Senior Consultant

Education First Consulting

11d•Remote

About The Position

Education First is seeking an experienced leader to join our team as a Senior Consultant. Candidates for the Senior Consultant role will demonstrate expertise in at least one of the following areas: Implementing high-quality instructional systems and aligned assessment practices that provide actionable data and advance academic coherence; Designing innovative strategic staffing systems that strengthen educator talent; or Developing pathways to college and/or careers that align student outcomes with workforce and community needs. Candidates for this role should also demonstrate proficiency with Artificial Intelligence (AI), which they can leverage to advise funders, nonprofit, school districts, state education agencies (SEAs) and other firm clients on how the strategic use of or investment in AI can accelerate systems-level coherence. Reporting to the Senior Director of Consulting Practice, Senior Consultants manage project teams and client relationships, develop high-quality deliverables and ensure projects are completed on-time and within budget parameters. Candidates should bring evidence of deep content knowledge, strong project management and team leadership skills and be excited to advance systems change.

Requirements

Experience designing and implementing for successful education policies designed to improve P-20 education outcomes for young people, in settings including school districts, education reform organizations, foundations, and state boards/departments of education
Strong, inclusive project management experience, including the ability to juggle several complex projects at once, develop work plans, maintain project budgets, manage risks, and meet deadlines and targets
Ability to synthesize complex ideas from technical literature and qualitative research into a clear storyline for reports and presentations; ability to identify the key and relevant “so what” findings and advice for clients from data and research
Demonstrated experience managing people, especially those at different points in their careers and from diverse backgrounds
Proficiency with AI in your work (e.g., identifying appropriate use cases for AI, apply AI tools to improve efficiency and quality of work product, integrate AI into project workflows, exercise sound judgment about responsible AI use) and can support or coach others to use AI as well
Working knowledge about the key trends in public education and AI, the common tools used in school systems, and how AI-generated insights can inform instructional design and professional learning
Strong interpersonal skills and high emotional intelligence
Strong communicator through verbal and written mediums
Deep facilitation experience with a range of stakeholder groups and clients
Skilled at building well-organized and creating compelling client-facing PowerPoint presentations
Ability to lead through ambiguity to create clear structures that deliver high-quality results to clients
Initiative to resourcefully solve problems while anticipating and adjusting for the unexpected
Ability to provide and receive feedback with ease
Ability to lead by influence – establishing open lines of communication and understanding and including the perspectives of others

Responsibilities

Successfully manage complex projects, including building capacity in and advising clients, developing and maintaining project workplans, monitoring team members’ experiences and developing (or co-developing with others) project deliverables that meet the firm’s quality standards
Understand root causes of the problems clients are trying to solve, design with and for people most proximate to those problems and deliver equitable, effective and innovative solutions to clients’ challenges
Develop and execute on project work plans according to client needs and budget constraints
Adapt project plans to reflect changes in project requirements
Coordinate knowledge management across streams of work
Produce client deliverables, including landscape analyses, written reports and memos, and facilitation plans for convening and communities of practice
Develop trusting relationships with high-profile clients in the education field (funders, school districts, nonprofits, SEAs, etc.) and support district, organizational and state teams in ways that lead to repeat business.
Design and facilitate effective client meetings that reflect an understanding of adult learning principles, advance project outcomes and support client decisionmaking
Capture and share project insights for clients and for the firm internally
Design and deploy technical assistance to clients
Collaborate on the development of tools and strategies to assess client needs
Stay up to date on the latest policy trends and research in K12 systems, and lift up relevant insights and emerging best practices for clients
Build and lead inclusive project teams where members experience professional growth and both invite and receive balanced feedback from each other
Develop systems, routines and workplans that support collaboration and trust among team members
Coach and support your colleagues’ professional growth by diagnosing areas for development and providing project-embedded feedback