Director, Edtech R&D

About Digital Promise Global

Digital Promise is a global nonprofit working to expand opportunity for every learner. We work with educators, researchers, technology leaders, and communities to design, investigate, and scale innovations that support learners. Our vision is that every person engages in powerful learning experiences that lead to a life of well-being, fulfillment, and economic mobility. For more information, visit the Digital Promise website and follow Digital Promise for updates.

About the Position

Digital Promise is seeking a Director, Edtech R&D for the Edtech R&D team. Our work brings together diverse educators, researchers, and product developers to co-design, implement, and advance more effective and equitable EdTech resources. 

The Director of Edtech R&D leads strategic initiatives that bridge the gap between developers, educators, and researchers to build evidence-based tools and implementation guidance for K-12 learning technologies. The director will lead projects that ground product development in educational research, utilize meaningful measures to understand impact on learner outcomes, and champion a collaborative co-design process alongside multidisciplinary teams of subject matter experts and end-users. The Director drives the vision and strategy for emerging technologies work for the Edtech R&D team at Digital Promise and coordinates internally and externally with partners to facilitate the development of innovative K12 learning technologies to improve the learning experiences of those historically and systematically excluded in traditional educational systems. The Director of Edtech R&D reports to the Deputy Director of EdTech R&D and manages a team of project directors and managers.

Responsibilities

• Direct Edtech Product R&D Projects: Lead the Edtech R&D team’s projects to center education research, evidence, and historically and systematically excluded learners throughout design and development. This includes leading the team’s strategy for the research and development of emerging EdTech products and product features, ensuring timely delivery, resource allocation, and effective communication.
• Support Edtech Partnerships: Leverage and cultivate cross-team collaborations across Digital Promise, as well as external relationships with other organizations, product developers, research institutions, policymakers, education agencies, and industry experts to develop partnerships and strategy for EdTech-related innovations and initiatives.
• Design and execute research: Collaborate with colleagues across the organization to develop proposals, analysis plans, and high-quality research products using a diverse range of data sets and quantitative research methods. 
• Lead and Facilitate Edtech R&D Strategy: Identify and disseminate capacity building tools and strategies that enable EdTech teams to design with evidence, design for excluded populations, design for learner variability, scale and sustain their products, and ultimately improve educational outcomes.
• Synthesize Learnings Across Projects: Collaborate with research and practice functional teams to leverage findings across projects, identify themes and synthesize findings to iteratively inform product development strategy and goals for the EdTech industry, philanthropic organizations, and investors.
• Lead Cross-functional Edtech Initiatives: Develop and lead cross-functional partnerships across research institutions, product developers, and educators to design, implement, and test impactful learning solutions.
• Budget Management: Collaborate with the Operations team on project operations and budgeting, to include expense and revenue management and knowledge management.
• Monitor Evolving Innovations in Edtech and Emerging Technologies: Stay current with the latest trends, research, and advancements in educational technology and emerging fields, analyzing their potential impact on education and recommending actionable strategies to support EdTech R&D.
• Commitment to equity in education outcomes and diversity, equity, and inclusion: deep commitment to eliminating opportunity and achievement gaps for historically and systematically excluded learners, with a strong understanding of the challenges those communities face and demonstrated experience leading the design of inclusive EdTech solutions developed for and with diverse participants

Qualifications

• At least 5 years of professional experience in learning analytics, learning sciences, experimental research, or mixed methods research.
• At least 5 years of experience leading and managing research and development projects, preferably in the education sector.
• At least 5 years of experience effectively supporting teams in the development of solutions (e.g., programs, curriculum, tools, etc...).
• Demonstrated experience and knowledge in developing, implementing and facilitating project management process, human-centered design, technical and non-technical solution design and development.
• Ability to execute on high-value and high-visibility deliverables (tools, reports, presentations) for internal and external audiences, with attention to detail and excellence.
• Proven ability to translate complex research into policy-relevant insights and advocacy strategies.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the education sector, marketplace of education solutions and new methods and models for researching and designing education programs and products.
• Strong interpersonal and communication and writing skills.
• Experience managing teams and direct reports to support collaboration, growth, and impact.
• Experience developing and managing partnerships and multi-stakeholder projects, including program design, evaluation, and funder reporting, with a demonstrated ability to deliver large-scale outputs on time and on budget while managing multiple external stakeholders across sectors.
• Demonstrated commitment to personal reflection on equity-centered ways of being, mindsets, and ways of working. A commitment to advocating for equity in education and an understanding of communicating to and with diverse audiences.
• Ability to work and thrive in a fast-paced environment and manage competing tasks, deadlines, requirements, and decisions.

At Digital Promise, we also seek candidates with:

• A strong commitment to working toward Digital Promise’s mission and impact goals
• An interest in redesigning learning systems to better serve those who are historically and systemically excluded
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional team members to ensure information is shared, projects are completed on time, and goals are reached.

Working Conditions

Digital Promise Global is a hybrid organization. The position is primarily working in a remote environment. Employees are expected to travel at least 4 times a year for in-person meetings and the annual staff retreat. Additional travel may be required based on role and responsibilities.

Physical/Sensory Demands: Fast-paced working environment. Extensive computer usage and online engagement & communication. Must be willing to build inclusive relationships and collaborate with employees at all levels within the organization and external partners.

Compensation

We consider candidate experience and location when determining where a candidate may fall within that range. Digital Promise Global offers a competitive total rewards package including coverage of 85% of health insurance premiums for employee coverage and 75% of health insurance premiums for dependent and family coverage, 15 vacation days, 12 sick days, 3% 401k employer contribution, 3% employer 401k match, and a flexible work environment.

The full-time salary range for the position is based on geographical regions, with exact salary depending on relevant experience.

California: $145,640-a4163,845

DC Metro Area & NYC: $132,400-$148,950

National: $119,160-$134,055

To Apply

Please apply and submit your resume, cover letter, and salary requirements. Applicants are encouraged to submit their materials as soon as possible. Submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis until the search is successful.

Digital Promise is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applications without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex/gender, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status.