Director of K-12 Programs

The Virginia Tech Innovation Campus -- a bold, new vision for graduate education, research, and community engagement in fields of technology-- announced as part of the Commonwealth’s successful bid to attract Amazon’s HQ2 -- is hiring a director of K-12 programs. A strategic imperative of the campus is to expand the domestic populations historically underrepresented in the technology disciplines by removing educational and other access barriers in primary, secondary and higher education systems. The Innovation Campus aspires to be the most diverse technology program in the nation.

Working with Virginia Tech Innovation Campus leadership, the director will conceptualize, develop, implement and lead a comprehensive strategy to expand access for K-12 students to technology related disciplines within STEM. The strategy will be designed and implemented locally but should aspire to be a national model for K-12 programming and partnerships that achieve both qualitative and quantitative outcomes in diversifying the exposure of K-12 children to computational reasoning.
The director will serve as a senior advisor to the Vice President and Executive Director of the Innovation Campus. The director will advise on a wide range of workforce development topics and strategies for developing and supporting pathways to college and technology careers.

The director will work closely with faculty, community members, non-profit organizations, and school system partners to create interest, agency and computational literacy for K-12 students. Activities should be grounded in research and best practices and should be assessed and documented in ways that support continuous improvement of the program, and inform Virginia standards of learning and national educational practices.

The director will serve as the principal relationship manager between the Innovation Campus and area school systems, beginning with Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) and extending throughout the greater DC metro region.

The director will work across the broader university and with other organizations that share the focus and the mission, including the School of Education, the Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology, the Center for Educational Networks and Impacts, the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity, the College Access Collaborative, 4-H, the Department of Engineering Education, and Link-License-Launch.

The director will collaborate with the university offices of advancement, research and innovation, and government and community relations to identify opportunities for long-term funding and programmatic growth.

The director will work closely with Virginia Tech enrollment management, community colleges, and other four-year institutional partners and with local school systems to understand and create pathways for students to earn the degrees needed to succeed.

As the Innovation Campus opens its physical presence in 2024, the director will program unique spaces for students, teachers, and families to engage with Virginia Tech faculty and students in person. This includes management of space dedicated to K-12 programming at the Innovation Campus, scheduling and programming of that space, and oversight of personnel associated with on-site K-12 programming.
This position is based at the Innovation Campus location in Alexandria, Virginia and will report jointly to the chief operating officer and the vice president and executive director of the Innovation Campus. The director will work collaboratively with the Innovation Campus based government and community relations, the principal gifts and corporate partnerships staff in the development and execution of plans.

● Demonstrated understanding of the K-12 educational environment.
● Demonstrated experience planning and developing programming and content relevant to K-12 institutions, students, teachers, and families.
● Demonstrated experience defining goals and objectives, identifying target audiences, interpreting analytics and data and developing and implementing strategic plans to accomplish goals.
● Experience developing public presentations and external communications strategies.
● Excellent verbal and written communication and facilitation skills.
● Proven commitment to diversity and inclusion with evidence of multicultural competencies.
● Experience representing and incorporating diverse constituencies and perspectives into programming.
● Ability to work well in teams and with stakeholders at all organizational levels, both leading and at times serving in supportive roles to other individuals and departments.
● A master’s degree or higher in a relevant field, or bachelor’s degree with relevant experience that equates to an advanced degree.

● K-12 classroom experience.
● Experience in a higher education or non-profit organization.
● Demonstrated leadership experience in partnering with K-12 institutions.
● Experience working with Virginia or other regional school districts.
● Experience developing K-12 programming for students, teachers, and/or families.
● Experience working with corporate partners in the K-12 space.

Appointment Type

Restricted

July 2, 2021

The successful Candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including the Innovation Campus in Northern Virginia; the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke; sites in Newport News and Richmond; and numerous Extension offices and research centers. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $500 million in research annually.