Position Overview:

Just Right Reader is hiring a National Partnerships Director to lead the strategic development of large-scale state partnerships and support select national and federal opportunities.

This is not a traditional transactional sales position. It is a senior, highly visible partnership role for an education leader who understands how state education systems operate, how public policy decisions are made, and how large-scale education initiatives move from concept to funding and implementation.

The National Partnerships Director will engage state legislators, governors' offices, state Departments of Education, education associations, advocacy organizations, lobbyists, and other public-sector stakeholders. The Director will help identify opportunities, cultivate champions, shape partnership strategies, and guide complex opportunities through long and often unpredictable decision-making cycles.

The strongest candidate will bring experience from a superintendent's office, state education agency, senior district leadership team, education policy organization, or a similarly complex public-sector environment. This person must be equally comfortable discussing literacy outcomes with an education leader, presenting to elected officials, collaborating with government-relations partners, and coordinating a multi-state partnership strategy.

Key Responsibilities:
Develop State and National Partnerships

• Build and manage a portfolio of state-level partnership opportunities, with an initial focus on Southern states.
• Develop trusted relationships with state legislators, state education officials, governors' offices, education associations, advocacy groups, and other influential stakeholders.
• Position Just Right Reader as a strategic partner in statewide literacy, family engagement, intervention, and student achievement initiatives.
• Identify legislative, budgetary, policy, grant, and procurement pathways that could support statewide adoption.
• Support select national and federal partnership opportunities as business priorities evolve.

Lead Complex Partnership Strategies

• Create customized engagement strategies for each priority state based on its political environment, literacy priorities, funding landscape, procurement structure, and decision-making process.
• Translate Just Right Reader's products and impact into compelling value propositions for policymakers and senior education leaders.
• Develop partnership proposals, executive presentations, briefing materials, leave-behind documents, and strategic follow-up communications.
• Navigate long, complex sales cycles that may involve legislation, appropriations, grants, pilots, agency review, and multiple stakeholder groups.
• Maintain momentum across opportunities that may take months or multiple legislative and budget cycles to complete.

Engage Policymakers and Education Leaders

• Meet directly with state senators, representatives, legislative staff, agency leaders, and other senior decision-makers.
• Participate in legislative briefings, policy discussions, state education meetings, conferences, and stakeholder convenings.
• Communicate credibly about literacy instruction, family engagement, student outcomes, district implementation, and public education priorities.
• Build bipartisan and cross-sector support for initiatives aligned with Just Right Reader's mission.
• Serve as a polished external representative of the organization in high-stakes meetings and public settings.

Partner With Government Relations Resources

• Collaborate with state lobbyists and government-relations partners to identify stakeholders, prepare for meetings, track legislation, and advance partnership priorities.
• Participate in regular strategy meetings with lobbyists across active and target states.
• Ensure external partners have accurate, compelling, and current information about Just Right Reader's solutions, impact, and state-level priorities.
• Coordinate follow-up actions and maintain accountability across internal teams and external partners.

Manage the Partnership Pipeline

• Build and maintain a clear view of active, emerging, and long-term state opportunities.
• Document stakeholder relationships, legislative developments, funding pathways, decision criteria, risks, and next steps.
• Provide leadership with accurate updates on partnership progress, probability, timing, and potential impact.
• Prioritize opportunities based on strategic alignment, funding potential, student reach, organizational capacity, and likelihood of success.
• Use disciplined pipeline management while recognizing that state opportunities are less predictable than traditional district sales.

Coordinate Cross-Functional Execution

• Partner closely with executive leadership, sales, marketing, curriculum, operations, finance, legal, and customer success.
• Ensure proposed partnerships are operationally feasible and aligned with the company's product, fulfillment, and implementation capabilities.
• Support the transition of secured partnerships from strategy and negotiation into contracting, fulfillment, implementation, and long-term account management.
• Share market intelligence and stakeholder feedback that can inform product strategy, messaging, and organizational priorities.

Qualifications:

• Former superintendent, deputy or assistant superintendent, chief academic officer, district cabinet leader, state agency leader, or senior education policy professional.
• Strong understanding of how state education priorities, policies, budgets, appropriations, grants, and procurement decisions are developed.
• Demonstrated ability to build credibility with senior education leaders, elected officials, public-sector executives, and community stakeholders.
• Exceptional executive presence, judgment, communication, and presentation skills.
• Experience navigating complex initiatives involving multiple stakeholders, long timelines, and competing priorities.
• Ability to translate education programs, research, and student outcomes into persuasive, audience-specific narratives.
• Strong strategic planning, project management, follow-through, and organizational skills.
• Comfort working independently in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently, generally more than 50 percent of the time.
• Residence near a major airport.

Why Join Us:

At Just Right Reader, we're transforming how children learn to read. You'll be part of a passionate, growing team committed to educational equity, literacy innovation, and joyful learning.

• Mission-driven company focused on improving literacy and education outcomes.
• Collaborative and innovative work environment with opportunities for growth and development.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.