Director, Houston Impact - Leadership For Educational Equity

About LEE

LEE is a diverse, nonpartisan network of equity-minded leaders at all stages of life and career. We provide 1:1 coaching, meaningful member-to-member connections, and skill-building opportunities to support and inspire members to increase equity everywhere.

LEE is a civic leadership development membership organization currently open to alumni of our partner organizations including Teach For America, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), New Leaders, Latinos for Education, City Teaching Alliance, School Board Partners, Public Allies, and more.

We equip LEE members with the tools, resources, and industry knowledge they need to take collective action and create change in their communities – whether that’s through policymaking, elected leadership, advocacy, or grassroots organizing.

LEE believes that when a diverse group of leaders, grounded in a commitment to equity, are in leadership roles, they can be a transformative force for and with students and communities.

We are an outcomes-oriented organization that operates in an entrepreneurial environment deeply invested in continuous improvement. LEE is honored to have been selected as a LATINA Style 50 Award recipient and a When Work Works award recipient. We are also an Employer of National Service. If you would like to become part of our team and join the fight for educational equity, or if you would simply like to learn more, please visit wearelee.org.

Position Summary:

The Regional Impact team is responsible for supporting LEE member engagement, leadership development, and impact in partnership with teams across the organization for our 55,000+ members across the country.

LEE seeks an experienced and innovative leader to serve as Director, Regional Impact in Houston. The Director, Regional Impact should bring experience, curiosity, and creativity to engage our base of members in the region. This leader should have a thorough understanding of and relationships within the political and education policy landscape of Houston, the skills to coach and match members to best fit LEE and LEE Platform resources, supports, and opportunities, and the ability to inspire and recruit members to run for office.

The Director, Regional Impact is responsible for setting a unique, values-based vision for their region in the context of LEE’s long-term strategy that fosters the individual and collective leadership of LEE members in their community. This work will help to inform organizational resources and strategy and maintain a strong regional presence that supports our national brand.

The Director, Regional Impact must effectively and efficiently manage a region where LEE members are actively developing civic change skills to build power and are harnessing that power to change laws and policies in service of kids in communities. The Director, Regional Impact will do this by: (1) actively building a base of civically engaged members through early and sustained engagement; (2) helping our members develop into and assume entry through senior level roles in policy, in advocacy, and as an elected official.

The Director, Regional Impact will work closely with the national teams to maximize the scale of our work. As a high visibility leader at LEE, the Director, Regional Impact will have a deep personal and professional alignment with LEE’s core values. This position will report to the Senior Director of Regional Impact.

Position Location: Houston with support to/engagement with members living across the greater Houston region

Travel Requirements: 10% minimum outside the region (for team events and national programming; this could increase at times based on interest/onboarding needs); frequent travel throughout the region

Responsibilities:

Member Engagement (25%)

• Develop deep knowledge of resources and supports offered by all teams at LEE and ensure team members have developed similar knowledge

• Conduct 1:1 meetings with members regularly to understand their vision for impact, align with their leadership trajectory, and match them with supports

• Develop and facilitate in-person or virtual regional trainings and events that support member learning

• Leverage communications resources that inspire members to connect to and use LEE resources and/or attend programming

• Support new member sign up and engagement in partnership with the Partnerships & Infrastructure team

Elected Leadership Coaching (25%)

• Partner with the Elected Leadership team to develop thorough knowledge of electoral opportunities across the state

• Work across LEE’s Thrive community to leverage learnings and create and implement recruitment outreach cycles for members

• Coach members using LEE’s robust coaching program (including virtual content) and support them to file for candidacy

• Track elected leadership outreach, engagement, recruitment, and coaching efforts in a timely way via Salesforce and other tools

Regional Strategy-Setting and Implementation (20%)

• Develop and lead a regional strategy aligned with Regional Impact team vision that responds to the local landscape, political relationships, and power structures in the region that supports member engagement and impact

• Utilize member engagement data, knowledge of current events, and issues affecting civic leadership to drive engagement with LEE

• Track numerical progress towards goals and regularly share anecdotal progress and member impact stories

• Share insights and work with teams across LEE to inform organizational strategy and resources that leads to increased impact for kids and communities

