Director, AI for Education & Workforce

IREX • Ekenäs, DC

3d • $94,000 - $200,000

About The Position

The Director, AI for Education and Workforce will devote most of the role to leading AI-in-education strategy for IREX’s ASAS program in Jordan. The remaining effort will advance IREX’s broader AI portfolio through technical leadership, partnerships, thought leadership, and business development. This is a strategy and program leadership position, not a software engineering role. The position may be based in Amman, the UAE, or Washington, DC. Periodic domestic and international travel may be required, and priorities may evolve with portfolio and organizational needs.

The Director will serve as ASAS’s senior technical authority on AI in education, set strategic direction for responsible AI adoption, advise on policy and investment decisions, and define the evidence and learning agenda. The role will also steer AI-readiness work with Jordanian universities, manage strategic and reputational risks, measure impact, and communicate results through use cases and case studies.

Across IREX’s global portfolio, the Director will lead the design, delivery, and evaluation of responsible AI-enabled education and workforce programs; advise teams on tools, implementation models, vendors, risk controls, and measures of success; and shape scalable offerings. The role will build partnerships, support opportunity capture and proposal development, represent IREX in public and policy forums, create thought leadership, and advise senior leaders on emerging opportunities, evidence, progress, and risk.

Requirements

• Advanced degree or equivalent experience in education, workforce development, public policy, technology, organizational transformation, or a related field.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience, including leadership in education, workforce, digital transformation, AI adoption, or a related area.
• Ability to translate AI concepts into practical strategies, programs, and institutional solutions for nontechnical stakeholders.
• Experience developing business and partnerships with donors, governments, foundations, companies, universities, or technology organizations.
• Strong knowledge of responsible AI and its implications for workforce transitions, institutional capacity, and learning.
• Demonstrated cross-functional leadership and excellent written, oral, facilitation, and public-representation skills across diverse contexts.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with international and emerging-market education and workforce systems.
• Experience leading AI readiness, digital transformation, educator development, workforce-skilling, or institutional-capacity initiatives.
• Relevant networks and experience producing evidence or thought leadership for senior and external audiences.
• Deep experience working across the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and a strong understanding of regional education and workforce systems, institutional landscapes, and policy contexts.

Responsibilities

• Serve as ASAS’s senior technical authority on AI in education, advising program leadership and partners on policy, governance, and responsible adoption pathways.
• Set ASAS’s strategic vision for AI and position the program as Jordan’s flagship reference point for responsible AI in early-grade education, aligned with U.S. Department of State priorities and IREX’s global AI agenda.
• Advise on AI policy, sequencing, and investment choices, accounting for program objectives, institutional readiness, evidence, and long-term sustainability.
• Define the evidence and learning strategy for AI activities so they generate credible, policy-relevant findings.
• Steer AI-readiness work with Jordanian universities toward a systems-level agenda for teacher preparation and faculty capability, linked to IREX’s broader AI-in-education work.
• Anticipate and manage strategic risks, including regulatory shifts, vendor lock-in, gaps between donor expectations and implementation realities, and reputational exposure from premature or poorly governed AI deployment.
• Measure the impact of ASAS’s AI work and translate results into use cases and case studies for external communications, marketing, business development, and learning.
• Represent ASAS and IREX at national, regional, and global AI-in-education forums and contribute to policy dialogue and thought leadership across the Middle East and North Africa.
• Lead the design, delivery, and evaluation of responsible AI-enabled education and workforce programs.
• Design and develop AI solutions that distinguish IREX in the marketplace.
• Advise teams on tools, implementation models, vendors, risk controls, and measures of success.
• Ensure solutions reflect user needs, local systems, labor-market demand, institutional realities, and IREX quality standards.
• Shape scalable offerings such as AI readiness assessments, institutional transformation support, training, responsible AI learning products, and advisory services.
• Monitor technology, policy, funding, and labor-market trends and translate them into recommendations for leadership and program teams.
• Build high-impact partnerships with donors, governments, foundations, companies, universities, employers, and technology organizations.
• Shape and pursue opportunities through strategic capture, proposal development, and partner engagement.
• Turn global demand into compelling scopes, delivery models, budgets, value propositions, and collaborations.
• Serve as IREX’s senior global voice on AI in education and workforce systems.
• Equip colleagues with practical guidance, tools, training, and opportunities for shared learning.
• Create thought leadership and advise senior leaders on emerging opportunities, evidence, progress, and risk.

Benefits

• U.S. benefits package, including health and dental insurance, 401(k) matching, and paid time off, for eligible U.S.-based candidates.
• MENA-region localized allowances where applicable, health coverage, annual flight allowances, and end-of-service gratuities in accordance with local labor laws.
• Learning, development, and growth opportunities.
• Comprehensive benefits package designed to support overall well-being.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director