Director, Legal Strategy and Policy

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

Position Summary

The Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) is a partnership of professional schools that prepares students for leadership positions in public education organizations committed to improving the life chances of all children, particularly those of color, from low-income households, or those who are otherwise traditionally underserved. The program brings together upper-level graduate students in business, education, law, and policy from universities across the nation to study and engage in research and consulting projects serving public- and social-sector organizations in the U.S. and Brazil that are undertaking and supporting transformational change in P-12 education and in the public sector as a whole. The program offers graduate students the rigorous, multi-disciplinary, academic, and experiential preparation they need to flourish in exciting leadership, management, and professional positions in those same organizations while simultaneously offering the organizations high-quality, low-cost research and consulting support.

Responsibilities

Manages, supports, and mentors teams of graduate and professional students in designing and implementing research and consulting projects in the P-12 education sector.

• Team management : Serves as the manager of teams of four to six graduate students for four- to ten-month consulting engagements; sets up project management structures; promotes team cohesion, oversees creation of project plan and allocation of tasks.
• Strategy development and thought leadership : In collaboration with CPRL leadership and staff, designs research and consulting strategy and methodology for projects; executes and adapts strategy and methodology based on the type of project, gathered information, and client feedback; communicates strategy, vision, methodology, and outcomes to relevant stakeholders
• Professional development of students : Actively develops student skills and dispositions necessary for the research and consulting projects; provides leadership opportunities for students within the team structure; provides ongoing feedback to students; collaboratively establishes professional growth goals with the team and individual students and monitors progress towards these goals.
• Quality assurance : Ensures all work products are high quality and delivered on time.

Serves as liaison with client organizations :

• Serves as the primary point of contact with the client; develops project scope of work; manages student-client interaction; documents all changes in project scope.

Communicates with CRPL leadership :

• Updates and receives feedback from CPRL leadership about project work; provides written and oral updates about project and student progress; surfaces issues for additional CPRL support; communicates feedback from leadership to the student team and integrates it into project work.

Collaborates with CPRL staff on project work and on the development of student resources :

• Works closely with Associate Directors leading analogous or interconnected projects; contributes to the design and execution of project-related professional learning experiences and materials for students.

Collaborates with fellow Directors to ensure project success :

• Meets with Associate Directors about project work; collaboratively troubleshoots problems; engages in discussions and activities to ensure consistent expectations for students.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree is required, and an advanced degree in education, law (JD, LLM), management or business, policy, or social sciences is required, plus 5-7 years of significant experience.
• Strong research and analytical skills, with a preference for candidates with expertise in modeling and analyzing qualitative and / or quantitative data and in matching research methodologies to client and project requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to design, direct, and carry out team projects with minimal supervision and to work closely with stakeholders in public sector or non-profit agencies.
• Intellectual capacity to think strategically in a fast-paced environment; understand multiple perspectives; learn about new topics; problem solve and develop responsive solutions under changing circumstances.
• Ability to respond to and integrate feedback from both peers and supervisors; ability to communicate feedback to individuals and teams in a clear and productive manner.
• Experience as a P-12 teacher or experience teaching / mentoring young professionals preferred.
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills.
• Excellent writing, editing, and presentation skills.
• Must be able to work with diverse constituencies and support an inclusive work environment

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.