Director, Advisory and Capacity Building

About One Million Degrees: One Million Degrees accelerates community college students’ progress on career pathways to economic mobility. Over 60% of students who start community college do not complete a degree or successfully transfer to a four-year institution. However, 84% of jobs in the US require skills training beyond high school. OMD’s holistic support model is designed to support community college students as they work toward degrees and careers. From tutors and coaches to financial assistance and professional development, OMD helps community college students succeed in school, work, and life, transforming their futures and the futures of those around them for generations. The OMD student support model is rooted in evaluation and evidence: A randomized controlled trial conducted with the University of Chicago Inclusive Economy Lab shows that OMD scholars are 70% more likely to enroll, 94% more likely to persist, 73% more likely to earn a degree. OMD is pursuing scale both through its direct service model with the City Colleges of Chicago and by launching a national expansion division: Advisory and Capacity Building (ACB), which provides consulting support and technical assistance to organizations seeking to build out OMD programming in their own unique contexts. ACB’s technical assistance is designed to advance community college completion, and the ACB team is currently supporting partnerships across ten colleges in four states: IL, TX, OH and LA. ACB’s most recent pilot projects aim to boost postsecondary enrollment and community college completion for underserved dually enrolled students in IL. Through this body of work, OMD seeks to promote its role as a national model for sustainable, scalable, and systemic change. OMD Values: OMD is deeply committed to our core values, as demonstrated in the work we do, our approach to change and growth, and our commitment to our staff. Equity: We address historical and existing systemic inequities by taking a holistic approach to supporting students on their path to economic mobility. Excellence: We hold ourselves to a high bar and provide exceptional support so that students are empowered to achieve their ambitions. Community: We unite around putting students first, collaborating with partners, and celebrating our collective wins. Learning: We each adapt to a changing world and refine our approach to support students, community members, staff, and stakeholders along the way. Amplify: We advocate for our students and share what we've learned as leaders in the field. Position Summary: The Director of Advisory and Capacity Building is responsible for ensuring strong execution, learning, and partner experience across ACB’s portfolio of national partnerships. This role emphasizes strategic project management, partnership building, and organizational capacity, while translating data, partner feedback, and on-the-ground learning into practical, equity-centered tools and supports that advance program effectiveness, scale, and sustainability. The role reports to the Principal, Advisory & Capacity Building, overseeing our national expansion and collaborates closely with internal stakeholders and college partners. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: Strategic Project Management & Advisory Tool Development for NEXT (45%) Lead strategic project management and advisory tool development for the One Million Degrees and Complete College America NEXT (National Expansion and Transformation) initiative, supporting five community colleges in TX, OH and LA implement OMD’s evidence-based programming on their campuses. This will include designing, refining, and deploying tools that support program implementation, scale, and sustainability. Partner closely with colleges and internal teams to translate learnings into practical, equity centered resources that strengthen institutional capacity and student outcomes. Partner Feedback, Knowledge Management & Continuous Improvement (20%) Systematically collect partner feedback across all ten ACB partner colleges and oversee ACB’s knowledge management approach. Lead the ongoing refinement, versioning, and organization of toolkits, resources, and partner facing collateral to ensure quality, usability, and alignment across the ACB portfolio. Identify opportunities to codify learnings and improve how ACB shares and packages its work. Project Management for Evaluation & Data Partnerships (15%) Serve as the primary project manager for evaluation and data collection efforts with the University of Chicago Inclusive Economy Lab (IEL) and internal OMD stakeholders. Coordinate timelines, deliverables, data-sharing processes, and communication to ensure high-quality evaluation execution aligned with pilot goals and partner expectations. Facilitate Community of Practice for College Partners (15%) Design and facilitate a community of practice for participating colleges, creating structured opportunities for shared learning, peer exchange, and problem solving. Develop agendas, curate content, and synthesize insights to strengthen cross college collaboration and field level learning. Support Case Manager Infrastructure (5%) Support the Senior Director, Program Operations in maintaining and strengthening case manager support infrastructure across all ten partner colleges. Contribute to coordination, alignment, and continuous improvement of systems that enable effective coaching and student support. Qualifications and Requirements: Education Bachelor’s degree required; relevant master's degree preferred. Experience