Senior Director, District Partnerships (K-12 Sales)

About Us
At the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI), we are a vibrant, nonprofit organization committed to transforming education. We believe that every student deserves access to high-quality math and science education. Since our founding in 2007, we’ve empowered over 2.9 million students and 72,000 teachers across 1,800 high schools in 43 states. Our staff are the heartbeat of our mission, driving impactful programs that foster success in the 21st-century global economy.

NMSI is a remote-first organization, allowing staff members to work primarily from their home office. Staff must have a dedicated, distraction-free workspace with reliable high-speed internet. We value autonomy, flexibility, and effective communication across time zones, and support a culture of collaboration through virtual tools and regular check-ins.

What You’ll Do All Day
As the Senior Director, District Partnerships (K-12 Sales), you’ll lead NMSI’s fee-for-service district partnership development strategy and team, with responsibility for revenue growth, portfolio performance, pipeline advancement, proposal development, RFP response, contracting support, people management, and cross-functional collaboration. This role is focused primarily on building and expanding high-value K-12 district partnerships that advance NMSI’s mission and organizational sustainability, while also supporting targeted state education agency relationships where they strengthen district partnership opportunities and broader market strategy.

As a member of the management team, you’ll lead your team to achieve high-quality results that align with departmental and organizational goals. You'll translate strategy into execution, set clear expectations, and coach staff for growth. Your role will involve fostering a culture of trust, equity, and collaboration, ensuring team members feel valued and connected to our mission. You'll manage performance with clarity and compassion, celebrate successes, and provide constructive feedback for individual and organizational growth.

Your day-to-day activities will include:

District Partnerships Strategy & Sales Execution

• Own district partnership development strategy: Including market prioritization, prospecting, portfolio segmentation, revenue growth pathways, targeted state education agency account strategy where aligned to district growth, success metrics, team performance expectations, and continuous improvement through data-based progress monitoring and coaching.
• Manage and grow high-value fee-for-service opportunities: Including cultivation, solicitation, negotiation, and stewardship for K-12 district and state partners and prospects capable of six- and seven-figure investments, ensuring disciplined relationship management and consistent pipeline advancement.
• Lead proposal development, RFP response, and contracting support: Including solution design, narrative strategy, pricing and budget alignment, scope development, compliance requirements, and timely cross-functional inputs that support clear, compelling, and actionable partnership proposals.
• Oversee pipeline management and Salesforce rigor: Including relationship plans, activity tracking, opportunity staging, forecasting accuracy, and consistent data quality across the district partnerships portfolio.
• Build trusted partnerships with senior leaders and cross-functional teams: Brief, prepare, and deploy executives and subject matter experts for high-stakes district and state engagements; join them in external meetings; drive coordinated follow-up; and ensure a polished, strategic presence in all partnership touchpoints.

People Management, Team Leadership & Accountability

• Clearly define expectations and decision ownership: Establish priorities, responsibilities, success measures, and decision rights for each team member, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and departmental strategy.
• Foster trust, ownership, and accountability: Delegate effectively, empower staff to make decisions at the right level, encourage autonomy, and maintain clear accountability for results, follow-through, and team commitments.
• Coach, develop, and resource the team: Provide mentorship, training, feedback, and practical support that help team members grow professionally, strengthen performance, and contribute meaningfully to district partnerships strategy and execution.
• Communicate early, directly, and constructively: Create a feedback-rich environment where employees can raise challenges and ideas, managers provide timely guidance, and cross-functional partners are engaged proactively before misalignment or rework occurs.
• Hold individuals and the team accountable: Recognize strong performance, address performance gaps constructively, close loops consistently, and reinforce shared standards for execution, collaboration, and professional behavior.
• Other duties, as assigned

The Senior Director, District Partnerships will report to the Vice President, Business Development and is a full-time, regular position offering the flexibility to work from anywhere within the contiguous United States. Travel up to 50% may be required for in-person district and stakeholder meetings, conferences, convenings, and organizational events.