Director, Career Ladders Project

Functional Title: Director

CalPERS title: Director

Department: Career Ladders Project

Reports To: Senior Director, Career Ladders Project

FLSA Status: Full-time, Exempt (Salary)

Primary Work Location: Remote within CA; frequent travel to Oakland, CA.

Last Updated: August 23, 2022

Flex Option: Some

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 postsecondary education reform strategies. This position will report to a CLP Senior Director. This is a full-time, exempt position requiring travel within California when public health conditions allow.

The physical CLP office is located in Oakland, CA and there are a few employees who live in southern California and telecommute. The Director could be based permanently outside the Bay Area. CLP has projects throughout the state, including the Central Valley, the greater Los Angeles area, the Inland Empire, and the Bay Area.

Temporary work conditions due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Currently, CLP staff are primarily working remotely. If staff are requested to travel for in-person meetings or other events, then this will be handled on a case by case basis depending on local public health conditions and other factors.

About CLP

CLP provides assistance to a range of community college-centered programs including the Dual Enrollment for Equitable Completion project, the CCC Guided Pathways, and others. CLP works closely with policy makers and state agencies, including the CCC Chancellor’s Office as well as the California Department of Education, to make evidence-based, practitioner informed recommendations to attain 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. Originally 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 Duties And Responsibilities

The Director will lead capacity building/technical assistance to colleges and other educational partners, design and facilitate professional development, and research and document promising practices. The Director will develop, lead, and manage CLP projects, and also serve on a number of 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

• Synthesize and/or conduct research into questions informing student success and equity in community colleges and aligned educational areas; work collaboratively with senior leadership and staff to use this learning to inform and enrich CLP approaches and initiatives.
• Support colleges and their partners in integration of initiatives, funding streams and structures in order to improve college systems, instruction, and support services, focusing on eliminating gaps in postsecondary outcomes by race, gender and income.
• Document promising practices and program challenges in concert with CLP leadership, team and initiative partners. Distill or develop recommendations for systemic changes to support college transformation efforts.
• Design and deliver high-quality capacity-building professional development sessions and college convenings. Give presentations and facilitate interactive breakouts at conferences, develop and deliver effective webinars or virtual workshops.
• Develop briefs, reports, and tools for community college practitioners on effective practices related to key program areas including: effective practices to improve equitable post-secondary transition, success and completion; integration of student support services with instruction; integration of general and technical education; development and redesign of effective K-16 college and career pathways; student-centered reforms, college transformation and guided pathways; cross-sector collaboration and partnership development; anti-racist and equity-minded college practices and reforms.
• Lead CLP projects and coordinate with the CLP team. Manage teams of staff and consultants to deliver outcomes as specified in contracts and grants.
• Continue to build professional knowledge of the fields of postsecondary reform; college and career transition and success strategies; race-conscious approaches to transforming college policies, practices and structures; transformation strategies such as design thinking, human-centered design, and liberatory design.
• Provide vision and creativity to develop new initiatives that improve postsecondary student outcomes, working collaboratively with CLP leadership. Seek or develop new program or project initiatives that advance CLP’s work.
• Support college and career pathways development and redesign; advise on college redesign and guided pathways; develop cross-sector partnerships; and work with colleges to design and implement post-secondary education transformation strategies.
• Design and facilitate communities of practice, inquiry groups, virtual networks and/or other collective learning opportunities.
• Support guided pathways inquiry, design, and implementation.
• Represent CLP in meetings, conferences, and other events. Manage competing interests effectively, promote cooperation, and address conflicts diplomatically.

Organizational Leadership and Responsibility

• Assist in developing new initiatives and partnerships.
• Recruit other peer and content experts to assist in initiatives, projects, and programmatic work, as required.
• Form teams to deliver outcomes as specified in contracts and grants.
• Other assignments as required.
• Work collaboratively with the CLP leadership team to support organizational development and contribute to ongoing improvement.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Oversee consulting and professional services contractors. These may include peer experts, senior consultants, writers, meeting planners, and others engaged in contracted services. Responsible for identifying and recruiting as well as negotiating scope of work and deploying consultants in the field to ensure organizational needs and deliverables are met.
• Supervise staff. Be responsible to recruit, orient, and provide direction, evaluation, and professional development for all supervised staff within the policies and practices of the Foundation and CLP. Note: At the time of hiring this position has no direct reports or staff supervision responsibilities, but may be called on to supervise staff in the future.

