Education Director

The Commonwealth Club is the largest and oldest public forum in the United States. Founded in 1903, the Club is a membership organization that hosts daily lectures and panel discussions on issues of public concern. The Club publishes a magazine, hosts a weekly national radio broadcast, produces podcasts and online videos, and is the leader in its field nationally and internationally. The Club is a fast-paced, lively and stimulating environment with nearly 500 programs a year ranging from literature to the economy.

Position Overview
The Commonwealth Club seeks an education professional with a track record of project development and project management experience for a new director of education position. Reporting to the president & CEO and the VP of development/strategic initiatives, the education director will take the helm of a brand-new education initiative to develop positive civic engagement in our community and to cultivate the next generation of Club audiences, advocates and leaders. The new initiative is structured into yearly phases, with a research, development and organization phase and an implementation and expansion phase. This is an excellent role for an educator or education advocate who is excited by an opportunity to craft a civic-related education initiative from the ground up and to make a concrete impact on a 116-year-old major cultural institution.

Essential Job Functions
      • Build, research and develop the initial phase of the project to establish a strategic plan for a formal K–12+ education department, expanding and deepening the public policy and community work of the Club while observing the Club’s core values and engaging younger audiences
      • Work directly and coordinate with the CEO and an advisory committee on key strategic educational activities concentrating on engaging youth and maintaining ongoing partnerships with students and schools

      • Review and assess prior education-related efforts at the Club; determine current baseline of students served and establish benchmarks

      • Assemble a formal constituency of schools, service organizations, administrators, educators, students and advocates

      • Organize, evaluate and update current educational offerings and conceptualize new offerings for grade six through high school through the lens of The Commonwealth Club’s mission

      • Conduct interviews and listening sessions with peer organizations, educators, nonprofit partners, schools and students to inform strategic plan

      • Cooperate with stakeholders and prepare appropriate project progress reports for advisory committee meetings and for education funders
      • Work with development and accounting departments to ensure accurate budget allocation and regularly monitor department-related expenses

      • In phase two, pilot new educational offerings from phase one, executing the pilot stage and communicating directly new education constituencies

      • Liaise with HR department to strategically manage the internship and fellowship program within development department

      • Collaborate and coordinate inter-departmentally with peers

Education and Experience Requirements
      • Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree in education with teaching credentials or relevant field preferred

      • Familiarity with U.S. schools and K–12 educational system

      • A minimum of five years’ experience or specialization in education, curriculum development and content standards

      • Demonstrated expertise in project development and partnership maintenance
      • Experience collaborating with peers, working with high-level volunteer committees, and C-Suite leaders 
      • Energy, integrity and confidence to dive into new projects

Desirable Qualifications
      • Knowledge of Bay Area public, private and chartered schools

      • Proficiency with donor database software such as Raiser’s Edge is preferred
      • Ability to quickly pick up new software and supportive technologies (Trello, Airtable, BBNC, Slack)

Location 
San Francisco Waterfront 

Compensation 
The Commonwealth Club of California is a nonprofit organization; salary is competitive and based on experience.    

Job type

Full time

To Apply
Please submit your resume, cover letter, and salary expectations to jobs@commonwealthclub.org with “Education Director” in the subject line. No phone calls, please.