MENTOR National Director Of Education Partnerships

About MENTOR

Potential is equally distributed; opportunity is not. A major driver of healthy development and opportunity is who you know and who’s in your corner. 30 years ago, MENTOR was created to expand that opportunity for young people by building a youth mentoring field and movement, serving as the expert and go-to resource on quality mentoring. The result- more than 10x increase in young people in structured mentoring relationships, from hundreds of thousands to millions. Today, we activate a movement across sectors that is diverse and broad and seeps into every aspect of daily life. We are connecting and fueling opportunities for young people everywhere they are from schools to workplaces and beyond.

Commitment to Diversity

MENTOR is committed to fostering an environment of diversity and inclusion for all. We embrace our differences and celebrate our common humanity in advancing awareness of the need for a transformative power of supportive relationships for our young people. We believe that varied perspectives, experiences, and opinions are central assets in our mission to close the mentoring gap. As we seek to build the most complementary team when it comes to skill, perspective, and experience, we strongly encourage candidates from underrepresented communities to apply.

About the position:

The Director of Education Partnerships will support the advancement of MENTOR’s mission by inspiring schools and districts to grow and deepen their adoption and integration of quality youth mentoring and relationship-based interventions. The primary goal of this position is to positively influence education systems and school culture through consulting with districts and schools on the ways to be intentional in supporting youth in building the social capital needed to navigate and succeed in school, work and beyond. Core activities include working directly with district and school leadership, community members, faculty and students to understand needs and begin to integrate relationships into larger goals and initiatives. In collaboration with the Senior Director of Systems Innovation and the Affiliate network, the Director will lead tool development, processes and programs that support relationship-centered interventions in schools.

The Director of Education Partnerships will play a leadership role in coalescing training, tools and resources to support schools and districts in integrating quality mentoring and relationship-based interventions. This role will collaborate with MENTOR Affiliates on program conceptualization and delivery, and other services to bolster school and districts’ continued commitment to quality youth mentoring. The Director of Education Partnerships will play a leadership role on the Systems Innovation Team.

Key Responsibilities:

Coaching, Training, and Technical Assistance

• Build and maintain partnerships with schools and school districts across the country while simultaneously leveraging the Affiliate network
• Coach schools and districts in developing quality mentoring programs and activities that align to their goals and strategy
• Hire and manage trainers and consultants to support the delivery of programs and processes
• Coach MENTOR Affiliates to build relationships and accountability with schools and districts
• Facilitate and participate in partner meetings taking the lead on agenda development and follow-up
  

Program Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation of Relationship-Centered Schools Initiative

• Collaborate with other program team members in the alignment of products, services and training/technical assistance implementation
• Collaborate with MENTOR’s Director of Research and Evaluation to build evaluation plans for relationship-centered schools
  
• Coordinate all internal and external resources to ensure partnerships are effectively executed and objectives are achieved, including facilitation of meetings, webinars, training and other technical assistance as required
  
• Conduct design labs with school and district partners to support them in determining needs and designing appropriate programs
  
• Design and monitor program plans and budgets for education clients
  
• Identify and plan for opportunities to develop products on education topics such as social and emotional learning as well as soft skill development
  
• Propose and prepare workshops proposals, articles, presentations and other speaking engagements that elevate the relationship-centered schools’ initiative.
  

Key Qualifications:

There are innumerable ways to learn, grow, and excel professionally. We respect this when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. We want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work. This said, we are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate the majority of the qualifications and experiences listed below

• 6+ years of progressively responsible experiences in education systems including holding a leadership position in schools or districts
• Knowledge of current educational topics related to mentoring and relationship development including social and emotional learning frameworks, youth development, and specific skills development that are not academic in nature
  
• Comfort and ease in diverse settings, including districts and schools systems serving a variety of student populations
  
• Comfort and experience in delivering training and technical assistance to teachers, principals and district leadership
  
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, with the ability to develop productive working relationships across a wide variety of individuals and groups, both internally and externally
  
• Strong strategic thinking skills with an ability to use data to make decisions and translate strategy to action
  
• Strong written, communication and organizational skills, including a track record of balancing and prioritizing multiple partner priorities simultaneously
  
• Experience in managing budgets of at least $250,000
  
• Ability to travel up to 20% time
  

Making the Decision to Apply

To apply to this position, please prepare a resume and compelling cover letter and submit them through our application portal. For confidential inquiries or for assistance in completing the application, please contact search@positivelypartners.org. We will review and respond to all applications received.

We hope to have phone interviews in late April with select candidates. Candidates who advance will have a virtual interview with Charline Alexandre-Joseph, Senior Director of Systems Innovation. Finalists will be selected for a virtual interview day with MENTOR staff. Candidates advanced to offer can expect a holistic reference check process. Expected start is early Summer 2022.

This position is full-time and remote with up to 20% national travel. For candidates who are based where MENTOR National has offices (Boston and Washington D.C), MENTOR is expecting all employees to work in the office 2 days a week or 8 days a month beginning April 2022.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary for this role begins at $80,000 and is commensurate with experience. Full benefits include health, dental, 403B, pre-tax transit, generous vacation, and life and short- and long-term disability insurance. The summary of the benefits could be found HERE.

MENTOR is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages candidates of all backgrounds to apply. Diversity of opinions, experiences, and backgrounds is a key asset.