Accelerating Member Engagement and Impact Beyond the Region (20%)

• Partner with Regional Impact colleagues to identify critical member segments (e.g., newly engaged/sustained engaged, lapsed/ null, identity-specific, pathway-specific) that span multiple regions and could be supported by in-person, virtual, or digital engagement

• Develop a strategy to engage this segment of members; may include original content, curated LEE content (first-party), or partner service provider content (third-party)

• Pilot and document key tactics in local region to understand initial resources (people, time, money, partnerships, etc.) required for scale

• Support making the content scaleable in such ways as designing assets, transferring to learning management system (LMS), and ensuring partner provider Memorandum of Understanding process is completed

Special Projects (10%)

• Lead or contribute to team-level, organization-wide, or cross-team special projects as assigned by manager or designee

• Provide short-term coverage of teams and/or projects during a leave, vacancy, or PTO

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or commensurate work experience (If you do not hold a Bachelor’s degree an additional 4 years of relevant experience is required. If you hold an Associate’s degree an additional 2 years of relevant experience is required.)

• 6+ years relevant professional experience

• Experience coaching others and playing a role in their long-term development

• Demonstrated track record of building local networks and partnerships with a diverse community of leaders and creating change with these partners

• Deep regional expertise and connections and ability to move influencers to achieve impact

• Baseline level of knowledge and skills in Elected Leadership, Policy and Advocacy, and/or Community Organizing

• Strong regional network of community and political relationships

• Strong, demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, & inclusion

• Ability to effectively communicate and collaborate within a geographically dispersed team

• Deep passion for educational equity and belief in LEE’s mission and theory of change

Preferred Qualifications:

• Graduate degree in a field related to education and/or policy (e.g., MPP, M.Ed., JD)

• Experience in navigating software (e.g., Asana, Eventbrite)

• Experience in coaching and recruiting candidates for elected leadership

• Demonstrated experience effectively working and coaching across lines of difference

• Demonstrated experience in coalition building and organizing with communities of color

Physical Requirements & Work Demands:

• The person in this position may need to occasionally move about inside the office to liaise with staff or access office equipment.

• Frequent travel within the region to meet with members is required.

• Occasional evening and/or weekend work is required.

Application Submission:

Thank you for considering LEE as a future employer, we are eager to review your application and learn more about your experiences and interest in LEE's mission. We encourage you to submit your application at your earliest convenience. However, we do not have an application deadline for this position and we will review applications on a rolling basis. For additional information, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions section on LEE's Careers website: https://wearelee.org/who-we-are/careers/.

Benefits and Pay

The position level for this role is Director 2 and the corresponding pay range for this position is $95,130.00-$123,690.00. Pay is competitive and based upon relevant experience and cost of labor for your location. Learn more about compensation here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kUbPtNQiPIjWA4xbEaEY08RLQ-ZeO49wd8dc1v3U_s8/edit?usp=sharing. In addition, LEE offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, dental, and vision coverage for spouses, families, and domestic partners where LEE covers up to 85% of premium costs; 100% employer-paid basic life and AD&D insurance and short and long-term disability insurance; a retirement package with 5% employer match; parental leave benefits; home office setup fund; ongoing virtual work benefits for phone and internet; generous paid time off and an organization-wide winter break between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. For more information, please review LEE's Careers website: https://wearelee.org/who-we-are/careers/#:~:text=Time%20Regular%20Staff-,Care%20For%20Your%20Health,-We%20cover%20up.

An Equal-Opportunity Employer with a Commitment to Diversity

Leadership for Educational Equity is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and as an organization committed to diversity, and the perspective of all voices, we consider applicants equally of race, gender, color, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability, political affiliation, and national origin. We reasonably accommodate staff members and/or applicants with disabilities, provided they are otherwise able to perform the essential functions of the job.

An affirmative action-equal opportunity employer.

The statements in this description represent typical elements, criteria, and general work performed. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required for the job.

LEE is committed to the full inclusion for individuals with disabilities in employment, its programs, and its operations. As part of this commitment, LEE will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application process, please contact staffing@educationalequity.org and a member of our team will be in touch with you shortly to address your request.