Principal Consultant

Education First Consulting

7d•$175,000•Remote

About The Position

Education First is a trusted advisor to education funders and changemakers in all 50 states. We uniquely bridge policy, practice and philanthropy to create more clarity and coherence across P-20 education initiatives and systems. Education First is seeking an experienced leader to join the Accelerate Academic Coherence consulting team as a Principal Consultant. The Accelerate Academic Coherence team supports philanthropic, state, and district leaders in designing and implementing high-quality, coherent instructional, assessment, and accountability systems. The Principal Consultant is expected to bring expertise gained by serving currently or recently as a national funder, or as a close advisor to philanthropy with strong relationships, to advance high-quality, coherent instructional, assessment and accountability systems, including how systematic, strategic use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technology can accelerate academic coherence. Reporting to the Managing Partner, the Principal Consultant will shape and set strategy, cultivate strong partnerships, lead individual client engagements and contribute to the firm’s success and sustainability. They apply their understanding of philanthropy and the current and future issues in the field (e.g., technology and AI) to craft bodies of work and projects, bring in new relationships with funders and sell projects, lead services and projects that deliver immediate and long-term results, and contribute to thought leadership that extends the firm’s national reputation in these areas. The Principal Consultant should have a diverse and outstanding network with funders, decisionmakers, and influencers in the field, and be comfortable cultivating relationships, advising, and coaching new and prospective executive clients. The Principal Consultant is also deeply skilled in understanding and addressing issues of racial equity in education, coaching staff on client engagements, and overseeing the quality of research, work products, and services to clients.

Requirements

You have extensive experience working within or alongside philanthropy to design, implement and/or advocate for successful education policies and high-value, high-leverage networks or communities of practice designed to improve pre-K-12 education outcomes
You have recent experience as an engaged funder or in AI
You can convert your deep network of education leaders and content expertise to new work, sales and impact in the field
You have demonstrated urgency in accomplishing difficult or complex work, implementing change in various systems, organizations and institutions
You have a national view of the United States’ K12 education system, with an understanding of how it connects with other systems (early ed, higher ed, workforce development)
You are committed to the vision of a more equitable education system in the U.S., including a willingness to examine the role of privilege, structural barriers, and inclusion in changing the trajectories of students furthest from opportunity
You possess strong, inclusive project management and system-level strategy and planning experience, including juggling several complex projects at once, developing work plans, strategic plans, maintaining project budgets, managing risks and meeting deadlines and targets
You can lead through ambiguity to create clear structures that deliver high-quality results to clients
You provide and receive feedback with ease
You lead by influence – establishing open lines of communication and understanding and including the perspectives of others

Nice To Haves

Experience with consulting, providing technical assistance or leading strategy development
Master’s degree or equivalent experience in public policy, public administration, business, education, Juris Doctor or related fields preferred

Responsibilities

Skillfully support executives in philanthropy, school systems, state education agencies and nonprofits
Develop and use tools and strategies to assess client needs, lift up research and emerging practices and solve problems clients face
Support and coach funders in developing investment strategies and plans and leading grantee communities of practices
Support and coach innovators to reimagine organizational and institutional structures through equitable design
Support system leaders to operationalize Education First’s commitment to coherence, bringing down silos in school systems, regions, states and organizations that can impede progress
Serve as project director on a variety of client engagements
Travel to meet with clients to facilitate meaningful engagements that directly contribute to project deliverables, approximately 20-30% of the time
Oversee successful projects, including building capacity, advising clients, and ensuring that project deliverables meet our excellence standard
Coordinate regularly with the project manager and client to ensure project success, including budgeting, planning and regular reporting against the contract, and providing and seeking feedback from the client and team members
Contribute to project operations through creating materials and active involvement in all other project tasks
Contribute to business development efforts by cultivating relationships with current and prospective clients, contributing to proposals and participating in content-based business development and thought leadership work groups that drive firm strategy and sales
Create and deliver content for the firm's website, policy papers, newsletters, op-eds, press releases and public speaking engagements
Support project managers to set and monitor project work plans and drive the project to completion at or under budget
Support inclusive project teams that challenge and empower all team members to grow and reach their potential