Senior Consultant - District Reinvention Network

About Mass Insight 

Mass Insight (Mi) partners with states, districts, schools, and communities to implement customized strategies and build capacity to advance equity and opportunity in K-12 education, so that all students, and particularly those who have been systematically marginalized, are prepared to achieve their academic and personal potential. We provide academic programs, research, and strategic consulting services across the United States. 

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

We strive to be an organization that lives into its beliefs around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). We welcome and expect our current and future team members to join us on this collective journey. You can find our DEI Belief Statements here.

Senior Consultant Position Summary

Mi’s Senior Consultant position presents an exciting leadership opportunity in our organization. Anchored in equity, the Senior Consultant will have an unwavering belief in leading transformational change in schools and will support district leaders in disrupting and building investment to reimagine the existing school system. The role will require an innovative approach, divergent thinking, and a willingness to dismantle systems that create barriers for student success. With a focus on design thinking, the Senior Consultant will work towards coalition building within and across districts. Critical to this role is applying change management strategies that bring communities along in support of transformational change. At Mass Insight, the Senior Consultant will lead interactions with leaders at multiple levels - school, district, community, and state.  This position will be an integral member and leader of the School Improvement team and expected to take on major responsibilities quickly. 

The individual hired into this particular Senior Consultant role will be charged with joining a design team and eventually implementing new strategic work for Mi – district reinvention networks – as outlined below, and pursuant to our strategic plan. We are currently in year one of our plan, so we are excited to bring on a Senior Consultant who will help lead this important work – first as a team of one and eventually leading a team.  

The argument for this type of work is articulated in this piece published by Lusi and Jentsch in The 74.Within 12 months in the role, a new Senior Consultant on the Mi team will typically be able to take on the buckets of work listed below:

Project and People Management 

• Facilitate and advise decision-making over most elements of the network from design to launch to in-process, including:
  • Develop clear problem statement/definition of success
  • Develop Reinvention Network Approach including a theory of action/change utilizing design thinking
  • Develops change management strategy in alignment with DEI principles
  • Develop and implement resourcing strategy
  • Develop and implement a research and impact plan for continuous performance monitoring and improvement
  • Develop and implement marketing and recruitment strategy
  • Launch network and make adjustments as needed (Year 2)
• Navigate nuances across stakeholders, advocate for and allocate the appropriate team resources, and manage the overall success of projects
• Leverage internal organizational resources to strategically drive results in line with our strategic district reinvention strategy objectives and the input of partners
• Develop, manage, and report on project budgets 

Partner Cultivation, Recruitment, Engagement & Satisfaction

• Have at least one network conceived, funded, recruited, and ready to launch, and on track to meet our two year-goals of:
  • Establishing at least one network of districts actively working to reinvent student learning
  • Developing an initial financial model for sustaining such networks
• Cultivate, deepen, and maintain critical relationships in the partnership space
  • Fosters coalition building with multiple partners in support of transformational change
  • Local districts and community organizations: superintendent, commissioner, other C-suite and community organizers and leaders
  • National funders: program officers, decision makers, potentially donors themselves
  • Policymakers: local, state, and federal policymakers that can advocate for and/or change the range of policy-shaped options within which school districts are operating
  • National researchers: academics and others who build and aggregate evidence-based practices that can serve in reinventing school districts
• Lead the management of all network deliverables and projects which includes:
  • Build, lead, and/or sustain strategy development
  • Execute research and analysis to support strategic and tactical decisions
  • Design, implement, and/or execute support in a wide variety of projects, including but not limited to leadership recruitment and onboarding, design of new district processes and business systems, communication strategies, policy development, etc. 
  • Cultivate continued client/stakeholder investment in the network
  • Support community organizing and engagement strategic development
  • Advise on community organizing efforts and/or
  • Support partnership with community-based organization(s)

Internal Leadership

• Design and facilitate significant components of staff learning and meetings (e.g. team step backs, Quarterly, all staff, department meetings, etc.)

Qualifications

Top candidates for this role must have:

• 7+ years relevant experience
• Bachelor’s degree
• Willingness to travel 1-2x per month on average
• Track record of leading innovation in education systems
• Deep knowledge of how school districts work acquired through relevant experience

Preferred candidates will:

• Hold an advanced degree in related field
• Have 3+ years of management experience
• Have experience in school or district leadership

Compensation and Benefits 

We’re proud to offer comprehensive benefits to staff:

• A salary of $100,000 - $125,000 commensurate with experience
• Excellent health, dental, and eye care coverage
• 401k with a company match
• Tuition reimbursement for continuing education
• Generous paid time off
• Flexible work arrangements

Please go here for additional information www.massinsight.org/benefits

To Apply 

Mass Insight strives to build a staff and board that reflects the cultural diversity of the schools and districts that we partner with. Mass Insight is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, handicap, age, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin. BIPOC and other individuals from historically marginalized groups are encouraged to apply.

Please apply and submit your resume with your response to the prompt below:

In 500 words or less, please walk us through a time when you facilitated the development of a solution that solved a problem that a district, school network, or state education agency was facing. Be sure to give details about the problem, the solution, and how it positively impacted the organization’s ability to serve students.