Senior Director of Leadership Development and Special Projects

About Mastery:

Founded in 2001, Mastery Schools is a public charter network of 23 K-12 schools in Philadelphia and Camden, serving more than 14,000 students. 

At Mastery, we’re on a mission to provide all students with the academic and personal skills they need to succeed after graduation and pursue their dreams. Student achievement is not just a goal for our organization; it's the reason we exist, and every member of our team is dedicated to securing student success. We are also committed to pursuing equity, actively disrupting systemic racism, and addressing the disparities that limit our students' choices. 

Our culture is built on respect, service, and the belief that the success of our students, their families, and the communities we serve will help us achieve our mission. We foster a positive, open, and inclusive environment where honesty, humor, and continuous improvement are celebrated. 

Join us in creating a model urban school district that serves all students with excellence. Together, we can make a lasting impact.

Position Summary:

The Senior Director of Leadership Development will be responsible for setting the strategic vision and executing a comprehensive leadership pipeline program, to ensure a sustainable and diverse pool of high-performing school leaders. The SDLD will develop and manage a scalable infrastructure that drives retention, leadership competency, and instructional excellence. This position requires a leader with a focus on coaching and direct support for aspiring and new leaders to achieve ambitious performance outcomes

• Essential Job Functions: 
• Strategic Leadership & Vision Setting:
• Establish and execute a network-wide leadership development strategy, ensuring alignment with Mastery’s mission, diversity commitments, and student achievement goals.
• Drive New Leader retention and principal satisfaction on competency ratings and performance outcomes.
• Lead strategic planning efforts in partnership with senior leadership to develop sustainable, data-driven leadership development initiatives.
• Align leadership development programs to the organizational goals, ensuring succession planning and talent retention strategies proactively address future needs.
• Oversee multiple teams and workstreams, ensuring cohesion between leadership development, emerging and new leader induction, affinity group and principal readiness programs.
• Manage principal fellows and support leader selection and onboarding 

• Program Development & Execution: 
• Develop a structured New Leader Induction Program that ensures a smooth transition for new Principals and Assistant Principals, ensuring they demonstrate effectiveness early in their tenure.
• Build and oversee a data-driven leadership competency model, ensuring aspiring leaders progress through a well-defined pathway.
• Direct the design and execution of professional development for Assistant Principals, Instructional Leaders, and Principal Fellows, ensuring participants meet competency credentialing goals.
• Lead the selection, admissions, and evaluation process for aspiring leaders, implementing rigorous benchmarks for advancement.

• Coaching & Talent Development:
• Directly coach a portfolio of aspiring Principals and Instructional Leaders, focusing on skill development and performance improvement.
• Provide targeted coaching interventions to accelerate the development of leaders, with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion in leadership representation.
• Ensure that every candidate in the program receives ongoing, aligned evaluative feedback, with clear, actionable next steps for growth.

• Organizational Management & Accountability: 
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators, ensuring data-informed decision-making at all levels of leadership development.
• Lead budget development for leadership development programs, ensuring efficient resource allocation and sustainability.
• Partner with external organizations to bring high-quality professional development experiences to leaders.

• Proven track record of strategic leadership, with experience leading large-scale leadership development initiatives in an educational setting.
• Strong coaching acumen, with the ability to develop and retain high-performing Principals and Instructional Leaders.
• Experience managing multiple teams and aligning leadership development programs to broader organizational goals.
• Expertise in building data-driven talent pipelines with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Strong ability to remove systemic barriers to leadership advancement and drive equitable access to leadership roles.

• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s preferred
• At least 7 years of professional experience including 2 years as a principal and or similar executive role, demonstrating impact through academic goal achievement, teacher retention, and leadership development.
• Track record of successfully developing high-performing school leaders, with measurable outcomes in instructional leadership and equity-focused leadership growth. 

• Ability to physically perform the essential duties of the role as outlined above, and to work in the environmental conditions required, such as traveling to network campuses, monitoring and interacting with students, in-person facilitation of trainings, etc.
• This role may require frequent travel between multiple locations. Reliable transportation is essential to fulfill job responsibilities.

Mastery's Benefits Package:

We offer a full benefits program and opportunities for professional growth. Some of our most popular benefits include our 403(b) retirement plan for PA employees (with a 5% match from Mastery), enrollment in the State of New Jersey Pension Plan for NJ employees, a robust Employee Assistance Program, mental health and counseling programs, an annual Professional Development Fund, and discounts and perks at a myriad of retailers, travel organizations, insurance providers, and so much more, as well as a Benefits VIP Helpdesk to help you navigate various benefits-related topics. Please go here to see all of our Benefits offerings!

Annual Calendar:

As you plan to make Mastery your new work home, please feel free to review our Calendar for the 24/25 School Year. We like to think our calendar is a benefit of working here too!

Why You Should Apply:

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they can perform every job description task. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may come from a less traditional background. Mastery may consider an equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education, and experience to meet minimum qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.