DIRECTOR OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
thinkLaw exists to create a world where critical thinking is no longer a luxury good. We help educators teach critical thinking to all students, not just the highest achieving ones at the most exclusive schools. Rote memorization and spoon-fed learning will not prepare young people for the rapidly changing workforce that awaits them. This is why thinkLaw increases educational equity by giving all students access to critical thinking. We do this through our award-winning curriculum that uses real-life legal cases in upper grades and fairy tales and nursery rhymes in lower grades as a hook to unleash the critical thinking potential of all students and powerful professional development that helps educators apply rigorous inquiry strategies that help them transform from asking “what” and “how to” to “why” and “what if.”
thinkLaw has partnered with over 500 school systems and organizations in 35 states in since launching in June 2015 and has thousands of opportunities for new partnerships due to our tremendous exposure through national and regional education conferences, social media and email marketing efforts, district-wide approvals in hundreds of schools districts and the success of our founder’s newest book.
thinkLaw is looking for a Director of Professional Learning to dynamically deliver content, elevate programmatic offerings, and help thinkLaw to continue interrupt inequities in education across the country. This person will dramatically increase thinkLaw’s professional learning bandwidth, our impact, the accessibility of our work, and our ability to customize our approach to making equity real at the classroom level based on our partners’ specific contexts and challenges.
For the right candidate, this is a career-defining opportunity to join us at a critical moment and to truly have a significant impact. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of strong professional development creation, management and delivery as well as notable experience leading conference sessions in the K-12 arena, resulting in high rates of satisfaction, a growing user base, and concrete impact on helping educators support student success in and beyond the classroom. The right person will be able to exercise his/her/their masterful organizational, communication, and leadership skills. thinkLaw is looking for someone with a passion for our mission and the execution chops to make it a reality.
Can you help our small but mighty startup team expand the reach and impact of our professional development and training to transform the instructional practices of educators in over 30 states?
Our Vision
A world where critical thinking is taught by all teachers and to all students, leveling the playing field for 21st century success.
Our Mission
We help educators teach critical thinking to ALL students.
Our Core Values
Communication
We listen to understand, speak to be understood, and demonstrate the courage to tackle the tough but necessary conversations across lines of difference.
Imagination
We dream big, create boldly, and dare to improve our world dramatically, approaching our work with creativity and an endless set of possibilities.
Making a Difference
Our bottom line is impact, so we prioritize our actions and our inactions through the lens of maximizing this bottom line.
Our Approach – The thinkLaw Method
- We make it easy. We are always willing to do the hard work on our end if it’s going to make someone’s work easier on the other side.
- We make it engaging. We work hard to make sure our work is received with tears, hell yeahs, this is unacceptables, gasps, are you freaking kidding me, and laughter because we understand that the emotional connection that comes from engaging our partners and community members.
- We ground our work in critical thinking. We consider multiple perspectives, we use evidence to back up our decision-making, and we are committed to continuous improvement of our thinking around every aspect of what we do.
- We err on the side of fairness and justice, always. We consider equity, not equality in deciding what is needed for our team, our partners, and our work. We understand that what is legal is not always just and what is acceptable is not always fair, and actively seek to be the hammer that helps to bend the arc of history towards justice.
We need someone who will:
Deliver
- Deliver easy easy-to-understand, powerful, but practical concepts with a dynamic delivery, story-telling, and stage presence such that the message resonates in the hearts, minds, and day-to-day actions of our partners.
- Deliver engaging professional learning opportunities (trainings, PD sessions) to groups as small as 3 to larger than 500, for both in-person (when it’s safe to) and in virtual settings.
- Understand the unique differences between conference sessions, professional development workshops, and self-hosted online webinars and create, remix and utilize content and materials to meet the needs of any given setting.
Create
- Possess the unique understanding of the education field as necessary to recognize trends and opportunities for utilization and development of relevant, timely content.
- Strategically spotlight issues and integrate practices related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into all existing and new professional development content.
- Lead and execute the mining, curation, and remixing of present content from past and present programs and initiatives, further bolstering the offerings as it fits into the strategic map of content and resources.
Lead
- lead with the leadership and curriculum team, lead the development and refinement of the bigger-picture, strategic map of internally-generated content and from this codify the “formula” for thinkLaw’s programmatic content.
- facilitate cross-organizational collaboration and teamwork with the marketing and curriculum teams keeping the larger picture in mind, leveraging learnings from the past and present program efforts.
- provide participant insight to the curriculum development team on what innovation and continuous improvement is needed for continued success.
- exceed all performance targets including high satisfaction rates among participants and strong rates of expansion due to professional learning initiatives.
The Must-Haves
As a leader in the K-12 space, the right candidate will have a(n):
- deep understanding of how Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion issues impact classrooms across the country and the “how” of equipping teachers, leaders, students, and families with practical tools to make equity a reality. Strong sense of empathy for the realities of classroom educators, school leaders, and school system leaders.
- passion for working with educators, amazing rapport with educators and families at all levels of the K-12 ecosystem, and a desire to deeply understand and improve the effectiveness of thinkLaw’s content, programming, and products to serve them.
- experience working with senior and executive administrators in the K-12 and professional sectors.
- effortless ability to translate theoretical concepts and frameworks into practical actions that easy understood and implemented by any education stakeholder from a novice teacher to a veteran school system leader.
As an Adult Learning Game-Changer, the right candidate will have a(n):
- demonstrated dynamic delivery of instruction for adult learners with an ability to provide a video library or clip of public speaking in a conference, webinar, or professional development session. Ability to build credibility and trust by understanding and addressing participant requirements and programming needs.
- confident, compelling, high-energy stage-presence with an ability to speak to each individual whether it be with a group of 3 or 5,000 +.
As Skilled Professional, the right candidate will be (or will have):
- enthusiastic and affable, independent and innovative, self-motivated while team-focused, and able to see the big picture (the forest) while being highly organized with a strong attention to the tasks and details (trees).
- an ability to not only solve problems, but find them, discovering what you do not know and having the ability to gain whatever skills necessary to get the job done.
- well-organized with a high attention to detail and the ability to prioritize.
- strong leadership, teamwork, and cross-group collaboration skills; self-motivated while being a true team player.
- a demonstrated ability and desire to work and excel in a fast-paced environment.
- an impeccable reputation for honesty and integrity.
- goals- and results-oriented, optimistic, proactive, and easily adapts to change.
- superb communication skills across a variety of stakeholders and industries, both internally and externally.
- proven ability to manage several projects at one time while paying strict attention to details in a virtual workplace.
- innovative, persuasive, creative, and have a genuine curiosity about their participants’ school/district needs.
Education and/or Experiences:
- Bachelors degree with seven years of experience in related positions required.
- At least 5 years teaching, developing curriculum or content, and working in K-12 settings required.
- Experience as both a conference presenter and professional development facilitator.
- Experience in leadership positions with demonstrated success in managing projects and teams.
The “Would-be-Nice-to-Haves”
- Graduate degree.
- Experience coaching and supporting educators and administrators.
- Experience in influencing key stakeholders and decision-makers in K-12 education.
- Actively involved in school turnaround effort.
- Experience teaching or developing content for gifted education students.
- Achievement of awards such as Teacher of the Year or other educational achievements and/or recognitions.
Benefits
- Autonomy and independence within a flexible work environment (virtual workspace) and family-friendly business practices.
- Salary: $55,000 annually
- Competitive benefits, including healthcare and dental coverage reimbursements.
- The opportunity to work for a mission-based, social enterprise that is revolutionizing education.
To Apply
thinkLaw is an Equal Opportunity Employer. If this position speaks to you, please submit a resume and cover letter to Erin Tobin at erin.tobin@oneteacheraz.com with the subject line (Application for FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME). Please include 3 references, at least 2 of whom serve(d) as your direct supervisor.
**Application Deadline is March 5th**
Leave a Reply