Learning & Development Specialist

Are you an experienced facilitator and educator with strong communication, organizational, and project management skills, committed to supporting school boards and promoting equity in public education?

• Feb 18-20:
  Virtual interviews for selected candidates
• Feb 25:
  In-person interviews with finalists in Olympia

Are you excited about professional development and public education, and want to help school leaders advance their knowledge and skills to help improve student outcomes? The Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA) is eager to onboard a committed and passionate adult educator to join our Leadership Development (LD) team as the Learning & Development Specialist. In this role, you will work with the Director to develop and deliver professional development, training, facilitation, and support for WA school directors and school board-superintendent teams.

The Specialist also provides high-level logistical, planning, and coordination support with some administrative duties, while collaborating with WSSDA staff and stakeholders to identify and support new or improved training opportunities across all branches.

This is your chance to make a lasting impact on the lives of students and staff across the state by supporting the learning and development of locally elected school boards and school directors who are foundational to effective public education. You will get to do this mission-critical work while working in a dynamic and collaborative environment.

This is a hybrid position, with a general expectation that staff are in the office three days per week, typically Tuesday-Thursday. Most staff members telecommute on Mondays and Fridays, depending on events and workload.

Equity is foundational to the work of WSSDA. Educational equity can only exist when a student’s level of opportunity and achievement cannot be predicted based on race, characteristics, or circumstances. Therefore, we must identify and eliminate any discriminatory practices and prejudices within our state’s public education system. To do so, we encourage applicants with firsthand lived experience as a member of a community that has been historically and systemically underserved.

Your unique perspectives and experiences will be valued as we work together to create a more inclusive education system.

Work collaboratively with branch director to:

• Support the services provided to school board members to meet their training and professional development needs, including workshops, trainings and in-district workshops. This may include project planning, scheduling, venue agreements and logistics, production of materials, participant outreach, communications and coordination within WSSDA.
• Design and facilitate workshops and presentations for professional development and training purposes.
• As requested, conduct research on a variety of K-12 education issues, including but not limited to, best practices, resources for school board members, and educational trends.
• Oversee the Board Self-Assessment service provided to members.
• Assist the work of the cadre of Leadership Development Consultants, including, but not limited to, communication, materials support, logistical assistance, records management and invoice processing.
• Manage contracts/invoices with individual school districts for in-district workshops & professional development services.
• Coordinate with other staff to produce materials for member support, as needed and identify materials and procedures needing revision, deletion and/or creation.

Provide support to the branch director for LD events, programs and projects, including Annual Conference, Leadership Academies, Leadership WSSDA, Candidate Workshops, New Director Network and other professional development opportunities, by:

• Collaborating with the branch director and across the organization for successful production of LD-related events, including but not limited to Annual Conference, training events, and district workshops through scheduling, venue agreements and logistics, participant…