Principal Consultant

Education First is a trusted advisor to education funders and changemakers in all 50 states. We uniquely bridge policy, practice and philanthropy to create more clarity and coherence across P-20 education initiatives and systems. 

Education First is seeking an experienced leader to join the Accelerate Academic Coherence consulting team as a Principal Consultant. The Accelerate Academic Coherence team supports philanthropic, state, and district leaders in designing and implementing high-quality, coherent instructional, assessment, and accountability systems. The Principal Consultant is expected to bring expertise gained by serving currently or recently as a national funder, or as a close advisor to philanthropy with strong relationships, to advance high-quality, coherent instructional, assessment and accountability systems, including how systematic, strategic use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technology can accelerate academic coherence.

Reporting to the Managing Partner, the Principal Consultant will shape and set strategy, cultivate strong partnerships, lead individual client engagements and contribute to the firm’s success and sustainability. They apply their understanding of philanthropy and the current and future issues in the field (e.g., technology and AI) to craft bodies of work and projects, bring in new relationships with funders and sell projects, lead services and projects that deliver immediate and long-term results, and contribute to thought leadership that extends the firm’s national reputation in these areas. 

The Principal Consultant should have a diverse and outstanding network with funders, decisionmakers, and influencers in the field, and be comfortable cultivating relationships, advising, and coaching new and prospective executive clients. The Principal Consultant is also deeply skilled in understanding and addressing issues of racial equity in education, coaching staff on client engagements, and overseeing the quality of research, work products, and services to clients. 

• Skillfully support executives in philanthropy, school systems, state education agencies and nonprofits
• Develop and use tools and strategies to assess client needs, lift up research and emerging practices and solve problems clients face
• Support and coach funders in developing investment strategies and plans and leading grantee communities of practices
• Support and coach innovators to reimagine organizational and institutional structures through equitable design
• Support system leaders to operationalize Education First’s commitment to coherence, bringing down silos in school systems, regions, states and organizations that can impede progress
• Serve as project director on a variety of client engagements
• Travel to meet with clients to facilitate meaningful engagements that directly contribute to project deliverables, approximately 20-30% of the time
• Oversee successful projects, including building capacity, advising clients, and ensuring that project deliverables meet our excellence standard
• Coordinate regularly with the project manager and client to ensure project success, including budgeting, planning and regular reporting against the contract, and providing and seeking feedback from the client and team members 
• Contribute to project operations through creating materials and active involvement in all other project tasks
• Advance the firm’s business development, thought leadership and field impact
• Contribute to business development efforts by cultivating relationships with current and prospective clients, contributing to proposals and participating in content-based business development and thought leadership work groups that drive firm strategy and sales
• Create and deliver content for the firm's website, policy papers, newsletters, op-eds, press releases and public speaking engagements
• Mentor, guide and manage team members
• Support project managers to set and monitor project work plans and drive the project to completion at or under budget 
• Support inclusive project teams that challenge and empower all team members to grow and reach their potential 

• You have extensive experience working within or alongside philanthropy to design, implement and/or advocate for successful education policies and high-value, high-leverage networks or communities of practice designed to improve pre-K-12 education outcomes
• You have recent experience as an engaged funder or in AI
• You can convert your deep network of education leaders and content expertise to new work, sales and impact in the field
• You have demonstrated urgency in accomplishing difficult or complex work, implementing change in various systems, organizations and institutions
• You have a national view of the United States’ K12 education system, with an understanding of how it connects with other systems (early ed, higher ed, workforce development) 
• You are committed to the vision of a more equitable education system in the U.S., including a willingness to examine the role of privilege, structural barriers, and inclusion in changing the trajectories of students furthest from opportunity
• You possess strong, inclusive project management and system-level strategy and planning experience, including juggling several complex projects at once, developing work plans, strategic plans, maintaining project budgets, managing risks and meeting deadlines and targets

• You can lead through ambiguity to create clear structures that deliver high-quality results to clients
• You provide and receive feedback with ease
• You lead by influence – establishing open lines of communication and understanding and including the perspectives of others

You may also have: 

• Experience with consulting, providing technical assistance or leading strategy development
• Master’s degree or equivalent experience in public policy, public administration, business, education, Juris Doctor or related fields preferred

• 100% remote, U.S. based team 
• Sales bonus opportunities 

• Firmwide in-person engagements once a year 

• Telework subsidy 

• Professional development stipend 

• Foundational Bonding and Parental Leave 

• 20 PTO days, 11 holidays and two firmwide shutdown weeks 

• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance  

• 401(k) match 

Compensation 

The starting salary for this position is $175,000 annually. Employees living in cities with higher cost of living may receive a location-based supplement equivalent to 1-5% of the base salary. Principal Consultants’ annual sales bonuses have a wide range, with an average of $32,000. 

About Education First 

Education First helps funders and education leaders catalyze change. We support grantmakers, funders, and foundations to invest for impact by developing thoughtful, high-impact investment strategies that align with their goals, interests, and resources. We convene networks and build capacity by planning and facilitating meaningful convenings and communities of practice for organizations and individuals to learn, problem solve, collaborate and advance their goals. We also innovate with Artificial Intelligence by advising, developing and implementing actionable and equitable solutions that meet client needs, achieve program goals and implement initiatives with clarity and quality. We work at the school system, state, national and federal levels across the United States, and we bring particularly deep expertise in academic coherence, teacher workforce and talent systems, AI and college- and career-ready pathways. 

We are a team of more than 50 former teachers, district and state education leaders, policy advisors, and grantmakers who live and work virtually in more than 20 states and DC. Because of our experience, we approach the challenges our clients face with humility, realistic solutions, and a commitment to follow-through. Our culture is built on genuine care for our clients and for each other. We celebrate original thinking, collaboration, entrepreneurialism, authenticity and fun. 

Our Equity Commitment 

We recognize that race is one of the most influential factors associated with life outcomes, including educational success. Education First knows that redesigning our racist and inequitable education system is a necessary part of creating a more just society where race does not influence someone’s ability to live, learn and thrive. For this reason, we prioritize dismantling racism through an intersectional lens in our internal and client-facing work to design equitable and coherent systems that serve all people and no longer disadvantage students, educators, and leaders of color. Learn more here.  

Education First actively engages our team with a robust Race, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (RIDE) vision to build our staff and organizational capacity to lead on issues of equity and to increase diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels of the firm. As a proud equal opportunity employer, we strongly encourage applications from candidates of all races, national origins, ages, religions, creeds, veteran or disabled statuses, sexual orientations, gender identities or gender expressions. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. Education First makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.  

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