Five to eight years of relevant professional experience in program or project management, with a successful record of accomplishment supporting multi-partner strategic relationships and contributing to innovative projects. Demonstrated experience with K-12 education, higher education, and/or workforce spaces through working with a wide range of stakeholders. Some background directly engaging with and serving students is desired. Demonstrated orientation for centering the student experience in program design is requisite; Comfort with making decisions within defined parameters combined with an ability to work collaboratively with a variety of external stakeholders. Experience with product management, launching new bodies of work or startup organizations a plus. Skills Proven ability in project management, including setting and maintaining detailed project plans to coordinate teams around complex, long-term initiatives, and goals; Demonstrated expertise in the domain of technology and artificial intelligence. Familiarity with project management approaches and methodologies (such as Agile, Scrum, or traditional waterfall methods) and experience using project management tools for planning and tracking work. Strong analytic, writing, and facilitation skills, Knowledge of best practices in product development, operational infrastructure, and human-centered design is a plus. Experience maintaining consistent operational systems or project management for large-scale projects or portfolios. Proficient practice with issues of diversity, specifically around race, class, gender, ability, and equity in the workplace. Effective storytelling that is honest and represents diversity, equity, and inclusion in all its forms. Prioritizes diversity and inclusion considerations when making strategic decisions and relationships that advance the mission. Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively—candidates should be self-motivated and comfortable within a virtual working environment, and enthusiastic team players open to feedback and collaboration. Well-rounded interpersonal skill set, with the presence and capacity to build relationships, work effectively in teams, and facilitate joint problem-solving with other staff and external partners. Excellent organizational skills and keen attention to detail, with demonstrated ability to prioritize work and manage time on multiple projects and tasks to meet deadlines. Traits A learner: Curious, eager to learn and innovate, with an orientation toward “failing forward” and experimentation; A hustler: Highly motivated by keeping many balls in the air to expand OMD’s impact; A visionary: A bold, outcome-focused approach that is informed, data-driven and empathetic to the needs of the student population. An ambassador: Proud to represent OMD in the national conversation about higher education and workforce; A strategic thinker: Contributes to thinking about the future of the organization; weighs diverse inputs to inform strategies; identifies innovative opportunities when relevant Cultural humility: ability to work effectively with diverse staff/team, students, and campus/community partners building trusting relationships with a broad cross-section of audiences. Educational Equity: Relentless drive to close equity gaps in education and passion about serving students, including a total belief in the potential of all scholars to succeed and excel. Office Location and Travel The Director role will be based in the Chicagoland area and is available immediately. ACB staff are expected to travel about 10-15% for team and client meetings. Of note: while the majority of OMD staff live and work in Chicago, where the organization is headquartered, the ACB team is national in its focus. Compensation and Benefits Salary: the salary range for this position is $84-$100K. Full Health Benefits – Provided for all full-time employees, including medical, dental, and vision. OMD pays 100% of individual’s basic monthly health premium and 80% dependent coverage. Employee assistance program, which offers confidential emotional support, work-life solutions, legal guidance, financial resources, and more. Retirement Benefits – For full-time employees, OMD matches retirement contributions up to 4% of total salary. Generous Paid Time Off Policy – OMD has 12 paid holidays and offers up to 15 days PTO in year one; in addition to two weeks paid time off for winter break. Compensatory time for designated duties performed outside of normal work hours**. Monthly cell phone and internet reimbursement up to $50/month. 12 weeks of paid parental leave for birthing and non-birthing parents. Professional Learning Opportunities – OMD supports employee development in areas relevant to professional and organizational goals and will pay for training such as workshops and conferences as agreed upon by the employee and supervisor. Hybrid Work Schedule – Currently one in-office day required per week; other days can be remote (in-person day set by you and your manager), and additional in-office days may be needed based on organizational priorities. *To allow OMD to set salaries based on market data and internal equity, and to ensure fair and equal pay for every role, we offer our best offer first. **All Chicago-based employees are expected to work a set number of Saturdays and evening hours per year due to organizational-wide events. One Million Degrees is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from all individuals regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation, and evaluate all candidates based on merit.