Director of Impact & Learning

Overview of the Position

The Director of Impact & Learning will spearhead SEAL's Impact & Learning Unit, functioning as a vital Leadership Team member. This role reports to the Head Program & Strategy Officer. This role is central to advancing the organization’s theory of action through the design of sophisticated evaluation frameworks, the modernization of data architecture, and the facilitation of learning cycles that catalyze evidence-based innovation. Additionally, you will represent SEAL before external scholars, policy leaders, and educational stakeholders to amplify our impact narratives and promote strategic goals throughout California and the national landscape.

Candidates are encouraged to apply who have a minimum of 7 years of successful experience in education research and evaluation with deep experience related to multilingual and dual language learner education.

This hybrid position is based in California. You will work from home and in the field, with the expectation to travel domestically 15% throughout the year.

About SEAL

For more than 15 years, SEAL has worked with school districts, county offices of education, schools, preschool LEAs, teachers, families, California Department of Education, and many other education champions to advance educational outcomes of English Learners and Dual Language Learners. It all began with Dr. Laurie Olsen and Sobrato Philanthropies whose strong belief that all children should have access to opportunities for growth and success led to designing, piloting and eventually creating the SEAL you know today.

Our vision at SEAL is simple, yet impactful: schools prepare all English Learners and Dual Language Learners to learn, lead and thrive. Our core values focus on nurturing the intellectual and linguistic brilliance of young children, celebrating the importance of family culture and language in education, and supporting teachers through professional development and evidence-based instructional practices.

We work across California and nationally, partnering with preschools, elementary schools, districts, county offices and other educational stakeholders to ensure culturally and linguistically diverse children thrive. Extensive research has shown that SEAL both enhances teaching methods and leads to higher engagement and improved language and academic results among English Learners and Dual Language Learners. We’ve impacted hundreds of classrooms, thousands of teachers, tens of thousands of students—and counting. The number of school districts successfully implementing SEAL grows each year.

SEAL addresses systemic inequities by transforming classrooms into joyful, rigorous, and language-affirming environments. Our Theory of Action drives impact across three integrated levels:

Direct Impact: Building the capacity of teachers and leaders through specialized professional learning.

Ecosystem Impact: Partnering with education organizations to embed MLL expertise into programs, tools, and training.

Field Impact: Leading advocacy and awareness to elevate high-quality instructional practices at scale.

To learn more about SEAL, please visit SEAL.org.

Our Equity Commitment

Equity is a core value at SEAL. At SEAL, our commitment to diversity, equity & inclusion reflects SEAL's mission: "To Prepare All English Learners to learn, thrive, and lead." Equity is a core value at SEAL and we believe that diversity fosters equity. We're passionate about creating a workplace where all forms of diversity, age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, perspective, and experience are seen as real value for the organization.

To carry out our mission we actively recruit a workforce that reflects the SEAL community we serve, and as part of which, everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work. Our mission drives our innovation and connects us more closely to our partners and the communities we serve. Together, we act fearlessly, learn from each other, improve constantly, and continue to build a culture that encourages, supports, and celebrates the diverse voices, backgrounds, and cultures of our team members.

These principles guide how we build our teams, cultivate leaders and develop an organization that embraces multiple approaches and points of view. We support an inclusive environment where team members feel empowered to share their experiences and ideas. We believe that non-profit organizations can be powerful platforms for social change and that our higher purpose is to drive equity for all.

About the Role

In this role, your work will include

Leadership, Management & Operationalizing Strategy (20%)

• Overall management of the Impact & Learning Unit, including supervision, training, and mentoring of direct reports, including performance reviews and goal setting; as well as managing external consultants, as necessary
• Serve on the Leadership Team and actively contribute to SEAL’s organizational development, management and health
• Facilitate and participate in recruitment, screening, selection and employment of personnel
• Lead development of and manage contracts/MOUs that outline research-oriented partnerships within the field
• Collaborate in the development of and management of budgets as appropriate making edits and modifications as necessary to execute successfully
• Participate in the development, monitoring, and reporting of SEAL’s annual performance metrics (Objective Key Results)
• Interface strategically with the Board and with key funders as determined by Executive Leadership and Executive Director (ED)

Impact Measurement & Learning Cycles(70%)

Lead the development and implementation of SEAL’s theories of change, logic models, and evaluation frameworks aligned with SEAL’s evolving set of professional learning offerings

Oversee the collection, analysis and reporting of program impact data including, development/revision of evaluation tools, and execution of internal evaluation protocols aligned to SEAL’s theory of change, logic models and evaluation frameworks

Oversee SEAL’s programmatic data systems architecture and lead cross-departmental collaboration with IT to ensure SEAL’s data systems (including Salesforce) are aligned to the new strategic plan and updated and maintained to support reliable reporting and our new evaluation frameworks

Lead the design and implementation of Learning Cycles to foster rapid, evidence-based innovation in programmatic offerings

Design and implement Research-to-Practice projects with external partners when resources and funding are available

Lead strategic collaboration with Fund Development and Marketing to provide data and co-create, write, and disseminate compelling impact narratives, briefs, case studies, and field reports

Support program projects requiring research and evaluation support, particularly for those requiring substantiating the research-base, new research and evaluation tools and/or new data collections (literature review, briefs, reports, etc.)

