The Opportunity
The Adams Presidential Center (APC) is seeking a visionary and strategic Executive Director to lead the Educating for American Democracy (EAD) initiative. This role involves overseeing the implementation of the EAD Roadmap, coordinating with a diverse coalition of partners, and managing day-to-day operations, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement. The Executive Director will report to the APC and work in close collaboration with the EAD Steering Committee (SC) to ensure the success of this nationally significant civic education project.
Candidate Profile
The Executive Director will possess the following attributes and competencies:
Strategic Leadership
- Develop and implement a comprehensive strategic plan in collaboration with the EAD SC.
- Foster bipartisan support for EAD and build partnerships with education leaders, cultural institutions, and other civic entities.
- Ensure that the EAD vision is advanced through alignment with national, state, and local educational policies.
Coalition Building and Management
- Maintain and strengthen the EAD coalition, encouraging active engagement from diverse stakeholders.
- Organize and facilitate SC meetings, develop agendas, and carry out SC decisions in partnership with the SC Chair.
- Serve as a liaison between the SC, APC leadership, and external partners.
Operational Oversight
- Oversee the transfer of EAD assets from iCivics to APC and ensure a seamless transition by the designated timeline.
- Manage EAD staff and operations at the APC, including communications, project management, and financial administration.
- Coordinate the work of task forces, ensuring alignment with the EAD Roadmap’s goals.
Fundraising and Resource Mobilization
- Lead major fundraising efforts in collaboration with the SC and APC leadership.
- Secure financial and in-kind support to sustain and expand EAD activities, ensuring effective use of resources.
- Develop and present funding proposals, budgets, and reports for SC review and approval.
Program Implementation and Evaluation
- Oversee the dissemination and adoption of the EAD Roadmap among educators, schools, and community learning partners.
- Develop criteria for recognizing projects that align with EAD and publicize exemplary practices.
- Collect and report data on the implementation and impact of EAD annually.
Communications and Advocacy
- Serve as a public face and spokesperson for EAD, promoting its mission and accomplishments to various audiences.
- Organize events and engage with media to elevate EAD’s visibility and impact.
- Coordinate stakeholder communications to foster coherence, urgency, and momentum in civic education efforts.
Research and Continuous Improvement
- Encourage and support research to evaluate EAD’s impact and inform ongoing improvements to the Roadmap.
- Facilitate updates to the EAD Roadmap as needed.
In addition, strong candidates will offer:
- A deep commitment to and understanding of civic education and the goals of the EAD Roadmap.
- Demonstrated experience in organizational leadership, coalition management, or project oversight.
- Strong understanding of U.S. history, civics, and the educational landscape.
- Proven ability to develop and execute strategic plans and manage complex partnerships.
- Exceptional communication, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement skills.
- Experience and demonstrated track record of success in fundraising, grant writing, and financial management.
- Demonstrated capacity to work with a diverse range of partners across political and ideological spectrums.
- Advanced degree in education, public administration, history, or a related field is preferred.
- Support coalition efforts and build partnerships through moderate to heavy travel potentially required.
Compensation & Benefits
The salary for this role is $150,000 with a generous benefits package.
Educating for American Democracy at the Adams Presidential Center is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ+ applicants.
About Educating for American Democracy Initiative
Educating for American Democracy (EAD) is an unprecedented effort that convened a diverse and cross-ideological group of scholars and educators to create a Roadmap to Educating for American Democracy— guidance and an inquiry framework that states, local school districts, and educators can use to transform teaching of history and civics to meet the needs of a diverse 21st century K–12 student body.
EAD shifts from breadth to depth by offering an inquiry framework that weaves history and civics together and inspires students to learn by asking difficult questions, then seeking answers in the classroom through facts and discussion.
The initiative aims to answer the call to action and reinvest in Civic Education. Years of neglecting civics and history education have left citizens poorly equipped to engage with government and civic life. While significant funding goes to STEM education, civics receives far less support. At the federal level we spend $50 on STEM Education vs. $0.05 on Civic Education per child. Disagreement over how to teach civics and history has hindered progress. The Educating for American Democracy (EAD) initiative aims to address this by providing tools and creating a broad consensus on history and civics content and teaching methods. This consensus encourages investment in civics education at all levels to strengthen civic engagement.
Learn more about EAD at https://www.educatingforamericandemocracy.org/.