Senior Director of Professional Development

About this Role

Reporting to the Head of Program Implementation, the Senior Director of Professional Development will oversee the design and facilitation of all professional learning experiences for DREAM’s Innovation partner schools. Working closely with the Head of Program Implementation, this leader will enable engaging learning experiences that support school leaders, teachers, and staff to successfully implement DREAM’s AI model.

The Senior Director will personally design and facilitate much of the programming, including monthly online cohort learning, webinars, and trainings for the broader education sector. Content will focus on AI literacy, change management, education technology implementation, and AI-native programming.

Responsibilities

Professional Development Design
Develop all components of professional learning for DREAM’s Innovation work to be delivered to our Partner schools, including on the topics of AI fluency, change management, education technology implementation, and AI-native programming;
Design and write all professional learning collateral including scopes and sequences, PD slides, participant materials, one-pagers, reference guides, etc.;
Gather data from each Partner school and adapt content to the needs and context of each audience;
Translate new and evolving content into clear, practical learning experiences grounded in clear adult learning principles;
Design monthly online cohort learning experiences, webinars, and trainings for the broader education sector;
Review professionally produced video content and select exemplar clips to support learning;
Continually evaluate and refine professional development materials to ensure outcomes are being met.
Professional Development Facilitation
Facilitate professional development across all cohort sessions, webinars, and trainings, including to audiences of 100+ both virtually and in-person, ensuring our partner schools can easily and confidently implement all aspects of DREAM’s Innovation program;
Differentiate facilitation practices based on the needs of each audience to ensure strong outcomes;
Demonstrate AI and education technology tools live, connecting their capabilities to practical applications for educators and school teams;
Support participants in applying new tools and approaches to teaching, school leadership, and technology implementation;
At scale, coach and lead other Professional Development facilitators.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s Degree in Education or School Administration preferred;
3+ years of full-time school teaching experience with a record of strong student achievement and exemplary classroom culture, required;
4+ years of experience in school leadership, school network leadership, education consulting, or education curriculum with extensive responsibilities in designing and leading professional development sessions for large groups, required;
Extensive experience writing and facilitating professional development sessions grounded in adult learning theory and across varied content areas or contexts, with experience engaging live audiences of 50 or more participants;
Knowledge of AI and the technical fluency to demonstrate tools confidently in live learning environments;
Curiosity, including demonstrated ability to learn unfamiliar content and translate it into effective learning modules for adults;
Ability to connect emerging ideas and technologies to the practical needs of school leaders, teachers, staff;
Strong understanding of teaching, learning, and instructional leadership, with the ability to connect program goals to discrete educator practices;
Ability to adapt professional development sessions across different systems and contexts while maintaining clear expectations and excellent service delivery;
Strong relationship-building, communication, and influence skills, with the ability to build trust and support changes in practice across organizations;
Excellent attention to detail and the ability to produce polished, high-quality written products;
Ability to use a variety of data sources to drive decision-making;
A strong belief in the mission and values of DREAM, including the desire to make a difference in the lives of our students, families, and community.

Benefits and Paid Time Off

We offer comprehensive benefits including:
• Flexible Medical Health Plans, subsidizing the majority of costs for the employee, their spouse/domestic partner and children;
• The ability to select between a variety of medical plans according to what best suits the employee’s needs;
• Dental and vision plans;
• Disability benefits;
• Life insurance;
• Up to 12 weeks fully paid of Parental Leave;
• Flexible spending account options;
• Pre-tax commuter benefits (parking and transit);
• Fitness and entertainment discounts;
• A variety of support through our employee assistance program (EAP);
• A 403(b) retirement plan with employer matching up to 4% after one year of employment;
• Access to a professional development fund;
• Referral bonuses;
• All full-time Network Support employees are eligible for approximately 48 days off throughout the year including holidays, sick days, personal days and summer Fridays;
• Benefits are subject to change.

Compensation

• DREAM offers a competitive salary commensurate with relevant experience with the potential for an annual performance-based increase. The incoming salary range for this position is $150,000 to $160,000 per year. New hires are typically brought into the organization at a salary closer to the start of the range depending on qualifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role. All staff are eligible for annual performance-based increases. Because we value staff tenure in each role, we do not currently cap salary ranges.

Working Expectations

Ideal Start Date: Immediate
The Senior Director of Professional Development is part of the Implementation Team, which works a minimum of 3 days a week on-site and up to 2 days a week remote, with some weeks requiring more days on-site at a variety of locations including DREAM’s offices in East Harlem and the South Bronx, and our partner schools in the South Bronx.