The Adult Learning branch of Org-Wide Learning & Strategy (OWLS) has built and evolved the Center for Excellence in Adult Learning over the last three years in order to support how leaders across the organization learn to apply the science and theory of adult learning - whether they are designing trainings, facilitating events, coaching, managing teams and more. We are aiming to increase our scope and depth of impact by increasing the breadth of use across the organization, and we need your adult learning design skills and operations focus to help get us there.
Through strong relationships and collaboration, as the Director, Adult Learning Program Design, you will lend your high level of expertise in adult learning theory and practice to execute on a clearly defined vision in order to:
- Design and implement creative improvements to the current virtual course offerings in The Center for Excellence in Adult Learning to support practical application of TFA’s Position on Adult Learning (PAL) in response to user needs. This could mean working to use and discover best-in-class tech solutions to improve our staple 8-hour virtual course called the Position on Adult Learning or some of our other courses (Adult Learning Theory, Art and Science of Group Facilitation or Education for Liberation) which are a mix of live and self-directed formats.
- Implement the programs of The Center for Excellence in Adult Learning through strong project management skills to enable all aspects of the Center for Excellence to run at maximum efficiency and capacity to meet user needs. You might be leading the recruitment process for the next cohort in our 9-month Certification Program, facilitating a live session with another member of the team, checking user analytics, responding to the Adult Learning team inbox, or running a focus group to better understand the experience of participants.
- Design off-the-shelf toolkits and job aids for on-the-job application of the PAL pillars. Using your passion for human-centered design methods and practices, you may design off the shelf resources, package materials and engage our users in ways that make adult learning accessible and applicable to their daily work and roles.
Design and Implementation (45%)
- Implement and evolve “Learning Playground” strategy in response to user needs
- Design and facilitate PAL-aligned learning experiences to develop PAL practitioners
- Design off-the-shelf toolkits and job aids for on-the-job application of the PAL pillars
- Curate, annotate, and share ready-to-use tools and job aids in the “Library” that align to the PAL pillars
- Engage expertise of previously Certified staff in the Center
- Continue building “Learning Playground” Slack community and engagements
Program Improvement (25%)
- Use quantitative and qualitative data to assess user experience in the Center (across the Academy, Library, and Learning Playground) and engage team in monitoring progress for continuous improvement
Consultative Support (20%)
- Provide practical, tailored adult learning support to learners in different roles
Team and Organizational Contributions (10%)
- Support other team and org-wide initiatives as needed
- 3-5 years of exceptional performance in learning and development roles or related roles (instructional design, virtual learning programs, etc)
- Experience designing and managing virtual learning courses
- Proficiency in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, G (Google) Suite including Analytics
- Experience and comfort working in a virtual environment
- Experience with Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, PowerBi, and Canvas (or other Learning Management Systems) ideal but not required
- Experience and impact from applying TFA’s Position on Adult Learning ideal but not required
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including ability to construct a narrative for a variety of audiences at all levels
- Desire to constantly improve and learn from past experiences
- Exceptional ability to build and execute a project plan
- Deep and demonstrated commitment to Teach For America’s mission, core values, and our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusiveness
Work Demands
- Working with colleagues who are based all over the country – using remote technologies (e.g., Zoom)
- Capacity to travel as needed; a potential of 10-25% of time may be spent travelling