Job Application for Senior Director of Talent Development at Democracy Prep Public Schools

New

As the Senior Director of Talent Development, you serve as a key architect and strategic leader for teacher and leader development across Democracy Prep Public Schools. Reporting to the Vice President of Talent Development and working closely with the Academics and People Teams, you drive high-impact initiatives that strengthen instructional quality, build current leadership capacity along with a leadership bench, and advance organizational equity.

Who You Are

An experienced and mission-driven leader with a deep commitment to antiracism, educational equity, and Democracy Prep’s mission of college success and civic engagement.
A champion of people-centered, outcomes-driven systems, who balances consistency and clarity with the nuanced needs of individuals, schools, and communities.
Somebody who enjoys both strategy and execution and who has the proven ability to lead change, scale programs, and drive impact across multiple schools and teams.
A passionate developer of people at all stages of their careers—especially teachers and school leaders—who brings a track record of designing, implementing, and improving development programs that are both equitable and results-oriented.
A skilled collaborator and relationship builder, able to navigate complex organizational structures and partner effectively with Talent, Academics, Schools, and People Teams to align priorities and move work forward.
A data-informed and reflective decision-maker who uses multiple forms of evidence to identify needs, measure impact, and advocate for continuous improvement.
An excellent communicator who is able to craft clear, compelling messages—both written and verbal—that inspire action and create shared ownership across diverse audiences.

What You’ll Do

Organizational Strategy and Impact

In collaboration with the full Talent Development Team, facilitate the planning, execution, and follow-up of Democracy Prep’s semiannual school review process. In partnership with each school’s Deputy Superintendent, ensure schools receive clear, actionable feedback and sustained coaching between each school review.
Support the development of high-functioning, equitable, and outcomes-driven schools through strategic consultation and program leadership.

Leadership Development and Succession Planning

Lead network-wide leadership development initiatives, including targeted programming for Assistant Principals and succession planning strategies. This includes designing scalable systems to identify and grow high-potential talent, and the potential for planning for the relaunch of an internal leadership cohort.
In partnership with the Vice President and Director of Talent Acquisition, refine current recruitment and interview processes for school leadership positions, with a focus on attracting diverse, equity-minded, and high-impact leaders.
Maintain a dynamic leadership heat map in partnership with the Chief, Schools and People teams to track leadership performance, identify risks, and inform proactive development strategies.
Recommend school leadership placements to the Chiefs Team, Schools Team, and People Team grounded in interview performance and organizational needs.
Develop and maintain Internal competency based pipeline development programs for leaders to support succession planning

Teacher and Talent Development

Alongside the full Talent Development team, design and lead a comprehensive teacher development strategy that improves instructional effectiveness, strengthens retention, and supports educators across experience levels—from new to master teachers—while advancing our commitment to antiracism and inclusive excellence.
In alignment with Talent Acquisition strategy, ensure that teacher and leadership pipelines are supported by meaningful development opportunities that attract, prepare, and retain high-quality instructional talent.
With the People and Academics team, co-facilitate Democracy Prep’s internal substitute programming, ensuring continuity of instruction and support during leaves of absence.
Collaborate with the Academics and Schools Teams to evaluate network-wide development needs and co-lead the planning, execution, and continuous improvement of professional learning experiences for teachers, leaders, and other school-based staff.
Develop and maintain Internal competency based pipeline development programs for teachers

Performance Management and Talent Systems

Support the Vice President of Talent Development in the ongoing refinement of school-based performance evaluation systems to ensure they are aligned with Democracy Prep’s strategic plan, values, and antiracist commitments.
Ensure cross-campus alignment and norming around teacher evaluations to promote consistency, equity, and clarity in how instructional and leadership performance is assessed.
Collaborate with CMO functional teams to align non-instructional school-based evaluation processes, ensuring systems allow for differentiated evaluations that are well normed for each school-based role.
Equip school leaders to lead strong developmental conversations and coaching cycles, ensuring all managers are empowered to grow their teams with clear, actionable feedback.

