Director, Creating Conditions for Impact

Job Posting Title :

Director, Creating Conditions for Impact

Hiring Department :

Charles A Dana Center

Position Open To : All Applicants

Weekly Scheduled Hours :

40

FLSA Status : Exempt

Earliest Start Date :

Dec 01, 2025

Position Duration : Expected to Continue

Location :

PICKLE RESEARCH CAMPUS

Job Details : General Notes

Remote work possible

Travel will be required

Purpose

This position will serve as the primary lead for the Creating Conditions for Impact Team , which works nationally to catalyze systemic change by shaping policy, building professional networks, and cultivating an evidence base to support transformation.

Responsibilities

Lead the vision and strategy for the Creating Conditions for Impact Team, ensuring alignment with the Dana Center's mission and strategic goals around systemic level improvements in math, science, and early literacy. Lead the design and execution of initiatives in math, science, and literacy education that remove barriers for students and shape policy foundations, foster connections across PK-12, higher education, and workforce preparation systems to support alignment and transformation. Guide the team in cultivating and sustaining professional networks that foster collaboration, innovation, and shared accountability across systems. Ensure the development of a robust evidence base to support transformation and demonstrate impact. Develop strategies to bridge gaps and strengthen collaboration between math, science, and literacy education and workforce systems, ensuring seamless transitions for learners and alignment with workforce needs.

Supervise managers and staff, providing mentorship and support to foster professional growth and leadership capacity. Support establishment and refinement of team structures and processes that enable collaboration across teams, roles , and projects to ensure timely , high-quality, and impactful outcomes. Oversee the evaluation work of the center, providing strategic direction for the development and use of data, research, and evidence to inform decisions, guide systemic change efforts, and demonstrate the Center's impact. Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and with the highest standards of quality. Maintain a clear understanding of staff workloads and capacity, ensuring that priorities, timelines, and resource allocations are realistic, sustainable, and aligned with organizational priorities. Cultivate a positive organizational and team culture focused on collaboration, innovation, and shared accountability.

Build and sustain strong relationships with national education leaders, funders, policymakers, and workforce stakeholders. Cultivate relationships with leaders across K-12, higher education, and workforce sectors to advance systemic change and foster collaboration across these systems. Represent the Dana Center in high-level forums to advance systemic change efforts and expand the Center's influence. Collaborate with other directors to identify new opportunities for partnerships and field engagement.

Advance the Center's reputation as a leader in evidence-based systemic change by guiding the development of influential content and findings, contributing to publications, and representing the Center and disseminate our work at conferences and forums. Shape the Center's approach to systemic change by advancing policies and practices that foster scalability and long-term impact. Shape the national conversation on systemic alignment by advancing innovative strategies and solutions that connect K-12, higher education, and workforce preparation systems.

Collaborate with the Dana Center leadership team to identify funding priorities and develop evidence-based scopes of work and aligned budgets for proposals. Cultivate relationships with funders and stakeholders to maintain and grow the Center's funding portfolio. Ensure funding proposals are aligned with the team's strategic priorities and grounded in evidence of impact.

Required Qualifications

Master's or Doctorate degree in Education, Public Policy, Evaluation, or a related field.

10-15 years of experience in education, with demonstrated expertise in policy development, systems change, or workforce alignment.

Experience working with national experts, policymakers , and facilitating professional networks to advanc e policies and practices that drive systemic change and scalability.

Demonstrated ability to work across systems , including P K-12, higher education, and workforce preparation, to foster alignment and collaboration.

Demonstrated ability to effectively use data , research, and evidence to inform policy and practice.

Demonstrated ability to build partnerships and lead systemic change efforts in education.

Demonstrated ability to think strategically and creatively, balance multiple priorities, work collaboratively across teams, and work well under pressure.

Experience supervising staff and managing complex projects.

Strong organizational and communication skills, written and verbal.

(Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.)

Preferred Qualifications

Experience leading or overseeing evaluation teams, with a focus on using evidence to demonstrate impact and inform strategy.

Experience advancing educational policies and practices that directly connect to workforce readiness and postsecondary success.

Proven success in securing funding and managing relationships with funders.

Salary Range

$115,000 - $130,000

Working Conditions

Typical office environment

Use of manual dexterity

Repetitive use of keyboard at a workstation.

Travel will be required

Required Materials

Please mark "yes" on the application for required materials.Failure to attach all additional materials listed may affect candidates being considered for the position.

Resume / CV

3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor

Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers : You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure thatALLRequired Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers : As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questionspresented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

Employment Eligibility :

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion / transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

Retirement Plan Eligibility :

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Background Checks :

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

Equal Opportunity Employer :

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity / affirmative action employer ,complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Pay Transparency :

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information.

Employment Eligibility Verification :

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

E-Verify :

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university's company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following :

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

Compliance :

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031 .

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.