Instructional Designer
Fast ForwardABOUT FAST FORWARD
Fast Forward launched in 2014 with a simple belief: tech can help solve the world’s biggest challenges. Back then, the intersection of tech and social impact was still undefined. The term “tech nonprofit” didn’t even exist. So, we coined it and founded Fast Forward to support the builders using tech for social good.
Since then, Fast Forward’s annual flagship Accelerator has supported an impressive portfolio of 100+ tech nonprofit builders with funding, resources, and partnerships. The result? 262M lives impacted and $1B+ in follow-on funding for tech nonprofits raised to date. Outside of the Accelerator, Fast Forward is growing the sector by offering the world’s 1,000+ tech and AI-powered nonprofits resources and tools to scale. Learn more.
THE POSITION
We’re seeking a mission-driven, full-time Instructional Designer to lead the design and development of learning experiences for tech nonprofits and the funders who support them. This role sits at the intersection of AI, social impact, and education. You will translate complex concepts into clear, practical learning modules that meet founders and funders where they are, shaping curricula that help nonprofit builders responsibly deploy and govern tech and AI in service of the public good.
This role will own Fast Forward’s curriculum, defining what we teach and ensuring our learning assets are effective and grounded in real nonprofit needs. You will work closely with programs, funder education, and events teams to enable high-quality learning across workshops, convenings, publications, and digital formats.
The Instructional Designer reports to the VP of Marketing and Communication and collaborates closely with other members of the Marketing and Communications Team, Programs Team, Partnerships Team, and alumni.
This position is based in San Francisco, CA; it is a full-time, in-office role (no remote work). Please note: The title and level of this role are flexible depending on the candidate.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Curriculum Strategy and Ownership
- Own Fast Forward’s curriculum for tech nonprofits and funders.
- Define Fast Forward’s point of view on the concepts, skills, and practices that matter most for tech nonprofits and funders, and set clear priorities for curriculum development.
- Develop and drive a cohesive curriculum strategy that reflects best practices in responsible AI and tech nonprofit work, and evolves as the landscape changes.
Design Applied Learning Experiences
- Create structured, practical curricula, including frameworks, toolkits, playbooks, guided exercises, workshops, and other applied learning assets.
- Translate complex technical, ethical, and organizational concepts into clear, usable learning experiences grounded in real-world nonprofit constraints.
- Work with internal staff and subject matter experts to ensure curriculum is accurate, credible, and practice-informed.
Enable Delivery at Scale
- Create and maintain a centralized learning hub that houses Fast Forward’s curriculum and makes it easy to access, adapt, and reuse across teams.
- Collaborate closely with cross-functional Fast Forward teams to ensure they have high-quality, ready-to-deliver curriculum.
- Support teams to bring curriculum to life across different formats, including workshops, convenings, written resources, and digital learning experiences.
- Gather feedback from real-world use of curriculum and continuously iterate to improve clarity, relevance, and impact.
- Serve as a steward of curriculum quality and consistency, ensuring learning assets reflect Fast Forward’s values and remain current as practices and technologies evolve.
WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR
- Strong curriculum design background, ideally designing learning experiences for adults. Experience as a former teacher, educator, or learning and development specialist is a plus.
- Tech/AI fluent (ideally also well-versed in the nonprofit space). Able to connect responsible tech principles to real nonprofit needs and constraints.
- Excellent communicator and writer with the ability to explain nuanced concepts in clear, plain language for tech nonprofits and funders.
- Highly organized project manager who can own complex projects end to end, from concept through delivery and iteration.
- Collaborative teammate who thrives working across functions and incorporating feedback from diverse stakeholders.
- Enthusiastic about Fast Forward’s mission and the role of tech and AI in advancing social good.
- Comfortable operating with ambiguity and excited to build foundational curriculum systems where none previously existed.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
- Unlimited paid time off (PTO)
- 401k retirement plan & employer matching
- Office is located in a beautiful national park - The Presidio - with free transit to/from downtown San Francisco!
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Most importantly, input on the office snack order
COMPENSATION
Salary: $110,000 - $130,000 - negotiable depending on experience
Note: In accordance with federal, state, and local safety guidelines, this role is expected to be performed in-person, in San Francisco.
Fast Forward is a social justice organization founded on the idea that those with proximity to the problem should have proximity to the power to fix them. Our true north is empowering tech nonprofit leaders with the tools, community, and capital they need to scale solutions for underserved groups, and we know that a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion is inextricable from that pursuit. Read our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Guidelines to learn how we approach DEI across our investments, community, and workplace.
Fast Forward is an equal opportunity employer.