Director of Instructional Liberation

Job Description

Job Description

Director of Instructional Liberation

Overview

Village of Wisdom is seeking a visionary and systems-oriented Director of Instructional Liberation to lead transformative work that advances culturally affirming learning environments where Black learners thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.

This role will lead Village of Wisdom’s That’s Just Good Teaching (TJGT) initiative — a two-year educator development program focused on transforming teacher-parent collaboration and strengthening culturally affirming instructional practices. The Director of Instructional Liberation will build the systems, partnerships, tools, and implementation infrastructure needed to scale TJGT beyond direct facilitation while ensuring fidelity to the CALE (Culturally Affirming Learning Environments) framework.

The ideal candidate is an experienced educator, instructional leader, and relationship-builder with a strong commitment to Black family authority, anti-oppressive educational practice, and educational equity. This person will collaborate across research, communications, technology, and program teams while serving as an external representative of Village of Wisdom’s instructional liberation work.

This position is currently funded through 2027 via a research grant, with organizational commitment to sustaining the role and function beyond the grant period.

Responsibilities

Program Implementation & Fidelity

• Lead implementation of the TJGT program across active school sites while ensuring quality, educator engagement, and fidelity to the CALE framework
• Manage the day-to-day TJGT program team, including school liaisons, project managers, and contracted partners
• Oversee grant performance accountability, reporting, implementation documentation, and coordination with external evaluation partners
• Develop practitioner-facing fidelity tools and systems for monitoring and improving implementation quality
• Maintain program participation data, educator surveys, observation logs, attendance tracking, and implementation records

Scale Infrastructure & Partnership Development

• Build and lead TJGT’s train-the-trainer infrastructure, including facilitator guides, coaching protocols, and quality safeguards
• Codify instructional artifacts, rubrics, templates, facilitation guides, and observation tools into reusable resources
• Develop and steward demonstration sites within Black-serving schools and educator networks
• Cultivate partnerships with schools, educator networks, parent coalitions, and institutions aligned with Village of Wisdom’s mission
• Support grant proposals and funding efforts related to TJGT growth and dissemination

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Community-Driven Research & Design (CDR&D) to ensure research findings and parent-validated standards inform instructional practice
• Collaborate with Communications to amplify implementation learnings, program milestones, and narratives externally
• Coordinate with technology and product teams to strengthen educator-facing tools and reduce educator burden
• Support leadership development and power-sharing opportunities for parent leaders engaged in Instructional Liberation work
• Ensure continuous feedback loops between implementation, research, and tool refinement

Thought Leadership & External Representation

• Represent Village of Wisdom’s instructional liberation work with school leaders, districts, funders, and educator communities
• Present at local, regional, and national conferences and convenings
• Contribute to publications, reports, and presentations that advance culturally affirming education practices
• Help strengthen Village of Wisdom’s reputation as a leader in culturally affirming instructional practice and Black student thriving

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of classroom teaching and/or instructional coaching experience
• 3–5 years of program leadership or organizational leadership experience
• Demonstrated expertise in culturally affirming or culturally responsive instructional practice
• Experience designing systems, programs, or tools intended for scale and replication
• Experience managing implementation fidelity and accountability for outcomes
• Experience producing grant-quality implementation documentation and reporting
• Strong relationship-building skills across schools, educators, families, and institutional partners
• Deep commitment to Black family and community authority in education
• Understanding of anti-oppressive theory and practice, particularly related to race, class, and gender
• Ability to travel occasionally and work evenings/weekends as needed

Candidates located in the Research Triangle region or elsewhere in North Carolina are strongly preferred. Candidates outside North Carolina must demonstrate a plan to establish regular Durham presence within 60–90 days of hire.

Preferred Skills & Abilities

• Strong facilitation and public speaking skills
• High emotional intelligence and ability to navigate complex stakeholder relationships
• Ability to translate practitioner knowledge into scalable systems and tools
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and driving accountability without formal authority
• Commitment to long-term systems change and educational equity
• Ability to build practitioner capacity and people power to create sustainable impact

Job Type

Full-time

Location

Durham, NC (Hybrid/On-the-Ground Presence Required)

Schedule

• Monday to Friday
• Occasional evenings and weekends as needed
• Travel required periodically

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development opportunities
• Flexible work environment
• Mission-driven organizational culture

Remuneration

The package will be competitive and commensurate with the skills and experiences of the successful candidate with a starting salary range of $90,000-$100,000. Village of Wisdom also offers a competitive compensation and benefits package. Our healthcare benefits include medical, dental, vision, and Health FSA coverage with the option to include dependents. We offer 15 vacation days in addition to paid holidays, as well as a 3% match retirement plan

We are a people-driven organization that recognizes the value of flexible working spaces, self-care, rest, and relationship-building for our staff.

The expected start date for this position is July 20, 2026.

To Apply

VOW is conducting a local and national search for this position. All candidates who wish to apply must send the requested information below to to facilitate the application process and ensure credentials are provided in a uniform and consistent way.

Please complete a cover letter of application, include your curriculum vitae/resume’ and a statement of what Black Genius means to you, and other supporting documents. All files should be submitted in PDF formats. All finalist candidates will be required to submit to rigorous reference and background checking.

All applications and entries should be directed to:

VOW Executive Director, [email protected]

Applications will be accepted from the time of posting and the application period will close at 11:59 PM PST on Friday, May 29, 2026. VOW reserves the right to close the search at any time, should a successful candidate be identified earlier in the process.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Village of Wisdom is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against applicants or employees based on race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. Village of Wisdom is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and sincerely held religious beliefs in accordance with applicable law.