Executive Director, Teaching and Learning

Job Overview

Reporting to the Chief Program and Network Officer, the Executive Director of Teaching and Learning (EDTL) is responsible for overseeing and advancing the strategic vision and direction for ATD’s framework to support network colleges and the field build capacity to center a culture of teaching and learning excellence in their transformation work to improve equitable student success. The EDTL leads the creation, implementation, and scaling of a comprehensive suite of teaching and learning services and the strategic matching of these services to the college journey. The EDTL is the lead subject matter expert and thought leader on pedagogy, curriculum, instruction, and professional learning in higher education. This position develops the short and long-term vision and goals as well as supervises the Teaching and Learning team and works collaboratively with the Chief Program and Network Officer to establish a culture of high expectation and shared responsibility for equitable access to high quality and culturally relevant instruction. The EDTL works to create authentic partnerships with academic leaders, funders, and other teaching and learning thought leaders to advance ATD’s standing as teaching and learning experts. This position elevates ATD’s learnings regarding effective pedagogical and structural practices in a variety of national venues, leads Teaching and Learning grants, and generates opportunities for related fee-for-service activities. The EDTL represents the organization at learning events, conferences, partner workgroups, and other external facing engagements.

This position includes budgetary and supervisory responsibility for consultants and staff and shares responsibility with the program team and the marketing team in curating learning to advance thought leadership in the field. This position works collaboratively with cross-organizational and external stakeholders in support of teaching and learning business development strategies.

Duties and Responsibilities

Teaching and Learning Program Leadership & Innovation (30%)

• In collaboration with the Chief Program and Network Officer, lead the strategic direction for teaching and learning innovation, programming and service delivery aligned with organizational goals.
• Lead and assess the development and execution of the Teaching and Learning portfolio including professional learning for faculty, culturally responsive teaching, equity-centered instruction, open educational resources, open pedagogy, AI in teaching and learning, and digital learning resources and services.
• Lead and foster a culture of scholarly inquiry into teaching and learning high impact practices.
• In collaboration with senior leadership, steward and cultivate relationships with grant funders and other key partners to advance ATD’s mission and goals.
• Oversee curriculum development, implementation, and assessment of equity-centered teaching and learning initiatives.

Thought Leadership and Content Development (20%)

• Execute and lead the strategy to develop field-facing resources such as toolkits, white papers, case studies, and formal presentations that inform the field on high-impact practices for teaching and learning excellence.
• Lead the design and delivery of ATD Teaching and Learning events and convenings and provide expertise for peer learning events.
• Lead the curation of content, tools, and resources for ATD’s Strategy Hub.
• Collaborate with the research and assessment team and marketing and communication teams to identify compelling narratives, promising practices, and lessons for the field.

Coaching and Service Delivery (20%)

• Provide subject matter expertise in teaching and learning through coaching.
• Serve as college relationship manager to support colleges in aligning services to their current needs.
• Collaborate with coaching team in implementing coaching strategies leading to improved student learning outcomes.

Management, Supervision, Operations and Administration (20%)

• Ensure that team budgets, grants, and contracts are effectively managed, meeting deadlines and deliverables on time and within budget.
• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for staff responsible for the development and delivery of programs, projects, and support services.
• Oversee assigned grant and project budgets and resources to ensure compliance and strategic use of resources.
• Supervise, provide training and coaching, and define responsibilities, priorities, and goals for all direct reports.

Business Development (10%)

• Work with organizational leadership to identify and pursue potential funding and partnership opportunities that support teaching and learning program development.
• Contribute to the development of grant proposals and grant budgets.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Expert written and oral communication and presentation skills; ability to communicate effectively with various audiences including technical, professional, and executive.
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks, details, and competing priorities.
• Proven ability and success in teaching and learning innovation and strategy development, execution, and scaling and leading team operations.

Qualifications/Experience

• Master’s degree required with 6+ years related experience in teaching and learning leadership and supervision.
• Demonstrated success in program, budget, and grant management.

• Post-secondary teaching experience.
• Demonstrated project management experience. Doctoral degree in academic discipline, higher education, or related field preferred.
• Senior-level experience in higher education leadership and/or regional/national student success movements preferred.
• Nonprofit leadership experience preferred.
• Community college faculty, staff or administrator experience leading teaching and learning teams, projects and/or programs preferred.

Core Competencies

Collaboration: Demonstrates respect, humility, and willingness to collaborate when seeking to understand others and making decisions.

Equity Mindset: Demonstrates capacity to recognize and address racialized structures, policies, and practices, that produce and sustain racial inequities.

Learning Orientation: Embraces challenges, new ideas and different perspectives as an opportunity to learn; continually seeks out and applies new learning to activate change or improvements.

Systems Thinking: Defines the system and one’s role in the system. Sees relationships and the dynamic elements of the holistic system and executes work accordingly. Influences the system and maps connections to ATD’s external landscape.

Physical Demands: 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus. Travel between sites via driving, flying or another method is also required.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion 

Achieving the Dream believes that diversity, equity and inclusion is critical to its work and its mission.  ATD takes meaningful steps to promote inclusion in its hiring, retention, promotion, and board recruitment, and supports equity work at the community colleges it serves. 

Equal Opportunity Employer 

Achieving the Dream is committed to creating and maintaining a diverse work environment. Employment policies and decisions are based upon merit, qualifications, performance, and business needs.  All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth), gender identity or expression, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, legally- protected genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.