Director of Innovation and CTAE - Georgia Connections Academy

Connections Academy•Duluth, GA

18d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Innovation and CTAE provides strategic leadership for Georgia Connections Academy’s innovation agenda and Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) programs across grades K–12. This role ensures that innovation, career-connected learning, and workforce readiness are intentionally designed, implemented, and scaled in alignment with state requirements, student interests, and postsecondary pathways. This role exists to ensure that innovation at GACA is intentional, research-backed, compliant, equitable, and scalable—not simply incremental improvement. The Director leads forward-thinking initiatives across academics, student engagement, workforce readiness, and operations, while also securing and executing external funding to support innovation through competitive grants and partnerships. The Director of Innovation Programs collaborates closely with the Executive Director, Principal of Curriculum and Instruction, school level principals, directors, board leadership, Pearson Virtual Schools, and external partners to introduce and develop from concept to implementation with fidelity and measurable impact. Georgia Connections Academy is not a traditional school—and this is not a traditional innovation role. Serving more than 7,200 students across all 159 counties in Georgia, GACA operates at the intersection of scale, equity, and innovation. As a statewide virtual public charter school, we are uniquely positioned to design, pilot, and scale solutions that reimagine what public education can look like—while remaining deeply accountable to academic outcomes, compliance, and community trust. The Director of Innovation Programs will join GACA at a pivotal moment. The school has moved beyond start-up growth and is now focused on intentional innovation: strengthening academic pathways, expanding career-connected learning, securing and executing external funding, and building systems that are sustainable, replicable, and student-centered.

Requirements

Masters Degree or higher in Education Leadership required with a Tier I Leadership and Clearance certification
Minimum 5 years of experience leading innovation, program design, grants, or organizational change in K–12 education.
Proven success implementing scalable initiatives that impact student outcomes.
Experience writing, managing, or executing grants strongly preferred.
Georgia CTAE Knowledge & Experience
Demonstrated experience with Georgia CTAE pathways, Georgia Standards of Excellence, and GaDOE CTAE program requirements, including pathway development and implementation.

Nice To Haves

Strong understanding of career-connected learning, STEAM pathways, workforce development, CTAE or postsecondary readiness initiatives
Ability to translate research and best practices into actionable, measurable programs

Responsibilities

CTAE Program Leadership (K–12)
Oversees all CTAE pathways, exploratory programs, and career-connected learning experiences
Ensures alignment with Georgia CTAE standards, Perkins requirements, and workforce trends
Supports pathway development, program quality, and continuous improvement
Innovation Strategy & Program Design
Develop and execute a system-wide innovation strategy aligned to GACA’s mission, charter goals, CCRPI priorities, and Strategic Improvement Plan.
Identify gaps where existing approaches no longer meet student or staff needs and design next-generation solutions for a virtual learning environment.
Lead innovation listening sessions, needs assessments, and data reviews with students, families, staff, and leaders.
Design, pilot, and refine innovative programs across:
Instructional models and intervention systems
Student engagement and belonging
Career pathways, STEAM, CTAE, and workforce readiness
Family and community engagement
Virtual school operations and systems
Ensure all innovation initiatives are equity-centered, compliant, data-informed, and scalable across grade bands and regions.
Program Execution, Implementation & Scaling
Own innovation initiatives from pilots through full implementation, ensuring alignment, pacing, and outcomes.
Lead cross-functional project teams involving curriculum, counseling, operations, technology, assessment, and community engagement.
Support school leaders and staff in adopting new practices, tools, and programs with clarity and consistency.
Develop and execute implementation playbooks, timelines, budgets, and sustainability plans.
Monitor success metrics and make data-driven decisions to refine, expand, or sunset initiatives.
Collaborate with senior leaders to embed successful innovations into existing school structures and systems.
Grant Writing, Funding & Grant Execution (NEW – CORE FUNCTION)
Identify, research, and pursue local, state, federal, and philanthropic grant opportunities aligned to GACA’s innovation priorities, CTAE, and workforce development.
Lead or co-lead grant writing, proposal development, budgets, and narratives in collaboration with the Business Manager, Federal Programs team, and Executive Director.
Serve as the programmatic lead for awarded grants, ensuring:
Grant activities align to approved scope of work
Timelines, deliverables, and outcomes are met
Documentation and reporting requirements are fulfilled
Funds are used with fidelity and compliance
Partner with internal teams to translate grant requirements into executable school-level plans.
Evaluate grant-funded initiatives for impact and sustainability beyond the funding period.
Data, Evaluation & Continuous Improvement
Oversee rigorous data collection and evaluation of innovation initiatives.
Analyze qualitative and quantitative data to measure student outcomes, engagement, and operational effectiveness.
Use the findings to iterate and refine programs, guide leadership decisions, and expand successful strategies.
Ensure transparency and clarity around innovation outcomes for internal leadership, the Board, funders, and external stakeholders.
Stakeholder & External Engagement
Build strong partnerships with internal teams, school leaders, board members, and external partners.
Represent GACA in innovation-focused spaces including conferences, networks, grant collaboratives, and partnerships.
Communicate innovation vision, progress, and outcomes clearly to the Executive Director, Board, and school community.
Benchmark best practices from leading virtual, charter, and innovative school models nationwide.
Student Outcomes & Readiness
Uses data to monitor participation, completion, credentials, and postsecondary indicators
Ensures CTAE programming contributes to academic growth, engagement, and graduation outcomes