Director of Implementation, Design, and Coaching - ELA

About the role

Leading Educators is seeking a Director of Implementation, Design, and Coaching – ELA to serve as the strategic lead driving instructional transformation across seven schools in the San Mateo-Foster City and Ravenswood City School Districts. In this role, you'll own the full lifecycle of ELA implementation—from launch through measurable impact—while building the capacity of school and district leaders to sustain excellence in literacy instruction. This is a hybrid leadership position that demands equal expertise in instructional coaching, professional learning design, and strategic client partnership.

You'll work shoulder-to-shoulder with teachers, instructional leaders, and district teams to translate complex literacy science into coherent, executable practice that reaches every student. You'll navigate competing priorities, surface implementation risks before they derail progress, and make real-time adjustments that keep projects on track while maintaining fidelity to high-quality instruction. Your ability to translate data into actionable insights—and to communicate those insights clearly to diverse stakeholders—will directly influence how thousands of students experience literacy instruction.

You'll design and facilitate job-embedded professional learning cycles that stick, conduct learning walks that reveal truth, and debrief with precision so that leaders see exactly what's working and what needs attention. Beyond execution, you'll be a thought partner to district leadership, surfacing opportunities and risks that emerge from school-level implementation and contributing to strategic decisions that shape the partnership. Whether you're coaching a principal through a difficult feedback conversation, designing a professional learning session that shifts teacher practice, or analyzing student work data to refine instructional strategy, you'll bring both rigor and humanity to every interaction.

Responsibilities

• Lead instructional improvement initiatives and design adult professional learning that translates to changes in classroom practice.
• Apply expertise in K–8 literacy instruction, high-quality instructional materials (including Benchmark, CKLA, and MyPerspectives), and the Science of Reading to foundational skills, language development, and reading comprehension.
• Utilize knowledge of the California English Language Development (CA ELD) Standards and evidence-based practices for both Integrated and Designated ELD instruction.
• Manage complex, multi-school implementation efforts at the district or school level, establishing systems to track progress, identify risks, and drive measurable outcomes.
• Build trust-based relationships with school and district leaders while maintaining high standards for instructional quality and measurable impact.
• Translate strategy into actionable project plans with clear milestones, managing execution with precision and adaptability.
• Analyze qualitative and quantitative data to uncover trends, root causes, and priority actions, then lead structured conversations to help leaders act on insights.
• Develop the capacity of others through direct coaching, facilitation, or team leadership.
• Serve as a primary client or partner relationship owner, managing expectations and maintaining accountability for outcomes.
• Manage and develop staff or team members, ensuring the quality of their execution.

Requirements

• Minimum of 8 years of professional experience in education, instructional leadership, curriculum implementation, or district-level instructional support.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex implementation efforts across multiple schools or at the district level.
• Proven track record designing high-quality professional learning aligned to standards and measurable instructional outcomes.
• Direct experience providing coaching to school or district leaders and translating that coaching into observable changes in practice.
• Experience serving as a primary client or partner relationship owner within a district or multi-school context.
• Experience managing and developing staff or team members, with clear responsibility for the quality of their execution.
• Practitioner-level competency with artificial intelligence tools and a willingness to leverage them for efficiency and insight.
• Ability to travel regularly to school sites (typically weekly) within the San Mateo-Foster City and Ravenswood City School Districts, with occasional national travel for organizational events and professional development.

Travel Requirements

This role requires regular travel to schools within the Northern California Area:

• San Francisco
• South San Francisco
• Oakland (ideal location)
• San Mateo
• East Palo Alto
• Richmond
• Albany
• Newark, CA
• San Leandro
• Berkeley
• Walnut Creek
• San Jose
• San Rafael

National travel is required for organizational retreats, program delivery, job-related meetings and events, and professional development opportunities. Outside of the above mentioned travel, this person will work from a home office that must be located in or near the approved cities above.

Benefits

• Compensation: Base salary range is $103,649 to $140,231 per year. Most new hires enter the range at $121,940 based on meeting the minimum requirement of 8 years of relevant experience. Candidates with more than 8 years of directly relevant experience may receive a higher starting salary, up to a maximum of $129,779. This role will receive a geographic multiplier based on residence in California.
• Health Benefits: 100% paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for individual employees. Additional premium costs are covered 60% by Leading Educators for partners and dependents on medical, dental, and vision plans.
• Retirement: 4% matching 401k plan.
• Additional Benefits: Flexible Spending Accounts for medical, childcare, and commuter expenses, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Benefits are valued at or above $9,000 for employees.
• Time Off: Full-time staff accrue 22 days a year for the first three years of employment. Five additional days are accrued after the third and sixth year of employment. Leading Educators also offers 16 additional paid days off for various holidays, including three floating holidays staff may use at their discretion.

Mission & Values

Mission: Leading Educators partners with school systems to sustain the teaching, leadership, and conditions for every student to succeed in school and in life.

• Build on strengths: We affirm and begin with the unique and collective talents, experiences, and wisdom of ourselves and others.
• Continuously learn: We develop ourselves and others. We apply new learning and deepened self-awareness to our relationships and practices.
• Prioritize people: We build trust and reflect on the impact of different perspectives and experiences.
• Champion success for all: We re-imagine structures, habits, and mindsets to ensure every learner has access to evidence-based learning opportunities.