Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Director of Education

🎯 Role Definition

The Director of Education is a strategic, hands-on leader responsible for creating, implementing, and continuously improving curriculum, instructional systems, professional development, assessment, and program operations. This role partners with school leaders, faculty, cross-functional teams, external partners, and funders to align educational programs with organizational goals, regulatory requirements, and measurable learning outcomes. The Director uses evidence and data-driven decision-making to scale best practices, ensure accreditation and quality assurance, oversee budgets and resources, and coach instructional staff to maximize student and learner success.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Instructional Coach / Instructional Coordinator
Senior Teacher / Lead Teacher
Curriculum Specialist / Curriculum Developer
Program Manager (education-focused)

Advancement To:

Vice President / Senior Director of Education or Learning
Chief Learning Officer / Chief Academic Officer
Head of School or Executive Director (for nonprofits)
Global Learning Director (corporate learning)

Lateral Moves:

Director of Curriculum & Instruction
Director of Teacher Development and Professional Learning
Director of Online Learning / Director of Educational Technology

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design, implement, and continuously refine a comprehensive, standards-aligned curriculum and instructional framework that drives measurable improvements in student learning outcomes across grades, programs, and delivery modes.
Lead the development and execution of a multi-year educational strategy and operational plan that aligns with organizational goals, budgets, accreditation requirements, and stakeholder expectations.
Build, manage, and evaluate robust assessment systems (formative and summative) that provide valid, reliable, and actionable data to inform instruction, intervention, and program improvement.
Oversee professional learning systems: design and deliver ongoing, research‑based professional development, coaching cycles, and instructional feedback loops for teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders.
Recruit, hire, onboard, develop, and retain high-performing instructional staff and leaders; design career pathways, performance metrics, and succession plans that build bench strength across the organization.
Serve as the lead for accreditation, state/federal compliance, and regulatory reporting—preparing required documentation, coordinating site visits, and ensuring continuous improvement plans meet external standards.
Manage program budgets, resource allocation, vendor contracts, and procurement for instructional materials, educational technology, and learning platforms to maximize ROI and scalability.
Direct the selection, implementation, and optimization of Learning Management Systems (LMS), student information systems (SIS), and digital learning tools to ensure pedagogical alignment, accessibility, and data privacy compliance.
Use data analytics and learning science to identify achievement gaps, recommend evidence-based interventions, and monitor progress toward key performance indicators (KPIs) and learning targets.
Lead cross-functional initiatives with product, operations, marketing, and partnership teams to align curriculum and learning experiences with market needs, user feedback, and organizational priorities.
Establish and maintain external partnerships with universities, research institutions, community organizations, and content providers to expand program offerings and validate instructional efficacy.
Create and manage learner pathways, credit-bearing and non-credit programs, micro-credentials, and competency-based approaches to support diverse learners and credentialing objectives.
Oversee quality assurance processes, including curriculum audits, classroom observation protocols, program evaluations, and continuous improvement cycles driven by qualitative and quantitative evidence.
Lead grant-writing, fundraising, and proposal development efforts with program and development teams to secure philanthropic and public funding for educational innovation and scaling.
Design and implement equity-focused instructional strategies and culturally responsive curricula that address diverse learner needs, close achievement gaps, and promote inclusive learning environments.
Serve as a public-facing spokesperson for educational strategy, presenting program impact, research findings, and outcomes to boards, funders, policymakers, and community stakeholders.
Develop and operationalize intervention programs (RTI, special education collaboration, remediation, and enrichment) to support learners with diverse academic and social-emotional needs.
Coach and mentor school/site leaders and instructional teams, conducting regular performance reviews, goal-setting sessions, and targeted improvement plans to raise instructional quality.
Lead pilot programs and phased rollouts for new curricula, assessment tools, and instructional technologies; design evaluation criteria and scale successful pilots across sites.
Ensure high standards for learner experience and customer service in educational offerings, including onboarding, orientation, learner support, and retention strategies for students and adult learners.
Maintain current knowledge of pedagogy, learning science, industry trends, and policy changes; integrate emerging best practices into curriculum and professional learning.
Create comprehensive documentation, playbooks, and training materials to institutionalize processes, reduce single-point dependencies, and support replication across locations.
Oversee data governance practices for student and learning data, ensuring accuracy, privacy (FERPA/GDPR where applicable), and ethical use of analytics in decision-making.

