Director, Strategic Partnerships

ABOUT UNBOUNDED

We are a team of former classroom teachers, district and school leaders, curriculum writers, and education experts unified by our desire to see every student thrive in school.

Our commitment to every learner unites us. UnboundEd works side-by-side with teachers, coaches, principals, and district leaders to ensure every student has access to grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful — GLEAM™ — instruction. By cultivating the mindsets, knowledge, and skills at the heart of truly transformative teaching and learning, we can break the predictability of historic achievement patterns so all kids thrive. 

In 2023, UnboundEd joined forces with Pivot Learning and CORE Learning to expand our offerings and drive long-needed changes in instruction, especially in the highest-need schools. 

ROLE SUMMARY

Reporting to the Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, the Director, Strategic Partnerships is a senior, revenue-responsible leader who owns UnboundEd’s state and Education Service Agency (ESA) go-to-market strategy across a portfolio of priority states.

This role focuses on long-cycle, high-impact partnerships that scale UnboundEd’s instructional work through state agencies, ESAs, and trusted intermediaries. The Director is accountable for generating significant annual bookings while shaping demand, influencing decision-makers, and aligning state priorities with UnboundEd’s services and perspective.  

This is strategic business development, not transactional sales. Success requires deep fluency in education systems, disciplined execution, and the ability to translate UnboundEd’s instructional philosophy (including GLEAM®) into fundable, multi-year partnerships.

UnboundEd is a virtual organization and this exempt position can be based anywhere in the United States. UnboundEd has core business hours where we expect all staff to be available from 9 am to 5 pm local time and 30-40% travel is required.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Essential responsibilities for this position include, but are not limited to:

Strategic Market Development

• Own assigned state and ESA territories with a clear perspective on where UnboundEd should—and should not—invest time
• Develop and maintain territory plans that identify:
• Priority states, ESAs, and intermediaries
• Policy, funding, and procurement levers
• Key influencers and decision-makers
• System-level outcomes UnboundEd can credibly support
• Proactively shape opportunities by helping leaders envision GLEAM®-aligned instructional systems, not isolated programs

Executive-Level Relationship Building

• Serve as an influential external representative of UnboundEd with:
• State education agency leaders
• ESA executives
• Policy advisors, consultants, and trusted intermediaries
• Build influence early—well before RFPs, procurements, or formal scopes of work exist
• Position UnboundEd as a thought partner and system-level leader, not a vendor 

Opportunity Creation & Sales Execution

• Identify, qualify, and advance strategic opportunities from early influence through close
• When alignment exists:
• Lead or co-lead partnership conversations
• Shape scopes of work, pricing, and partnership structures
• Bring opportunities to successful close, directly or in collaboration with internal subject matter experts
• Ensure smooth handoffs to delivery and client success teams post-close

Internal Alignment & Deal Leadership

• Translate external needs into clear internal direction and decision-making
• Partner closely with program, research, marketing, and partnerships teams to ensure consistency and credibility
• Develop and maintain state/ESA partnership playbooks that clarify who engages, when, and how UnboundEd shows up across complex deals
• Lead monthly strategic deal reviews to surface risks, unblock progress, and drive accountability

Other related duties and projects as assigned 

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• A bachelor’s degree is required (field open); an advanced degree is preferred. Equivalent combinations of education and experience will also be considered.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in strategic partnerships, business development, or system-level education work
• Demonstrated experience working with state education agencies, ESAs, intermediaries, or large-scale education systems
• Proven ability to advance and close complex, multi-stakeholder, long-cycle partnerships
• Experience owning or influencing revenue growth or large-scale funding agreements (specific quota language not required)

The strongest candidates will demonstrate: 

• Commitment to UnboundEd’s organizational values
• Learning orientation and commitment toward diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Knowledge of urban school environments
• Ability to work independently and effectively in a virtual, remote environment and build strong relationships with colleagues and partners across geographies and time zones
• Willingness to work alongside a dynamic, highly collaborative, and vision-driven team
• Entrepreneurial spirit and ability to thrive in a fast-paced and changing environment
• Proficient use of Microsoft Office, Google-based applications, and online collaboration tools such as Slack

Benefits

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

UnboundEd offers competitive salaries commensurate with experience and education and a generous benefits package that includes take-as-you-need vacation time, group medical, dental, and vision plans, disability and life insurance plans, and an employer-sponsored 401K retirement plan with a 5% employer contribution and no vesting period. This is a full-time, exempt position with an annual compensation hiring range of $105,900 to $120,000, plus an incentive compensation plan that can bring on-track earnings to $200K plus. UnboundEd bases compensation offers on relevant years of experience, internal equity, and company budgets. Because of our strong commitment to equity and growth, UnboundEd does not negotiate compensation offers.