POSITION REPORTS TO: SMD, Strategy, Talent, & Operations

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Monday July 20th , 2026

LOCATION: Texas (Austin, DFW, Houston, RGV, or San Antonio preferred)

WHAT YOU WILL DO

The Managing Director of Certification & Licensure is charged with ensuring that Teach For America Texas corps members are equipped to provide an excellent education for every student, specifically by supporting corps members to fulfill the requirements necessary to receive an educator certificate in the state of Texas.  

You will partner with our educator preparation programs to understand corps member certification requirements, create and manage shared systems for tracking corps member testing completion, and partner with Matriculation Generalists (MDMG), Senior Managing Director Partnerships, and Leadership Development (MDLD) coaches to ensure corps members successfully complete the requirements and earn an educator certificate before the end of their two-year commitment.  Ultimately, this role will spend the majority of their time onboarding, tutoring, and coaching corps members towards the completion of their certification requirements.

To be an ideal candidate for this role, you deeply value the students and community we serve and are passionate about realizing educational excellence in Texas. You love and have strong project management skills and enjoy working collaboratively across multiple internal and external teams to achieve your vision and impact. You are comfortable with ambiguity and are a self-starter who operates with minimal oversight. Additionally, you are detail-oriented and excel at translating your passion for our mission into systems and communications that empower people to fulfill their responsibilities. Finally, you can be responsive and take swift action as we identify and address new opportunities and challenges. 

WHAT YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR

Corps Member Certification Onboarding, Support, and Coaching (70%)

• Design and implement a statewide onboarding plan in collaboration with MDMGs that ensures all incoming Texas corps members enroll in a certification program, begin required testing, and are connected to tutoring resources prior to the first day of school.

• Develop an individualized learning plan for each corps member that has not passed required exams by end of preservice, outlining specific tests needed, a realistic timeline for passage, and the support structures required to achieve full certification by the end of year one. 

• Partner with educator preparation program staff (e.g., SMU, Houston ISD ACP, TOPP, ACT-RGV), MDMGs, 240 Tutoring, and partnerships leads to ensure certification milestones are integrated into the broader arc of corps member learning and development from matriculation forward.

• Hold a direct portfolio of 250–350 incoming corps members, serving as their primary certification point of contact and coach for each incoming cohort's certification journey from confirmation through the end of their first year, maintaining continuity of relationship, tracking, and support throughout.

• Coach corps members individually and in groups toward certification completion, helping them understand their certification requirements, navigate program enrollment, interpret test results, and stay on track with their individualized certification plans.

• Directly provide tutoring and facilitate targeted learning sessions for incoming corps members preparing for certification tests.

• Collaborate with educator preparation program partners, MDLDs, and partnerships leads on an ongoing basis throughout the school year to support first-year corps members who are struggling to pass certification tests or fulfill coursework requirements.

Portfolio Management, Systems Tracking, Partnerships, and Communication (20%)

• Build and maintain a comprehensive tracking system that monitors every incoming corps member from confirmation through full certification, capturing testing status, certification pathway, preparation program enrollment, and key milestones.

• Design and manage operational workflows that surface gaps in real time, enabling proactive intervention before and after corps members arrive in classrooms.

• Generate regular reports for MDMGs, partnership staff, and MDLDs that surface corps members at risk of not completing certification within their first year, and monitor individual progress across the portfolio, adjusting plans and escalating concerns as needed.

• Draft, manage, and send all certification-related communications to incoming and current corps members, including guidance on required tests, registration deadlines, preparation resources, updated individual plans, and next steps following each admissions deadline.

• Lead certification learning calls following each admissions deadline, ensuring corps members understand their certification pathway and immediate action items.

• Build and maintain strong relationships and data-sharing systems with educator preparation program partners, MDMGs, MDLDs, heads of program, and VP of Public Affairs to monitor and develop insights on anticipated changes to Texas educator certification policy that affect corps member experience and retention.

Ongoing Responsibilities (10%)

• Participate in corps members and alumni activities across the continuum including but not limited to corps member selection or matriculation, pre-service, alumni campaigns, ongoing AmeriCorps data collection and tracking, etc.

• Leverage regional and national resources (e.g. weekly newsletters, daily gift reports, etc.) and participate in statewide, regional and national committees/working groups/project teams

• Prepare for and engage in ongoing check-ins, team meetings, and professional development structures

• Serve as an “all hands on deck” team member willing to support regions in various ways as needs and opportunities arise, which embodies the spirit of the TFA Texas team.

• Occasional weekend or evening work hours required   

• Travel may be required at times (less than 10%)

A WEEK IN THE LIFE

Over the course of any week, the Managing Director, Certification, and Licensure will spend time: 

• Meeting with their manager to discuss updates on projects aligned to supporting corps members to achieve an educator certificate. Work collaboratively to celebrate successes,  identify challenges, and engage in analysis to determine effective solutions.

• Meeting with educator preparation program staff (external), and partnership leads for each region (internal) and others to ensure key steps related to certification and licensure in each region are accounted for in our plans and trackers and share CM progress.

• Engage in independent thinking time to create and update project plans aligned to critical workstreams, including, but not limited to, corps member certification compliance, educator preparation program review, and planning meetings with educator preparation program partners.

• Maintain tracking tools of corps member status on various components of licensure completion. 

• Reach out to corps members to ensure completion of any outstanding action steps aligned to certification such as enrollment in coursework

• Facilitate learning calls and tutoring sessions with incoming corps members 

• Trouble-shoot challenges corps members encounter in partnering with educator preparation programs, such as around registration, paying for their coursework with AmeriCorps, etc. 

• Write and send an update to broader teams on Slack or via email to share progress toward regional goals and key performance indicators

• Meet with individual corps members or groups of corps members to build relationships, learn more about their individual and collective experiences, and design approaches and/or improvements to the implementation of educator preparation programs in Texas.

• Monitor proceedings of the State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC) and communicate with internal and external stakeholders regarding the potential impacts of evolving requirements on our corps member program

YOUR EXPERIENCE

Your areas of knowledge and expertise that matter most for this role (minimum qualifications): 

• You know the students and community we serve and are passionate about realizing educational excellence in Texas 

• You have expertise managing multiple projects at once and working collaboratively across multiple internal and external teams to achieve your vision and impact. 

• You have knowledge & experience of the educator licensure or certification processes in Texas

• You are comfortable with ambiguity and a self-starter who operates with minimal oversight 

• You are detail-oriented and excel at translating your passion for our mission into tracking systems and communications strategies that compel diverse stakeholders 

• Teach For America experience (staff or corps) and/or public education experience 

• 7+ years of aligned work experience

• Bachelor’s degree required

• Certification in project management, or equivalent work experience preferred

Bonus (Preferred Qualifications) 

• Prior certification knowledge/experience

• Prior teaching experience

• Prior relationship with SMU Certification or other Texas Certification program

• A Growth Mindset that enables them to understand the nuance of certification and holding space for individual and unique situations 

YOUR COMPENSATION

The applicable salary range for each U.S.-based role is based on where the employee works and is aligned to one of 3 tiers according to a cost of labor index in that geographic area. Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of job-related factors, which may include education, training, experience, location, business needs, or market demands. New hires are typically brought into the organization at a salary between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint depending on qualifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role. The expected salary ranges for this role are set forth below. These ranges may be modified in the future.

Salary

Tier A : $81,700 - 107,300

Tier B : $89,100 - 116,900

Tier C : $96,400 - 126,600

You can view which tier applies to where you plan to work. If your location is not listed, please click here for additional total rewards information.