Secondary Functions

Support cross-functional data requests by synthesizing educational metrics and translating them into actionable recommendations for product and operations teams.
Participate in product roadmap planning to ensure learning design and pedagogy are central to new features and platform enhancements.
Contribute to recruitment marketing and admissions strategy by articulating program differentiators and learning outcomes that resonate with prospective learners and families.
Serve on leadership incident response teams (behavioral, safety, or compliance) to ensure educational implications are addressed and mitigations are aligned with instructional priorities.
Represent the education function in agile planning sessions, sprint reviews, and product demos to align instructional scope with development cadence.
Support analytics teams by defining educational KPIs, success criteria for pilots, and A/B test hypotheses for learning interventions.
Manage relationships with vendors and consultants who provide content, assessment services, or professional development, ensuring contractual SLAs and instructional quality.
Lead occasional evening or weekend stakeholder events, community forums, and professional learning workshops as needed.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Curriculum design and standards alignment (state/national standards, NGSS, Common Core, IB, AP, etc.).
Instructional design and adult learning principles, including backward design and mastery learning frameworks.
Assessment literacy: designing valid formative and summative assessments, rubrics, and data dashboards.
Learning Management Systems (e.g., Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard) and digital classroom tools (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365).
Data analysis and use of educational analytics tools (Excel advanced functions, Tableau, Power BI, or specialized SIS reporting).
Accreditation and compliance expertise (regional/national accreditation cycles, state reporting, FERPA/GDPR).
Budgeting and financial management for educational programs, including grant stewardship and cost-benefit analysis.
Project and program management (Agile/Scrum familiarity, timelines, RACI matrices, milestone tracking).
Educational technology integration and evaluation (edtech procurement, pilot evaluations, vendor management).
Grant writing and fundraising experience related to educational initiatives and program expansion.
Experience designing competency-based, blended, or hybrid learning programs and micro-credential frameworks.
Curriculum mapping, vertical articulation, and scope-and-sequence development.

Soft Skills

Strategic leadership with the ability to translate vision into operational plans and measurable outcomes.
Excellent written and verbal communication; skilled at presenting complex educational evidence to diverse audiences.
Coaching and mentorship skills to develop instructional staff and leaders through feedback and goal-setting.
Stakeholder management and relationship building with schools, boards, funders, and community partners.
Data-informed decision-making and critical thinking; comfortable with ambiguity and testing hypotheses.
Change management and organizational influence to drive adoption of new instructional practices.
Cultural competence and an equity-centered mindset to design inclusive learning environments.
Problem solving, prioritization, and strong organizational skills under tight deadlines.
Collaborative team player who can navigate cross-functional dynamics and align competing priorities.
Resilience, adaptability, and a learner’s mindset to continuously iterate on programs and practices.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Education, Educational Leadership, Curriculum & Instruction, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s or Doctorate (Ed.M., M.Ed., Ed.D., Ph.D.) in Educational Leadership, Curriculum & Instruction, Instructional Design, Adult Learning, or related disciplines.
Administrative certification or school leadership credential (where applicable).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Educational Leadership / Administration
Curriculum & Instruction / Instructional Design
Learning Sciences / Educational Psychology
Adult Education / Professional Development
Education Policy / Program Evaluation

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 7–15+ years in education or learning roles, with progressive leadership responsibility.

Preferred:

8–12+ years of demonstrated experience in curriculum development, instructional leadership, or program management.
Minimum 3–5 years managing managers and leading distributed instructional teams across multiple sites or programs.
Proven track record of improving learning outcomes using data-driven strategies, managing accreditation processes, and scaling programs.
Experience with budgeting, grant writing, and partnership development.
Prior experience in K‑12, higher education, nonprofit education, corporate learning, or edtech contexts depending on organizational focus.