Compensation

Salary range for this position is $130,000 to $150,000 and commensurate with your experience. This is a non-exempt position. Democracy Prep employees are provided with a benefits package that includes medical, vision, and dental insurance, 403b retirement matching, parental leave, a smartphone, and a laptop.

Democracy Prep is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, or ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, veteran or military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, familial status, domestic violence victim status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. Our mission is to educate responsible citizen-scholars who will change the world. We strongly believe that by building a DREAM team that represents numerous perspectives, backgrounds, and expertise, we can achieve this goal together. This is a value we highly support and strongly encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply.

First Name

Last Name

Phone

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Preferred first name

Preferred Pronoun(s)

In order to confirm your background check with the State of New York, we need your social security number. Please include your social security number below.

How did you hear about this job? Please select:

Select...

If you indicated personal connection, professional connection, or other, please provide the name or source below.

Are you a current member or alumnus of any of the following programs?

Select...

Have you completed a 4-year bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university?

Select...

If yes, from which College or University?

What degree did you receive and in what field?

What was your graduation date?

If N/A, what is your anticipated date of graduation?

If you are currently enrolled in a post-secondary program, please share the degree you are working towards and your anticipated completion date.

Are you authorized to work in the United States?

Select...

If you answered "no" to the question above, please provide an explanation below:

Please note that these positions are available exclusively to permanent residents of the United States. Continued residency within the US is necessary for employment with us. Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H-1B or J-1 visa status) or Green Card sponsorship in order to work for Democracy Prep Public Schools?

Select...

If you answered "Yes" to the question above, please provide an explanation below.

Consistent with applicable law, Democracy Prep employees are subject to criminal background checks. To the best of your knowledge, do you have a pending criminal charge or a criminal conviction in any jurisdiction?

Select...

If you answered "Yes" to the question above regarding criminal history, please provide each of the following: (1) a brief summary of the conduct that led to the criminal conviction(s) and/or pending criminal charge(s), (2) the current status of the criminal conviction(s) and/or pending criminal charge(s), and (3) any other relevant information, including an explanation of how Democracy Prep can feel confident that such conduct will not be repeated and will not affect your work with Democracy Prep. Please note that one or more pending criminal charges and/or criminal convictions will not necessarily bar you from working for Democracy Prep. However, we prefer to know about such issues in advance of your background check.

I certify that all the information I have provided in order to apply for and secure work with this employer is true, complete, and correct. I expressly authorize, without reservation, the employer its representatives, employees or agents to contact and obtain information from all references (personal and professional), employers, public agencies, licensing authorities and education institutions and to otherwise verify the accuracy of all information provided by me in this application, resume or job interview. I also understand that if I am hired, I will be required to provide proof of identity and legal authorization to work in the United States and that federal immigration laws require me to complete an I-9 Form in this regard. The information that I am providing here in the application and in the hiring process, including but not limited to information from the phone screen, demo lesson, and interview, will be used for research purposes to improve DPPS’s selection methods. I understand that all personally identifiable information will be kept confidential and will not be shared with non-research partners. Notice to applicants: An applicant who willfully provides false information or fails to disclose the information required is subject to criminal prosecution, as well as a civil penalty of up to five hundred dollars and may face discipline up to and including termination or denial of employment.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Democracy Prep Public Schools’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Gender

Select...

Are you Hispanic/Latino?

Select...

Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Veteran Status

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305

Page 1 of 1

OMB Control Number 1250-0005

Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
Blind or low vision
Cancer (past or present)
Cardiovascular or heart disease
Celiac disease
Cerebral palsy
Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
Diabetes
Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
Intellectual or developmental disability
Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
Short stature (dwarfism)
Traumatic brain injury

Disability Status

Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.

Senior Director of Talent Development

Apply for this job

Voluntary Self-Identification

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability