Senior Partner, Lit

Who we are

You’re reading this job description because somebody taught you how. You became “somebody” as a result. At Lit, we’re building a world in which everybody gets to be somebody. We are on a mission to ensure every kid, everywhere is a reader. We help school and system leaders build, implement and sustain reading ecosystems that live at the intersection of research and instructional equity. By bringing the science of reading to Black and Latino students, and to students who come from the experience of poverty, we can open up a world of possibility for children who are too often pushed to the margins of education.

Currently, we are incubated under a parent company called Array Education–a non-profit start-up studio. Array Education’s mission is to help start enduring, equity-driven, scalable solutions to our most pressing education challenges. 

What You Will Do

We are looking for a Senior Partner to join Lit’s School Support Team and lead schools and systems through the phases of reading ecosystem change. In collaboration with our clients, the Senior Partner is directly responsible for facilitating programmatic change, lifting instructional efficacy, and increasing outcomes for students. This is the perfect role for someone who wants to deploy research to design, implement, and monitor system-wide changes to school district and network-wide reading ecosystems. This role will report to a Managing Partner. 

As the Senior Partner, you will: 

Design and Lead Clients to Align Reading Ecosystem to equity and research

• Partner with a portfolio of large school district/network partners to transform literacy instructional practices in alignment with research and a focus on instructional equity
• Diagnose client reading ecosystems and lead a coalition of school system leaders through a multi-year engagement that supports adoption, implementation and sustainment of a research-aligned, equitable reading ecosystem across large school systems
• With a Managing Partner and senior school system leaders, set school system-wide goals, measure and monitor progress towards meeting milestones in reading ecosystem redesign; adapt and pivot strategically to achieve outcomes
• Model and teach clients to implement continuous improvement cycles to operationalize changes to literacy instruction
• In some cases, you will be staffed as the sole Lit team member on a client engagement and will serve as the primary point of contact and be fully responsible for leading the partnership and delivering results, without direct engagement of a Managing Partner

Coach and Develop School System Leaders

• Coach a range of school-system leaders to implement adjustments to the reading ecosystem including: chief academic officers and directors of literacy, and sometimes CEOs and superintendents, to embed enabling conditions for reading ecosystems; coach directors of literacy, principal managers, and principals to implement literacy plan to achieve breakthrough results for students  
• Model excellent instructional leadership practices and change management skills for mid-level system leaders; observe and provide developmental feedback to build the capacity of mid-level system leaders’ instructional leadership skills
• Analyze data at the network, school and classroom level to model data analysis, identify bright spots, identify areas of opportunity, plan response to data for the school system and for the buildings that the client-leader coaches
• Build the capacity of leaders to manage change, embed enabling conditions, and lead effective literacy instruction at scale across a large school system
• Act as a strategic connector by sharing resources, tools, and effective practices from other schools and systems; and connect leaders with others to facilitate learning, sharing, and community building

Support Organizational Growth and Development

• Contribute to the refinement and codification of Lit’s programmatic model by capturing lessons learned and identifying effective practices
• Share insights across teams and support cross-functional collaboration to evolve our work and deepen our impact
• Represent Lit’s values in all internal and external interactions 

In short, you will ensure that there is no daylight between research and equitable reading instruction for each of Lit’s partners.

You are someone who has the following qualifications

• Professional with 4+ years of experience as a school system-level leader (e.g., Superintendent, Chief Schools Officer, Chief Academic Officer, or the equivalent)
• Instructional Improvement Expert: Many have told you that your “instructional eye” sets a bar for rigor and demonstrates your mindset that all students have unlimited potential. You have led large teams to implement academic programs with coherence and impact. You have demonstrated deep expertise in driving changes in instructional practice for teachers, coaches, principals, principal managers, and other system-level leaders through observations, professional development, training, coaching, and instructional design.
• Analytical Leader: You’re a strategic thinker who synthesizes school-system-wide quantitative and qualitative data to generate new insights. You lead with a “measurement mindset”-- setting goals and designing, monitoring and measuring progress to those goals. You recognize the patterns and make connections in student, classroom, teacher, leader, and school-system data and can easily tell the story of where we are as a school system and what we need to do next.  
• Change Manager: You understand that to lead people is to lead change. You thoughtfully plan to manage change across an entire school system, which requires deeply understanding culture and context, thinking three steps ahead and investing all in a vision for the future. You have a demonstrated record of success leading large-scale change across networks of schools. You don’t shy away from having the hard conversations, holding adults accountable, and always keeping your promises because you know it’s what’s in the best interest for kids.  

  It would be a plus if you had: 

  • Expertise in the “science of reading” and putting research-aligned practices for reading instruction into practice

You are someone who shares our values

• Be cosmically urgent: You move with cosmic urgency--the vital urge to change things in a way that will benefit all people so everyone feels a sense of “somebodyness.”
• Stay constantly curious:  You ask “how might we?” when solving challenges.
• Pursue excellence over perfection: You prioritize individuals and the interactions that will move people to achieve outcomes over following a process that won’t get them there.
• Do hard things in a human way: You choose courage over comfort by facing difficult tasks and conversations rather than avoiding them.
• Invest in our collective success: You get your hands dirty; you will never say, “That’s not my job,” “That’s not my problem to solve,” or “I don’t care.”

Compensation

Compensation: This is a full-time staff, exempt position with an annual salary range of $135,000-180,000. A compensation offer is based on relevant years of experience in relation to the position as well as location. Because of our strong commitment to equity and growth, Lit does not negotiate or place compensation offers at the top of the range. 

Benefits: We provide all full-time employees with a competitive benefits package that includes comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, and parental leave. We offer a generous PTO policy and holiday calendar. We also provide an employer-sponsored 401K retirement plan with an annual 3% match.

Perks: Lit offers perks such as paid rest days after work-related travel; stipends for wellness, working-from-home, and professional learning; a community with as much support as your heart desires; and much, much, more!

Expectations to know 

Travel:  Travel is an essential part of how we support our partners, collaborate with our team, and fulfill our mission. Schedule and timing for travel may vary by team and role, and may change as the company’s business needs continue to evolve. The Senior Instructional Specialist should expect to travel up to 35% of the year.