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

The following qualifications are required:

• Familiarity with secondary, postsecondary, and/or adult education systems.
• Passion for student educational achievement and career advancement.
• Experience managing and leading complex and diverse projects.
• Strong interpersonal skills including an ability to cultivate relationships with community colleges, government agencies, and community organizations.
• Demonstrated success in working with and serving diverse populations; promoting systemic equity and a culture of community, diversity and inclusion; promoting culturally affirming, race and gender forward strategies; and providing leadership in supporting students, faculty and staff in addressing issues of equity that impact student learning.
• Experience in providing leadership and supervision for employees or a team.
• Familiarity with higher education reforms and supporting research.
• Excellent verbal and public presentation skills.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Excellent writing skills and experience writing briefs, reports, or proposals.
• General computer literacy and familiarity with common office and presentation software programs.
• Commitment to racial, gender and social justice and economic mobility for Californians.
• Knowledge of key initiatives, policy issues and funding streams impacting the California community colleges.
• Knowledge of effective practices related to higher education and equity—especially with respect to improving student transition, success, and completion for racially-minoritized and low-income students; proactive, intensive, and integrated support services and counseling; institutional transformation, guided pathways, and integrated approaches to reform; development and redesign of K-16 pathways; use of data and evidence to inform change.
• Successful faculty and/or administrative experience at a community college.
• Excellent meeting facilitation skills.
• Experience leading and administering large and comprehensive grants or programs related to improving design and delivery of college programs or services.

The Following Qualifications Are Highly Desirable

• Advanced degree (master’s or doctorate), or equivalent in relevant field from accredited university.
• State-level policy knowledge, leadership experience via state committee work, professional associations, task forces or other related venues.
• Experience with developing and providing professional development activities or programs, or with providing technical assistance and capacity-building supports in a postsecondary context.
• Experience with college governance, department or division leadership, committee work or other relevant college leadership or administrative responsibilities.
• Experience in garnering and managing large-scale and multiple funding sources including foundation, state, or national grants simultaneously and within funder guidelines and regulations.

Working Hours, Location, and Travel

This is a full-time position, 40 hours per week, with additional hours as needed to address the organization’s needs. This is a California-based position, with the flexibility to work remotely (in California) or in person at our Sacramento office. This position may require moderate travel to attend meetings, conferences, and perform other essential functions of the job.

Physical Requirements

The Foundation may make reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the job’s essential functions/physical requirements. The following physical requirements are essential to the performance of this position:

• Must be able to remain in stationary position up to 4 hours at a time and 8 hours total in a day.
• Ability to perform repetitive movements (e.g., typing and filing) and operate and use common office equipment (e.g., copy machine, printer, telephone).
• Ability to move or transport office items (e.g. work supplies, laptop, files) up to a maximum of 20 pounds.
• Well-lighted, heated, and air-conditioned indoor office setting with adequate ventilation.
• The person in this position frequently communicates with internal office staff and/or external third parties who have inquiries about their job tasks. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations.
• Ability to constantly work at a computer workstation for up to five consecutive days.
• Ability to frequently move and/or remain in a stationary position without breaks during meetings.
• Ability to frequently move and/or remain in a stationary position without breaks at meetings and program site visits.
• Frequent overnight travel by land and air may be required, subject to public health directives.
• Ability to operate personal vehicle for Foundation business and possess current valid California driver’s license or utilize an alternative mode of transportation (e.g. ride share) to carry out Foundation business.
• Ability to constantly operate a computer.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Foundation for California Community Colleges is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities (EEO) are available to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, genetic characteristics, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital/parental status, political affiliation, religion, age, disability, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or veteran status. In addition to federal law requirements, The Foundation for California Community Colleges complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment.

As the official nonprofit auxiliary to the Chancellor's Office, the Foundation aims to ensure its teams reflect the diversity of the California Community Colleges and the 1.8 million students, campuses, and communities it serves. Individuals are hired for their deep understanding of each population’s unique needs and will join a collaborative environment where each team member plays an important role in helping Californians across all communities improve their social and economic mobility and build a better future for themselves and their families.

Budgeted Annual Salary Pay Range

$110,000 - $140,000

Final salary and rates are based on education, experience, skills relevant to the role, and internal equity.