Director, Legal Strategy and Policy

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range: $150,000 - $170,000

Position Summary

The Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) is a partnership of professional schools that prepares students for leadership positions in public education organizations committed to improving the life chances of all children, particularly those of color, from low-income households, or those who are otherwise traditionally underserved. The program brings together upper-level graduate students in business, education, law, and policy from universities across the nation to study and engage in research and consulting projects serving public- and social-sector organizations in the U.S. and Brazil that are undertaking and supporting transformational change in P-12 education and in the public sector as a whole. The program offers graduate students the rigorous, multi-disciplinary, academic, and experiential preparation they need to flourish in exciting leadership, management, and professional positions in those same organizations while simultaneously offering the organizations high-quality, low-cost research and consulting support.

Responsibilities

Manages, supports, and mentors teams of graduate and professional students in designing and implementing research and consulting projects in the P-12 education sector.

• Team management: Serves as the manager of teams of four to six graduate students for four- to ten-month consulting engagements; sets up project management structures; promotes team cohesion, oversees creation of project plan and allocation of tasks.
• Strategy development and thought leadership: In collaboration with CPRL leadership and staff, designs research and consulting strategy and methodology for projects; executes and adapts strategy and methodology based on the type of project, gathered information, and client feedback; communicates strategy, vision, methodology, and outcomes to relevant stakeholders
• Professional development of students: Actively develops student skills and dispositions necessary for the research and consulting projects; provides leadership opportunities for students within the team structure; provides ongoing feedback to students; collaboratively establishes professional growth goals with the team and individual students and monitors progress towards these goals.
• Quality assurance: Ensures all work products are high quality and delivered on time.

Serves as liaison with client organizations:

• Serves as the primary point of contact with the client; develops project scope of work; manages student-client interaction; documents all changes in project scope.

Communicates with CRPL leadership:

• Updates and receives feedback from CPRL leadership about project work; provides written and oral updates about project and student progress; surfaces issues for additional CPRL support; communicates feedback from leadership to the student team and integrates it into project work.

Collaborates with CPRL staff on project work and on the development of student resources:

• Works closely with Associate Directors leading analogous or interconnected projects; contributes to the design and execution of project-related professional learning experiences and materials for students.

Collaborates with fellow Directors to ensure project success:

• Meets with Associate Directors about project work; collaboratively troubleshoots problems; engages in discussions and activities to ensure consistent expectations for students.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree is required, and an advanced degree in education, law (JD, LLM), management or business, policy, or social sciences is required, plus 5-7 years of significant experience.
• Strong research and analytical skills, with a preference for candidates with expertise in modeling and analyzing qualitative and/or quantitative data and in matching research methodologies to client and project requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to design, direct, and carry out team projects with minimal supervision and to work closely with stakeholders in public sector or non-profit agencies.
• Intellectual capacity to think strategically in a fast-paced environment; understand multiple perspectives; learn about new topics; problem solve and develop responsive solutions under changing circumstances.
• Ability to respond to and integrate feedback from both peers and supervisors; ability to communicate feedback to individuals and teams in a clear and productive manner.
• Experience as a P-12 teacher or experience teaching/mentoring young professionals preferred.
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills.
• Excellent writing, editing, and presentation skills.
• Must be able to work with diverse constituencies and support an inclusive work environment

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.