Strategic Initiatives Director - State Collaborative on Reforming Education
Nashville, TN 37203
About the Job
OVERVIEW OF THE POSITION
The Strategic Initiatives Director will be responsible for driving progress on a portfolio of special projects and initiatives across SCORE’s strategic priorities. More specifically, this role will provide project and portfolio oversight, cutting across workstreams that include advocacy, policy, research, strategic practice, and innovation. Collaborating closely with the entire SCORE team, the Strategic Initiatives Director will lead ongoing and new initiatives as they arise and will play a critical role in ensuring that projects complement each other to maximize impact. At SCORE, special projects and initiatives often include multiyear or multimonth engagements with internal teammates and external stakeholders that result in convenings, public products (like memos or reports), working groups, innovative pilots, and more.
ABOUT SCORE
“The progress that our students have made in recent years is inspiring — there is no doubt that they are capable of achieving at high levels and leading Tennessee into a bright future. While education stakeholders are already working together in exciting ways in Tennessee, it is our responsibility to redouble our innovative efforts to ensure that we are supporting our students to truly excel and thrive. The future of our state depends on it.”
SCORE has three goals that guide the organization’s work to drive success for all students in Tennessee:
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Specific examples of the work that the Strategic Initiatives Director will be responsible for include but are not limited to:
IDEAL CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS
SCORE is looking for a versatile and multiskilled individual who can excel in a cross-functional role. The ideal candidate:
COMPENSATION
SCORE offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience.
BENEFITS
SCORE deeply values team members and their well-being and is proud to offer a comprehensive benefits plan. All full-time SCORE employees are eligible for benefits, including:
SCORE’s mission is to drive transformative change in education so that all Tennessee students can achieve success in college, career, and life. From its founding in 2009, SCORE has been grounded in the belief that diverse perspectives are required to identify solutions that will best serve Tennessee students, so we seek to bring as many viewpoints as possible into our daily work and live out collaboration as a core value.
Within our organization, we believe it is important for our team to reflect the rich diversity of Tennesseans and Tennessee students, and we aspire for our team to understand varied viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds. We strive to build an inclusive organization where each team member feels respected and supported, knowing that when team members are empowered to use their individual gifts, we become more effective in advancing our mission.
SCORE is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are considered for all roles without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristic or status.
TO APPLY
Candidates must apply through the applicant portal here. SCORE will review applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled. We recommend interested applicants apply as soon as possible.
The Strategic Initiatives Director will be responsible for driving progress on a portfolio of special projects and initiatives across SCORE’s strategic priorities. More specifically, this role will provide project and portfolio oversight, cutting across workstreams that include advocacy, policy, research, strategic practice, and innovation. Collaborating closely with the entire SCORE team, the Strategic Initiatives Director will lead ongoing and new initiatives as they arise and will play a critical role in ensuring that projects complement each other to maximize impact. At SCORE, special projects and initiatives often include multiyear or multimonth engagements with internal teammates and external stakeholders that result in convenings, public products (like memos or reports), working groups, innovative pilots, and more.
ABOUT SCORE
“The progress that our students have made in recent years is inspiring — there is no doubt that they are capable of achieving at high levels and leading Tennessee into a bright future. While education stakeholders are already working together in exciting ways in Tennessee, it is our responsibility to redouble our innovative efforts to ensure that we are supporting our students to truly excel and thrive. The future of our state depends on it.”
Sen. Bill Frist, M.D., Chairman and Founder, SCORE
At the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), our mission is to catalyze transformative change in Tennessee education so that all students can achieve success. SCORE is an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan institution founded in 2009 by Sen. Bill Frist, M.D., former U.S. Senate Majority Leader. Striving to be a durable partner and trusted advisor on Tennessee education, SCORE is focused on advancing change for students from kindergarten to career through policy and practice — and taking it to scale.SCORE has three goals that guide the organization’s work to drive success for all students in Tennessee:
- All students receive an excellent public K-12 education.
- All students earn a credential or postsecondary degree of value that prepares them for a career enabling economic independence.
- Economically disadvantaged students, students of color, and rural students see improved success across all goals relative to their peers.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Specific examples of the work that the Strategic Initiatives Director will be responsible for include but are not limited to:
- Lead and manage a portfolio of special projects and initiatives across various workstreams, including: advocacy, policy, research, strategic practice, and innovation.
- Develop content (including reports, memos, presentations, and internal and external communications) as needed related to special projects and initiatives.
- Build and manage actionable project plans for special projects and initiatives.
- Track SCORE project implementation, ensuring progress is being made and identifying where more attention is needed.
- Manage key meetings, including coordinating attendees, agenda, prereadings, content (including slides), and communications as needed. Coordinate next steps from the meetings and events connected to special projects and initiatives.
- Build and maintain internal and external relationships to support the portfolio of special projects and initiatives.
- Ensure timely updates are communicated internally with SCORE team members and externally with key partners.
- Track project impact and communicate with internal and external stakeholders on impact, lessons learned, and key next steps.
IDEAL CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS
SCORE is looking for a versatile and multiskilled individual who can excel in a cross-functional role. The ideal candidate:
- Is knowledgeable of the education landscape, has a passion for SCORE’s mission, and has a drive to dramatically improve student achievement in Tennessee
- Is a systems and process thinker who is comfortable anticipating future needs and priorities
- Has proven experience managing multiple tasks simultaneously in a fast-paced, rapid-growth, high-intensity, and intellectually demanding environment
- Has extraordinarily high attention to detail
- Has outstanding demonstrated success in project management
- Can demonstrate the ability to think in innovative ways and the ability to communicate with a variety of audiences
- Has a high level of integrity and respect for confidentiality
- Has excellent written and verbal communications skills
- Is able to problem solve in the moment and proactively consult with other team members as appropriate
- Has a demonstrated track record of being nimble and flexible and should possess a commitment to prioritizing the needs of the organization and its mission in all of their work
- Has at least three to five years of relevant work experience
COMPENSATION
SCORE offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience.
BENEFITS
SCORE deeply values team members and their well-being and is proud to offer a comprehensive benefits plan. All full-time SCORE employees are eligible for benefits, including:
- Medical insurance: including access to a high-quality network with SCORE paying the full medical premiums for employee-only plans and 80% or more of premiums for plans including eligible dependents
- Vision and dental insurance: including access to a high-quality network with SCORE paying 50% of premiums for employee-only plans and plans including eligible dependents
- Employer-paid disability, life insurance, and EAP benefits
- Access to Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA) for medical and child care expenses and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) benefits
- Immediate eligibility for participation in a 401(k) program with employer match
- Paid parental leave time, including paternity, maternity, and adoption leave
- Paid time off:
- 15 days per year for years one through four, 20 days per year after five years
- Holiday office closures (15 days total in 2024)
- Six paid sick days per year
- Teamwide mental health day office closures (two total in 2024)
- Paid floating holidays (three per calendar year, prorated for new hires depending on start date)
- Free on-site parking
- Free on-site gym
SCORE’s mission is to drive transformative change in education so that all Tennessee students can achieve success in college, career, and life. From its founding in 2009, SCORE has been grounded in the belief that diverse perspectives are required to identify solutions that will best serve Tennessee students, so we seek to bring as many viewpoints as possible into our daily work and live out collaboration as a core value.
Within our organization, we believe it is important for our team to reflect the rich diversity of Tennesseans and Tennessee students, and we aspire for our team to understand varied viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds. We strive to build an inclusive organization where each team member feels respected and supported, knowing that when team members are empowered to use their individual gifts, we become more effective in advancing our mission.
SCORE is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are considered for all roles without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristic or status.
TO APPLY
Candidates must apply through the applicant portal here. SCORE will review applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled. We recommend interested applicants apply as soon as possible.
Source : State Collaborative on Reforming Education
