Managing Director, Certification & Licensure

Teach For America • Houston, TX

1d • $81,700 - $126,600 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Managing Director of Certification & Licensure is charged with ensuring that Teach For America Texas corps members are equipped to provide an excellent education for every student, specifically by supporting corps members to fulfill the requirements necessary to receive an educator certificate in the state of Texas. This role will partner with educator preparation programs to understand corps member certification requirements, create and manage shared systems for tracking corps member testing completion, and partner with Matriculation Generalists, Senior Managing Director Partnerships, and Leadership Development coaches to ensure corps members successfully complete the requirements and earn an educator certificate before the end of their two-year commitment. The role will spend the majority of their time onboarding, tutoring, and coaching corps members towards the completion of their certification requirements. The ideal candidate deeply values the students and community served and is passionate about realizing educational excellence in Texas. They possess strong project management skills, enjoy working collaboratively across multiple internal and external teams, are comfortable with ambiguity, and are a self-starter who operates with minimal oversight. Additionally, they are detail-oriented, excel at translating passion for the mission into systems and communications that empower people to fulfill their responsibilities, and can be responsive and take swift action.

Requirements

• Expertise managing multiple projects at once and working collaboratively across multiple internal and external teams to achieve your vision and impact.
• Knowledge & experience of the educator licensure or certification processes in Texas
• Comfortable with ambiguity and a self-starter who operates with minimal oversight
• Detail-oriented and excel at translating passion for the mission into tracking systems and communications strategies that compel diverse stakeholders
• Teach For America experience (staff or corps) and/or public education experience
• 7+ years of aligned work experience
• Bachelor’s degree required

Nice To Haves

• Certification in project management, or equivalent work experience preferred
• Prior certification knowledge/experience
• Prior teaching experience
• Prior relationship with SMU Certification or other Texas Certification program
• A Growth Mindset that enables them to understand the nuance of certification and holding space for individual and unique situations

Responsibilities

• Design and implement a statewide onboarding plan in collaboration with MDMGs that ensures all incoming Texas corps members enroll in a certification program, begin required testing, and are connected to tutoring resources prior to the first day of school.
• Develop an individualized learning plan for each corps member that has not passed required exams by end of preservice, outlining specific tests needed, a realistic timeline for passage, and the support structures required to achieve full certification by the end of year one.
• Partner with educator preparation program staff (e.g., SMU, Houston ISD ACP, TOPP, ACT-RGV), MDMGs, 240 Tutoring, and partnerships leads to ensure certification milestones are integrated into the broader arc of corps member learning and development from matriculation forward.
• Hold a direct portfolio of 250–350 incoming corps members, serving as their primary certification point of contact and coach for each incoming cohort's certification journey from confirmation through the end of their first year, maintaining continuity of relationship, tracking, and support throughout.
• Coach corps members individually and in groups toward certification completion, helping them understand their certification requirements, navigate program enrollment, interpret test results, and stay on track with their individualized certification plans.
• Directly provide tutoring and facilitate targeted learning sessions for incoming corps members preparing for certification tests.
• Collaborate with educator preparation program partners, MDLDs, and partnerships leads on an ongoing basis throughout the school year to support first-year corps members who are struggling to pass certification tests or fulfill coursework requirements.
• Build and maintain a comprehensive tracking system that monitors every incoming corps member from confirmation through full certification, capturing testing status, certification pathway, preparation program enrollment, and key milestones.
• Design and manage operational workflows that surface gaps in real time, enabling proactive intervention before and after corps members arrive in classrooms.
• Generate regular reports for MDMGs, partnership staff, and MDLDs that surface corps members at risk of not completing certification within their first year, and monitor individual progress across the portfolio, adjusting plans and escalating concerns as needed.
• Draft, manage, and send all certification-related communications to incoming and current corps members, including guidance on required tests, registration deadlines, preparation resources, updated individual plans, and next steps following each admissions deadline.
• Lead certification learning calls following each admissions deadline, ensuring corps members understand their certification pathway and immediate action items.
• Build and maintain strong relationships and data-sharing systems with educator preparation program partners, MDMGs, MDLDs, heads of program, and VP of Public Affairs to monitor and develop insights on anticipated changes to Texas educator certification policy that affect corps member experience and retention.
• Participate in corps members and alumni activities across the continuum including but not limited to corps member selection or matriculation, pre-service, alumni campaigns, ongoing AmeriCorps data collection and tracking, etc.
• Leverage regional and national resources (e.g. weekly newsletters, daily gift reports, etc.) and participate in statewide, regional and national committees/working groups/project teams
• Prepare for and engage in ongoing check-ins, team meetings, and professional development structures
• Serve as an “all hands on deck” team member willing to support regions in various ways as needs and opportunities arise, which embodies the spirit of the TFA Texas team.

Benefits

• The applicable salary range for each U.S.-based role is based on where the employee works and is aligned to one of 3 tiers according to a cost of labor index in that geographic area.
• New hires are typically brought into the organization at a salary between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint depending on qualifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role.
• Teach For America is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member) or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

What This Job Offers

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