About Leadership for Educational Equity

Leadership for Educational Equity is a nonprofit leadership development organization inspiring and supporting a network of civic leaders to eradicate the injustice of educational inequity.

Through one-on-one coaching, fellowships, workshops, and resources, LEE works to develop and inspire its members individually and collectively, across all disciplines – as policy makers, advocates, elected leaders and community organizers. LEE membership is free and currently open to all Teach For America corps members and alumni. LEE believes that when a diverse group of leaders, grounded in a commitment to equity, are in leadership roles, they will serve as a transformative force for and with students and communities.

LEE is a diverse team of passionate and talented individuals committed to making a difference. We are a high-growth, results-oriented organization that operates in an entrepreneurial environment deeply invested in continuous improvement. LEE is honored to have been selected as a LATINA Style 50 Award recipient and a “When Work Works” award recipient. We are also an Employer of National Service.

If you would like to become part of our team and join the fight for educational equity, or if you would simply like to learn more, please visit educationalequity.org. 

Position Summary:

Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE)  is seeking a senior leader to serve as Director of Impact in the Massachusetts region. The Director should bring knowledge of the regional political landscape, a deep network of relationships with influential leaders in the local policy and advocacy arena, and the energy and enthusiasm to grow and organize our base of members in the region through engagement in the LEE collective action network.

Directors bring an entrepreneurial spirit to drive our local impact in regions across the country by: (1) actively building a base of civically engaged members and (2) helping our members develop into and assume senior leadership roles in policy, in advocacy and as elected official  and (3) developing the organizing skills of our members leading local community organizing efforts. Directors collaborate with our national expert teams at LEE in Elected Leadership, Policy and Advocacy, and Organizing Leadership to bring national gold-standard support in these areas; they partner with our LEE Leadership Development and Design team to develop best-in-class programming in support of the developmental needs and interests of our members; and they work with our partner organizations - i.e. Teach For America - to advance the regional vision and maximize our impact on the ground. The Director serves as the face of LEE and the primary point of contact for members in their region.  

The Director in Massachusetts will lead a team of 2 in the region - (1) a Director of Program and Organizing, who takes the lead on local community organizing efforts and strategy, and (2) a Manager of Impact who supports the region programmatically, with an emphasis on recruiting and coaching candidates seeking elected roles. The Director will be responsible for reallocating time, effort and priorities of direct reports to ensure effective strategy in meeting regionwide goals.

LEE is looking for a strategic leader with strong relationship building skills, a history of collective action success, a thorough understanding of and relationships within the political and education policy landscape of Massachusetts with particular focus on Boston/Greater Boston, the skills to support a LEE member led community organizing effort in the region, and the ability to inspire and recruit members to run for office. As LEE’s digital engagement initiatives grow, the Director will be tasked with managing members’ journeys through blended learning - digital and in-person engagement and action. The Director will be charged with building a movement that leverages the collective strengths of our members to achieve educational equity for all children in the Massachusetts region. This position will report to a Senior Director of Impact.

Position Location: Boston/Greater Boston with support to/engagement with members living across Massachusetts

Travel Requirements: 10% minimum outside the region (for team events and national programming; this could increase at times based on interest/onboarding needs); frequent travel throughout the region
NOTE: All travel is pending due to current restrictions on in-person engagement due to COVID-19.

Responsibilities:

Connect Members to Resources & Supports (25%)

• Develop deep knowledge of resources and supports offered by all teams at LEE (including, but not limited to virtual forums, career coaching, virtual content, etc.), and ensure team members have developed similar knowledge
• Conduct 1:1 meetings with members regularly to understand their vision for impact, align with their leadership trajectory, and connect them with supports accordingly, and support team members in strategic execution of meetings
• Develop (in conjunction with our National Impact team) and facilitate regional trainings and events that support member learning or, support team members in developing and facilitating
• Develop and execute a communications strategy (email and social), that aligns with National strategy and with support of a Manager of Communications on the RI team, to inspire members to connect, to use LEE resources, and/or to attend programming

Elected Leadership (EL) Coaching (20%)

• Manage the Manager, Regional Impact in region to achieving successful outcomes in candidate recruitment and coaching
• Develop thorough knowledge of electoral opportunities across the state
• Inspire and agitate members to run for elected leadership positions
• Coach members using LEE’s robust coaching program (including virtual content) and supporting them to file for candidacy
• Track outreach, engagement and recruitment efforts via Salesforce and other tools

Support Collective Action Workstreams (15%)

• Directly manage and provide guidance and support to Director Program and Organizing to execute on key responsibilities, including:
  
  • Recruit Organizing Alliance Leadership Team (OALT) members and engage with them to move them from idea to action - coach, leverage LEE supports, connect across network, and nudge to action
  • Lead turnout efforts for and with the OALT; agitate and build the base for collective actions and leverage national platform organizing supports to amplify OALT and member impact

Landscape Knowledge and Partners (15%)

• Deeply understand and navigate the local landscape, political relationships, and power structures in the region to support member action and impact 
• Engage partners toward development of LEE members and impact in the region, including securing organizations to host LEE fellows
• Build and steward relationships with external influencers

Team Management (15%)

• Assemble, retain and develop an effective team of 2, including supporting team members in setting a compelling vision for their work, establishing measurable, ambitious, and feasible goals that map to that vision, and tracking progress towards those goals
• Provide day to day leadership to team

Special Projects (10%)

• As assigned by team leadership, in pursuit of organization-wide and team-wide goals

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree
• 6+ years relevant  professional experience
• 2+ years organizing experience either as a volunteer or paid organizer 
• Demonstrated track record of building local networks and partnerships with a diverse community of leaders and creating change with these partners 
• Deep regional expertise and connections and ability to move influencers to achieve impact
• Baseline level of knowledge and skills in Elected Leadership, Policy and Advocacy, and Community Organizing
  
  • Politics (including candidate and/or public leadership development, campaign plan development, messaging, conducting a field campaign, coalition building and fundraising) 
  • Policy (including research and analysis, drafting legislation or policy recommendations, advising elected officials and/or other decision-makers, and working for local, state or federal government)
  • Advocacy/community organizing (including identifying, recruiting, and developing community leaders; developing and implementing civic engagement plans in target communities; issue campaign work; coalition building; and conducting targeted communications through online advocacy platforms)
• Ability to communicate and collaborate within a geographically dispersed team
• Strong, demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity & inclusion
• Deep passion for educational equity and belief in LEE’s mission and theory of change
• Has a network of community and political relationships

Preferred Qualifications:

• Graduate degree in a field related to education and/or policy (e.g., MPP, M.Ed., JD) 
• Experience coaching others and playing a role in their long-term development
• Experience managing a high-functioning entrepreneurial team 
• Experience in coaching and recruiting candidates for elected leadership
• Demonstrated experience effectively working and coaching across lines of difference
• Demonstrates experience in coalition building and organizing with communities of color

Organization Details