Program Manager - National Initiatives

Program Manager - National Initiatives

About Us

Our nation’s education system is leaving millions of students—including an overwhelming number of students of color and low-income students—unprepared for college, career, and life. Research shows that classroom teachers are the single most important in-school factor in improving student achievement, and we believe a truly thriving teaching profession requires educator voice and leadership. We work to build durable teacher power, especially with those who have been historically excluded from decision-making, to shape the systems and policies that define education.

Founded by public school teachers, Educators for Excellence is a growing movement of nearly 40,000 educators working together to build a high-quality, diverse teaching profession with the resources and conditions necessary to help every student thrive. Together, we research and develop educator-informed solutions, build teacher power, and advocate for policy change at the district, state, and national levels.

What We Do

Our work is grounded in the belief that the teaching profession is one of the most vital forces shaping our shared future - and that educators must be at the center of shaping the policies and systems that define public education. We focus on developing teacher leadership and power to drive issue advocacy campaigns that shape policy, contracts, and the national conversation.

To achieve our vision for transforming the teaching profession, we advance and support the implementation of a focused set of policy solutions backed by research and educators. Our agenda focuses on achieving a high-quality, diverse workforce through:

• Building strong and sustainable career pathways.
• Creating coherent systems of instructional support.
• Funding public schools fully and equitably.

By building durable teacher power, teachers unite as a collective force to drive lasting change and advance an equitable, sustainable public education system where every student has the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed.

The Opportunity

The Program Manager - National Initiatives is the operational engine of the national program team. Reporting to the Senior Director of Impact & Operations, this role owns the day-to-day systems, coordination, and execution that keep program work running smoothly, including managing national projects and cross-functional initiatives such as the National Teacher Survey. This is an ideal role for someone highly organized, thrives on creating clarity from complexity, and takes pride in the systems and processes that allow mission-driven teams to do their best work.

This role requires sound judgment, strong communication, and the ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously. The right candidate is proactive, detail-oriented, and energized by the connective tissue of organizational work.

Project Management & Coordination

• Own project management for a subset of priority organization-wide initiatives (examples include national publications and innovation projects), including partnering with project leads to define scope and goals, developing project plans and timelines, coordinating team members across functions, coordinating cross-functional meetings, tracking deliverables and deadlines, assigning next steps and owners, and following up to ensure projects stay on track.
• Track deliverables across the national program team and surface risks or bottlenecks early
• Ensure follow-through on action items from meetings, retreats, and planning processes
• Liaise between national teams and chapters to ensure alignment and clear communication on shared priorities

Program Operations & Executive Support

• Work closely with the Chief Program Officer to support program priorities and assigned projects
• Support the design and maintenance of planning systems connecting impact planning → campaign planning → implementation
• Manage Asana workflows and key deadlines across the national program team
• Alongside the Chief Program Officer, co-create and facilitate agendas for team meetings, retreats, and planning spaces
• Co-create, maintain, and improve documentation systems to ensure shared resources are accessible and up to date
• Serve as the go-to resource for team-wide operational questions and coordination needs
• Write programmatic updates for internal meetings, events, and travel
• Support the Chief Program Officer's internal and external communication, including drafting, proofreading, and coordinating distribution
• Support partnership meetings, including research, follow-up, and communications
• Complete time tracking and expense reports for the Chief Program Officer

Support Team Operations & Culture

• Support onboarding for new staff members, coordinating logistics, access to tools, and connections to key team members in a remote environment
• Improve virtual team systems and workflows to enhance collaboration, efficiency, and productivity across a distributed team
• Manage project budgets for national initiatives to ensure alignment with organizational priorities and stay within budget parameters
• Serve as a point of contact between local and national staff for org-wide updates and communications
• Boost team culture in a remote environment through virtual team-building initiatives, staff appreciation programs, and contributing to a strong sense of connection across the team

Logistics & Implementation Support

• Support the execution of programmatic activities, including trainings, convenings, and retreats (logistics, materials, communications)
• Coordinate cross-functional work across program, development, and growth teams
• Manage vendor relationships and contracts related to programmatic events and activities
• Assist with budget tracking and expense reporting for program-related activities

Data & Reporting Support

• Maintain data tracking systems for program metrics and deliverables
• Pull standard reports from Salesforce and other tools to support team decision-making
• Support the Data & Impact Associate in preparing data summaries for leadership and external stakeholders

Qualifications:

Experience: At least 3 years of relevant professional experience in operations or project management

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously
• Experience working in or supporting a multi-team, mission-driven organization preferred
• Passion for E4E's mission and commitment to educational equity

Technical Skills

• Strong proficiency with G-Suite, Slack, and project management tools (Asana or equivalent)
• Experience with Salesforce or similar CRM preferred
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong organizational skills and close attention to detail
• Comfort with data tracking and basic reporting

Core Values: What beliefs do you embody? How do you approach your work?

• High Quality Work: Ensuring all deliverables meet our standard of excellence
• Ownership: Taking part in finding solutions for the problems we identify
• Responsiveness: Keeping each other in the loop to move the work forward
• Initiative: We step up to ensure no gaps in progress
• Equity: Looking for opportunities to redistribute power in response to inequity
• Evaluation & Reflection: We look for opportunities to celebrate success and show growth

Positional Skills - What can you do well?

• Organizing, Planning & Executing: Organizes, tracks, and manages workflow and resources; develops systems to prioritize tasks; executes according to set timelines
• Cultivating Relationships & Collaborating: Develops rapport and trust with staff; comfortably communicates with internal and external stakeholders
• Tracking, Measuring & Analyzing: Builds and maintains systems to track data and progress toward goals; analyzes trends and surfaces opportunities
• Making Decisions & Demonstrating Judgment: Makes strategic decisions even in ambiguous situations; exercises discernment and leverages data appropriately
• Learning & Developing: Pursues opportunities to deepen and expand skills; implements new strategies with fidelity

Functional Knowledge - What do you know a lot about?

• Project management: Experience building and managing workflows and tracking systems
• Team operations and communications: Maintaining systems that keep distributed teams aligned
• Budget management: Tracking expenses and supporting financial reporting

Benefits & Applying

Educators for Excellence (E4E) believes in providing employees with benefits to support self-care, wellness, and financial stability. We value the whole person and provide benefits such as paid time off, health insurance plans, competitive salaries that include pre-tax benefits, and cell phone reimbursements. See more information about our benefits here.

E4E is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state or federal law or local ordinance. E4E has a zero tolerance for discrimination, racism, xenophobia, or misogyny in any form in our workplace. We strive to create a workplace where everyone feels a strong sense of belonging.

Compensation Policy: Educators for Excellence (E4E) is committed to valuing team members holistically. We do not engage in salary negotiations; our first offer is always our best offer.

Salary bands (based on geographic location):

• $89,000 - $127,000 | High Urban (NYC, San Francisco)
• $83,000 - $118,000 | Mid-High Urban (LA, Boston)
• $76,000 - $108,000| All other locations

Within this range, our competitive, non-negotiable salary offer will be based on a candidate’s relevant experience and credentials, role-related competencies assessed through our robust hiring process, and geographic location.

COVID-19 Vaccination Policy: All new employees are required to comply with E4E’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, which requires all staff to be fully vaccinated before the start of employment. An employee will be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the requisite number of doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Employees may request an exemption as a reasonable accommodation due to a medical reason or a sincerely held religious belief.

E4E abides by each state’s requirements and acknowledges that they may change over time. If you advance to an interview, you will have the opportunity to ask questions about this job requirement.

Accommodations: We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible interview experience and will ensure that all candidates are provided with reasonable accommodations that allow them to participate in the interview process. To request an accommodation, please email peopleandequity@e4e.org

EEOC questionnaire: Weplace a particular focus on recruiting staff members who share the backgrounds of the communities we serve. We encourage all applicants to complete our EEOC questionnaire as part of your application process (these questions will be included in your initial application).Completing the questionnaire will help ensure our People & Equity team is attracting a diverse pool of qualified candidates for each of our open positions. Please note this information is not included with your application, and our hiring managers do not have access to race and other identifying information at any point in the interviewing or hiring process, including after a hire is made.

E4E uses E-Verify when completing all new hire paperwork. For more information, visit here.