Director of Strategic Engagement

Educators for Excellence • , CT

3d • $88,000 - $128,000 • Onsite

About The Position

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.

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 Director of Strategic Engagement will lead the design and execution of issue-based advocacy campaigns in Connecticut. This role sits at the intersection of campaign strategy, coalition leadership, and stakeholder engagement, ensuring that E4E’s work drives meaningful policy impact.

This individual will serve as a senior external-facing leader, representing the organization in coalition spaces, facilitating high-impact engagements, and building strategic partnerships. They will shape strategy, not just execute it, and bring strong judgment, discretion, and ownership to complex, fast-moving work.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in education policy, advocacy, or related fields.
• Deep understanding of state-level legislative processes, education policy landscape, and political dynamics.
• Strong relationship builder with demonstrated ability to influence and collaborate across stakeholders.
• Experience leading or contributing to advocacy campaigns or coalitions.
• Excellent communication and strategic thinking skills.
• Experience managing or coaching staff, including organizers or program teams
• Experience creating and facilitating adult learning
• Deep commitment to the values of E4E, to our commitment to antiracism, and to education equity.
• Knowledge of Slack, Asana, Salesforce, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word, and corresponding Google Suite products, understanding of reporting databases (i.e., Salesforce) preferred, very comfortable with phone and email outreach.
• Ability to travel across the state to support events, meetings, and stakeholder engagement, with periodic national travel for organizational convenings and collaboration

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and execution of issue-based advocacy campaigns aligned to state and organizational priorities.
• Translate vision into clear campaign plans, milestones, and outcomes.
• Drive project management and decision-making across campaign work.
• Partner with the National Programs team to align on strategy, policy priorities, and execution.
• Ensure campaigns are grounded in strong education policy insight and analysis.
• Represent E4E in coalitions, stakeholder spaces, and public forums with credibility and discretion.
• Build and manage relationships with key external stakeholders, including education leaders and partners.
• Lead and facilitate coalition meetings and convenings that drive alignment and action.
• Support and extend the Executive Director’s external presence and influence.
• Shape stakeholder strategy to ensure engagement efforts directly advance campaign goals.
• Lead coalition management and partnership strategy, including identifying and cultivating strategic relationships.
• Design and facilitate trainings for educators, organizers, and coalition partners that include other education advocacy organizations, State Department of Education (SDE), district leaders, Educator Prep Programs (EPPs), and other stakeholders.
• Oversee and support organizers and teacher engagement strategy, ensuring strong alignment with campaign priorities.
• Develop partners’ ability to effectively engage in advocacy and collective action.

Benefits

• Competitive, non-negotiable salary offer based on relevant experience and credentials, role-related competencies, and geographic location.
• COVID-19 vaccination policy (with potential for exemption requests).

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed