Director, Living Lab for High School Reinvention

Overview

A Space to Activate New Possible Futures for Learning & Belonging

The Living Lab for High School Reinvention is the National Equity Project’s response to the scale and complexity of this moment. More than a network or convening, it is a living, learning ecosystem where education communities build the relationships, tools, and shared purpose needed for honest reinvention. Planned to run through December 2027, the Living Lab closes the distance between those closest to young people and those shaping the wider conditions, so we can prototype what comes next.

What it is

The California Living Labs Consortium is a curated statewide group of system leaders, educators, young people, community organizers, and intermediary networks. It is a cross-sector learning lab where members imagine and experience new possibilities for high school learning and belonging, and generate learnings that inform the broader field. The consortium centers deep inquiry and relational sensemaking among actors who rarely share decision-making space, creating a collective lens across roles and power dynamics that no single district or sector can generate alone.

Why now

Young people are making it unmistakably clear: the current system is not built for the world they are inheriting. Redesign momentum is rising across California and the nation, promising, but fragmented. The question is no longer whether change is coming; it’s whether we can cultivate the courage, coherence, and imagination to shape it: a learner-centered future that is more personalized, relevant, humane, equitable, and alive.

We are seeking a visionary and experienced Project Director to lead the planning and implementation of this flagship field initiative. This role holds primary accountability for establishing the foundational structures, processes, and relationships necessary for sustainable impact. This role will collaborate with, mobilize, and manage internal NEP team members, external partners and interest-holders to execute successfully. It requires a person who is able to manage large complex projects, understands the dynamics of public education nationally and those specific to California, and operates as a “bridger” across differences of all kinds.

Position Logistics:

• Location: Virtual / remote, but must be located in California
• Employment Status: Temporary Part-Time
• Time: 20 hours per week
• Compensation: $70,000-$77,500 (part-time)

Resumes and applications will be accepted through Friday, March 6, 2026 and reviewed on a rolling basis. The job posting will close at 5pm PT on this date.

The Organization

Founded in 1995, the National Equity Project (NEP) has supported 100,000+ leaders in 1,500 education agencies, intermediaries and philanthropic organizations to create conditions for equitable and excellent education. Our work has impacted the learning environments of more than 10 million young people and thousands of educators.  As an experienced, intergenerational and racially diverse team, NEP has established itself as a trusted and credible partner in educational equity and transformation.

Our mission is to develop leaders and mobilize the education field to transform the experiences, outcomes, and life options for children and families who have been historically underserved by our institutions and systems. For 30 years, we have developed the will, skill, knowledge and capacities of leaders to identify and address inequitable patterns and practices, creating more effective, resilient and humanizing organizations. 

NEP Facts

• Headquarters: Oakland, CA
• Employees: 23
• Annual Budget: $7M
• Website: https://www.nationalequityproject.org/

Your Key Responsibilities

Initiative Strategy & Design

• Co-lead refinement of the Living Lab’s vision, theory of change, outcomes, and operating approach in partnership with the Managing Director of Field Strategy & Impact and key internal/external interest-holders.
• Translate the vision into an initiative charter (scope, success measures, roles, governance, decision cadence) and keep it current as conditions shift.
• Define and maintain a small set of outcome-aligned metrics and benchmarks (leading + lagging indicators) and ensure they are usable for decisions—not just reporting.

Partner Leadership & Cultivation

• Steward relationships with core partner leaders (e.g., superintendents, curriculum leaders, and key district/community partners) directly tied to the Living Lab’s success.
• Design and run a partner engagement strategy that clarifies value exchange, expectations, and contribution pathways across the California Cohort and National Network.
• Support partnership and resource development efforts by providing initiative narrative, partner intelligence, and coordination for proposals and funder communications (primary relationship owners as designated by NEP).

Delivery Management & Operations

• Own the day-to-day delivery system for the Living Lab: workplan, milestones, roles/responsibilities, dependencies, risk management, and decision tracking.
• Establish lightweight project management routines and tools that create clarity and accountability across strands of work, without over-bureaucratizing the initiative.
• Co-develop and track the initiative budget and resource plan with the Managing Director / Chief of Staff; flag variances early and recommend tradeoffs to protect outcomes and organizational health.
• Coordinate staffing needs and role clarity across NEP teammates, contractors, and partners; support onboarding and operating rhythms (staffing decisions made by designated leaders)
• Coordinate a small, cross-functional leadership team with NEP staff in key roles and dedicated capacity to drive decisions, coordinate workstreams.

Facilitation & Interest-Holder Management

• Design and facilitate convenings, working groups, and collaborative sessions that move the work forward—alignment, decisions, learning, and commitments (not just “good conversations”).
• Navigate complex interest-holder dynamics across differing priorities, cultures, and constraints; surface tensions early and create pathways to resolution anchored in shared values and equity commitments.

Measurement, Learning & Knowledge Sharing

• Build practical measurement and learning loops that help the initiative adapt in real time (what’s emerging, what’s working, what’s stuck, what we’re changing).
• Create systems to capture and synthesize promising practices across the California Cohort and National Network, in collaboration with internal partners.
• Partner with External Communications and Field Strategy & Impact leadership to translate learning into field-facing outputs (e.g., briefs, tools, convening insights, presentations), scoped to a realistic cadence.
• Contribute to funder management by supporting updates, learning briefs, and reports, helping translate progress and insights into clear narratives in partnership with NEP leadership.

Requirements

This role is a fit if you...

• Are passionate about educational equity and ensuring that every young person in every community has what they need to learn, develop, thrive, and contribute
• Have a minimum of 10 years working within or with PK12 education agencies, youth development, or school-district support organization
• Have an understanding of public education landscape, especially in California
• Have an entrepreneurial mindset with demonstrated ability to build programs and initiatives from concept to implementation
• Have a proven ability to effectively work and collaborate across differences, including race, gender and culture, and willingness to engage in honest conversations about challenging
• Have exceptional facilitation, convening, and communication skills, with ability to bridge across differences
• Have strong project management capabilities, including experience with complex timelines, multiple work streams, and competing priorities
• Model and champion NEP’s Core Values and Guiding Principles
• Live in California
• Are able to travel 20-25% of the time
• Are eligible to work in the United States

Benefits

This part-time position is not eligible for medical, dental, or vision benefits. However, the position is eligible for the following:

• Cell phone & internet reimbursement
• Holidays
• Sick Time

The National Equity Project is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.  We encourage people to apply, and welcome your application, even if you do not meet every one of the above requirements.