External Relationships: (10%)

In coordination with the Executive Team and HDERO, Represent SEAL in the field and community to network and strengthen relationships with external researchers, state and national policymakers, and other key education leaders to advance SEAL’s impact, learning and strategic priorities

Represent SEAL in events and conferences, in alignment with SEAL’s broader external engagement strategy, as necessary to disseminate data/research that elevates SEAL’s impact

Partner with Executive Leadership and Program Leadership to create, build and maintain effective relationships with partner sites/districts to prioritize the educational and developmental needs of multilingual learners

Who You Are

• This is what’s required for the role…
• Master’s degree required; doctorate strongly preferred
• Minimum of 7 years experience with senior-level responsibilities, including management/supervisory experience for research and evaluation projects in the field of education
• Research expertise and experience related to multilingual learner/dual language learner/English Learner education, including EL classification process, and how that affects short-term and longer-term educational outcomes
• Strong verbal, and written communication, writing clearly and succinctly, with competence in proofreading
• Strong computer skills including proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, Adobe, Google Suite, and video conferencing platforms (e.g., Google Meets, Zoom)
• Proficiency with data/research software, such as Google Forms, SurveyMonkey,NVivo, SPSS, Stata, salesforce, Tableau
• Successful track record in authoring blogs, issue briefs, white papers, research articles
• Successful track record of writing/contributing to proposals to fund research, evaluation or special projects
• Strong technical evaluation skills, with experience working with diverse data sets that are publicly available from statewide sources and district-level data, for quantitative and qualitative measurement
• Strong fluency in data systems architecture and management (beyond just data analysis)
• Exceptional leadership skills, including leadership related to diversity, equity and inclusion, and the ability to lead effectively in a complex, high-performing organization
• Exceptional organizational, project management and multitasking skills, ability to be proactive and constantly prioritize responsibilities in a fast moving and rapidly changing environment
• A resident of California or willing to relocate
• Valid driver’s license and/or regular access to a vehicle; willingness to travel regionally
• This is what’s desirable for the role…
• Personal and professional experience working directly with English Language Learners
• Track record working with or for nonprofit education organizations
• Coaching and team building skills to strengthen and cultivate relationships and support continued professional development of staff
• Strong learner disposition with the ability to make meaning and synthesize new or unfamiliar research, ideas, and theories quickly and have strategic awareness of how to utilize new learning
• Experience with SEAL professional development work and offerings
• Bilingual and/or multilingual strongly preferred
• We expect all SEAL staff to be adept at…
• SEAL has codified its expectations for success and core competencies in a shared competency model. SEAL’s core competencies include:
• Adaptability and growth mindset
• Collaboration and teamwork
• Connection to mission and values
• Demonstrates a commitment to equity
• Effective communication
• Effective planning and follow-through
• Emotional intelligence
• Expertise in area of focus
• Presenting and facilitating
• Strategic and critical thinking

Location & Compensation

This hybrid position is based in California. You will work from home and in the field, with the expectation to travel domestically 15% throughout the year.

The salary range starts at $167,500. Salary is commensurate with experience. Our highly competitive benefits package includes: 100% coverage for employee medical, dental, vision, life and AD&D, long and short-term disability benefits. 50% coverage for dependent(s) for medical, dental and vision benefits. Up to 6% 401k matching. Medical/Dependent Care FSA. Self Care Program and Telecommuting Ergonomics Program. 20 days of PTO/year.

Career Pathways

At SEAL, one can both take on additional leadership responsibilities within their current position, and move along a promotion pathway. In either case, we rely on our competency model and evidence about practice to guide those decisions.

At SEAL, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization in which we give voice to, and meet the needs of, the communities, teachers, and students we serve. We believe in lifelong learning and continuous improvement, and we are ever-evolving the processes through which we select and support team members and foster a culture of universal belonging and empowerment. SEAL encourages applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds and lived experiences, especially those from immigrant and English Learner communities, people of color and members of other historically marginalized groups.

SEAL is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment.