National Policy Learning Manager

About Us

Our nation’s education system is leaving millions of students—including an overwhelming number of students of color and low-income students—unprepared for college, career, and life. Research shows that classroom teachers are the single most important in-school factor in improving student achievement, and we believe a truly thriving teaching profession requires educator voice and leadership. We work to build durable teacher power, especially with those who have been historically excluded from decision-making, to shape the systems and policies that define education. 

Founded by public school teachers, Educators for Excellence is a growing movement of nearly 40,000 educators working together to build a high-quality, diverse teaching profession with the resources and conditions necessary to help every student thrive. Together, we research and develop educator-informed solutions, build teacher power, and advocate for policy change at the district, state, and national levels.

What We Do

Our work is grounded in the belief that the teaching profession is one of the most vital forces shaping our shared future - and that educators must be at the center of shaping the policies and systems that define public education. We focus on developing teacher leadership and power to drive issue advocacy campaigns that shape policy, contracts, and the national conversation. 

To achieve our vision for transforming the teaching profession, we advance and support the implementation of a focused set of policy solutions backed by research and educators. Our agenda focuses on achieving a high-quality, diverse workforce through:

• Building strong and sustainable career pathways.
• Creating coherent systems of instructional support.
• Funding public schools fully and equitably.

By building durable teacher power, teachers unite as a collective force to drive lasting change and advance an equitable, sustainable public education system where every student has the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed.

The Opportunity
Educators for Excellence (E4E) is seeking a National Policy Learning Manager to shape how our staff and teacher leaders understand, engage with, and act on education policy. This role will build and maintain deep expertise on E4E's core policy issues and research base, design learning experiences that grow the policy knowledge and skills of staff and teacher leaders, and ground E4E’s issue campaigns in the research and context necessary to drive change. They will lead E4E's National Teacher Leader Council advisory board, shaping the structure and programming that allows teachers from across the country to inform our organizational strategy and policy positions.

This is an ideal role for someone who is energized by making complex policy accessible and actionable and is as comfortable designing a training curriculum as they are analyzing legislation. The right candidate is a skilled policy analyst, program manager, and adult learning facilitator who believes that teacher voice should be at the center of the decisions that shape the profession.

Responsibilities - In this role, you will

Serve as an internal policy expert and key advisor

• Build and maintain deep policy subject matter expertise on E4E’s core issues and serve as the go-to resource for staff across the organization
• Keep staff current on the latest research, national landscape shifts, and policy developments relevant to our issue agenda
• Continually refine E4E’s issue agenda based on emerging research, policy windows, and teacher perspective
• Socialize E4E’s national issue agenda, building awareness of its content and ensuring campaign activities stay tightly aligned
• Partner with the National Communications Manager to develop accurate and compelling messaging on our core policy issues that holds up under scrutiny

Drive the policy learning of staff

• Co-create the model for ongoing policy knowledge and skill building across E4E staff—including the creation of cross-chapter, issue-based learning communities—in partnership with the National Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives
• Develop and execute the content for issue-based learning communities and other internal policy training, setting a high bar for engagement and rigor
• Build and maintain a bank of policy templates and trainings that equip local campaign staff to independently assess their own policy environments and execute their own policy deliverables 
• Track the growth of policy knowledge, skills, and mindsets in E4E staff over time to continuously improve learning opportunities 

Drive the policy learning of teachers, including by leading the National Teacher Leader Council (NTLC)

• Lead the planning, coordination, and facilitation of E4E’s key national advisory board of teachers from across the country, the NTLC, building and maintaining the structure for them to shape E4E’s organizational strategy and policy positions
• Set and execute a recruitment and selection strategy that identifies high-performing, mission-driven members for positions on the NTLC
• Develop and execute the group’s annual scope and sequence, including programming that builds their policy acumen and prepares them to serve as leading teacher voices on our issues
• Develop policy training content for E4E teacher leaders more broadly and partner with local campaign teams to deliver it

Ground local campaigns in the policy landscape and the evidence on what works

• Conduct local landscape scans, clearly delineating the current policy environment and identifying opportunities for policy change aligned with E4E’s agenda
• Advise local campaign teams on appropriate courses of action based on alignment with the national issue agenda, the local policy landscape, and the research base

Build E4E’s brand through credible and compelling policy collateral

• Synthesize many different sources across the evidence on what works, best practices from across the nation, and teacher perspective data into clear and accessible policy recommendations
• Partner with the National Communications Manager to produce key national policy reports that build E4E’s brand as an expert on teacher perspectives
• Partner with local campaign teams and the National Communications Manager to produce local policy reports that drive campaigns forward
• Produce briefs, memos, slide decks, or other deliverables on policy issues for internal and external audiences

Qualifications: 

• At least five years of experience in education policy, advocacy, or a related field
• Experience leading a cohort-based program or other diverse group of stakeholders to achieve measurable growth in knowledge, skills, and mindsets 
• Exceptional research and writing skills, including ability to tailor complex policy content  for diverse audiences
• Master’s degree in education policy or related field preferred but not required

Core Values: What beliefs do you embody? How do you approach your work?

