.

Essential Job Responsibilities

The Director will lead capacity-building/technical assistance to organizational partners, including high schools, colleges, intermediaries, and others. The Director will also design and facilitate professional development and communities of practice, and will research and document promising practices. The Director will lead and manage CLP projects and serve on multiple CLP cross-functional project teams. The Director will serve as a resource and share expertise across various CLP initiatives. Primary responsibilities include:

Initiatives and Program Core Work

• Lead CLP projects and coordinate with the CLP team. Manage teams of staff and consultants to deliver outcomes as specified in contracts and grants.
• Coordinate, facilitate, and document the work of diverse groups to improve student educational success and career attainment; groups may include representatives from intermediaries, high schools/districts, colleges, community-based organizations, workforce development organizations, and others.
• Work with intermediaries, high schools, colleges, and other organizations to foster dialogue, build networks, identify and address professional development/technical assistance needs, and support communities of practice focused on equitable student success strategies, including pathway design, integrated student supports, work-based learning, and dual enrollment.
• Support high schools, colleges, and their partners in the integration of initiatives, funding streams, and structures to design and implement high-quality college and career pathways toward the goal of eliminating gaps in postsecondary outcomes by race, gender, and income.
• Seek or develop new programs or project initiatives that advance CLP’s work.
• Synthesize and/or conduct research on questions that inform student success and equity in college and career; work collaboratively with senior leadership and staff to use this learning to inform and enrich CLP approaches and initiatives.
• Design and deliver high-quality capacity-building professional development sessions and convenings. Give presentations and facilitate interactive breakouts at conferences, dev