Seasonal Training Guide - Contractor Role

The Organization

What if K-12 education were designed to help all students develop lives of meaning and purpose? Wayfinder was founded at the Stanford d.school to answer this question. Our goal is to double our impact each year for the coming years. Our vision is to become the preeminent SEL curriculum company in the world — leading the global movement of purpose, meaning, and belonging-based education worldwide. 

What We Value

In this contract work, you’ll be supporting a team of incredibly motivated and dedicated staff members committed to living our organization's values. We work collaboratively across teams, and we feel and act like a purpose-driven organization. To the best of our abilities, each person’s role aligns with their own sense of purpose, which feeds into Wayfinder’s larger sense of purpose.

We value access, equity, diversity, and belonging, and these values are represented in our product, our team, and our school partners.

Product: We develop our learning tools using human-centered design principles. We work with grade-level experts to ensure our curriculum is developmentally appropriate and engaging at all levels. Every Wayfinder lesson is supported by relevant research, prototyped in classrooms, and vetted by teachers over rounds of feedback and iteration. We use Universal Design for Learning principles to give every student an equal opportunity to succeed.

Team: Our team is composed of people from all different backgrounds and walks of life. We intentionally recruit, hire, and work with people of diverse identities + experiences. We focus on belonging: being connected, accepted, and valued by the people around us. 

School Partners: We intentionally target a wide array of educational partners, from traditional to non-traditional, that work with a range of students from different socioeconomic groups. We’ve taught our curriculum in high-need schools in the Bronx, independent schools in Silicon Valley, and after-school programs in San Antonio.

The Role

Support our team of world-class Wayfinder trainers, or guides, as we like to call them. The ideal Wayfinder guide pairs an engaging and dynamic personality with a level of knowledge to facilitate professional learning experiences that leave educators feeling confident and excited to implement Wayfinder in their classrooms. We are looking for an enthusiastic, dedicated person who is excited to work in a fast-paced environment and has a proven track-record of project management and an entrepreneurial mindset. You are extremely organized, have strong interpersonal and communication skills, and thrive off of the opportunity to solve real-world problems for educators. 

Please note that this is a seasonal, contractor opportunity. If you are interested in full-time employment with Wayfinder, please see currently open opportunities on our Careers page. No agreement for full-time employment is indicated through your acceptance of this contracted position.

What We Expect You To Do

• Commit to and deliver virtual or on-site professional learning with school partners, as assigned by the Senior Director of Learning + Development. Please Note: Our highest volume of training is in August and September. As a result, availability during those months is critical.  
• Efficiently manage, gather and share information.
• Develop and maintain expertise in specific training sessions from the Wayfinder Professional Learning catalog.

What We Expect You To Know 

• How to use Zoom, Google Meets, Microsoft Teams, Google Tools For Education and Clever
• How to efficiently manage your availability using Google Calendar. 
• What social and emotional learning is and why it matters in K-12 education
• Effective teaching practices and learning strategies, particularly in social-emotional learning to connect it with Academic Achievement
• How to lead dynamic and engaging sessions, ensuring participants leave with actionable takeaways.
• Knowledge of tools and methodologies for managing projects in a fast-paced environment (e.g., Slack, Google Drive, Spreadsheets etc.).

What You Will Need To Be Successful 

• Strong, consistent internet bandwidth, and your own computer
• Leverage authentic experiences in training and facilitation
• Strong stage presence for facilitating training while remaining approachable and relatable to educators.
• Genuine excitement for education, SEL, and the impact of Wayfinder’s curriculum.
• Manage independent tasks and assignments 
• Access to a quiet space for delivering virtual professional development
• Ability to pivot with grace and comfort working in a startup-like environment where priorities and tasks may shift quickly.
• Willingness and ability to travel within the continental US 50-75% of the time

Education and Experience 

We want you to have these but still apply if you believe you can get the job done!

• Bachelor’s degree in Education or a related field
• Experience using SEL in an educational or recreational setting
• Experience delivering professional learning to educators in a virtual and in-person setting
• Experience teaching in or supporting teachers in a school or district
• Plus: Minimum of 1 year experience teaching or supporting Wayfinder in a school or district
• Plus: Experience working directly with educators to ensure their success with a product or program.

Location

• Due to the nature of this work, travel is required and frequent. 

Compensation

• This role is paid at $100/hour for virtual facilitation and $50/hour for up to two hours of preparation and follow-up time.
• In person rates are paid at a $500/ flat rate.
• Wayfinder covers all travel expenses up front. Reimbursement is not required. 

Next Steps, If Interested

If you are interested, please fill out the application here. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. 

Start date for the work will be July 2025, with Onboarding in June.

We strongly encourage people from traditionally underrepresented populations in tech - such as women, People of Color, People with Disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people, etc - to apply.

EEO Statement 

At Wayfinder, we don’t just accept differences — we celebrate them, we support them, and we thrive on them for the benefit of our employees, our products, and our community. Wayfinder is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.