• High Quality Work: Ensuring all deliverables meet our standard of excellence
• Ownership: Taking part in finding solutions for the problems we identify
• Responsiveness: Keeping each other in the loop to move the work forward
• Initiative: We step up to ensure no gaps in progress
• Equity: Looking for opportunities to redistribute power in response to inequity
• Evaluation & Reflection: We look for opportunities to celebrate success and show growth

Positional Skills - What can you do well? 

• Organizing, Planning & Executing: Organizes, tracks, and manages workflow and resources; develops systems to prioritize tasks; executes according to set timelines
• Cultivating Relationships & Collaborating: Develops rapport and trust with staff; comfortably communicates with internal and external stakeholders
• Thinking Holistically & Making Connections: Connects the work to the big picture, identifies opportunities to streamline tactics, and integrates streams/functions 
• Making Decisions & Demonstrating Judgment: Makes strategic decisions even in ambiguous situations; exercises discernment and leverages data appropriately
• Conducting Rigorous Analysis: Uses rigorous logic around aggregate data; performs a variety of analyses to inform decisions with broad impact and solve problems requiring diverse perspectives
• Defining Problems to Solve: Synthesizes data; identifies & prioritize opportunities to pursue and problems to solve  

Functional Knowledge - What do you know a lot about?

• Planning & Facilitating Training 
  • Experience building cohort-based programs that create measurable shifts in knowledge, skills, and mindsets 
  • Proven ability to design and deliver engaging training and professional development experiences, ideally for policy, advocacy, or teacher audiences
  • Deep knowledge of and experience implementing adult learning principle
• Education Policy: 
  • Deep knowledge of K-12 education policy, including familiarity with the national landscape and research base
  • Experience analyzing policy—contracts, legislation, regulations, etc.—and conducting landscape scans to inform issue campaigns or organizational strategy
  • Experience producing high-quality policy collateral that builds organizational credibility
  • Skilled at synthesizing a complex policy environment into clear, actionable recommendations
  • Strong judgment about when and how to move on policy opportunities
• Project/Program Management:
  • Experience leading complex projects across teams and functions
  • Demonstrated ability to plan and execute complex, multi-stakeholder programs or advisory bodies—managing logistics, relationships, content, and outcomes simultaneously
  • Comfortable managing up and skilled at influencing others without direct authority

Benefits & Applying

Educators for Excellence (E4E) believes in providing employees with benefits to support self-care, wellness, and financial stability. We value the whole person and provide benefits such as paid time off, health insurance plans, competitive salaries that include pre-tax benefits, and cell phone reimbursements. See more information about our benefits here.

E4E is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state or federal law or local ordinance. E4E has zero tolerance for discrimination, racism, xenophobia, or misogyny in any form in our workplace. We strive to create a workplace where everyone feels a strong sense of belonging.

Compensation Policy 

Educators for Excellence (E4E) is committed to valuing team members holistically. We do not engage in salary negotiations; our first offer is always our best offer.

Salary bands (based on geographic location):

• $89,000 - $127,000 | High Urban (NYC, San Francisco)
• $83,000 - $118,000 | Mid-High Urban (LA, Boston)
• $76,000 - $108,000 | All other locations

Within this range, our competitive, non-negotiable salary offer will be based on a candidate’s relevant experience and credentials, role-related competencies assessed through our robust hiring process, and geographic location. 

COVID-19 Vaccination Policy

All new employees are required to comply with E4E’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, which requires all staff to be fully vaccinated before the start of employment. An employee will be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the requisite number of doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Employees may request an exemption as a reasonable accommodation due to a medical reason or a sincerely held religious belief.

E4E abides by each state’s requirements and acknowledges that they may change over time. If you advance to an interview, you will have the opportunity to ask questions about this job requirement.

Accommodations: We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible interview experience and will ensure that all candidates are provided with reasonable accommodations that allow them to participate in the interview process. To request an accommodation, please email [email protected]

EEOC questionnaire: We place a particular focus on recruiting staff members who share the backgrounds of the communities we serve. We encourage all applicants to complete our EEOC questionnaire as part of your application process (these questions will be included in your initial application). Completing the questionnaire will help ensure our People & Equity team is attracting a diverse pool of qualified candidates for each of our open positions. Please note this information is not included with your application, and our hiring managers do not have access to race and other identifying information at any point in the interviewing or hiring process, including after a hire is made.

E4E uses E-Verify when completing all new hire paperwork. For more information, visit here.