[Hiring] Manager, K-12 State Policy & Implementation Strategy @Education Reform Now Advocacy

Role Description

Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) is seeking a Senior Manager, State Policy & Implementation Strategy to lead our state policy agenda and translate that policy into practice through playbooks, frameworks, and direct engagement. This role is built around three core strengths:

• Substantive state policy experience, ideally including time inside a state Department of Education.
• The ability to design and enable policy for state-level implementation.
• Qualitative research skills that ground policy recommendations in the perspectives of practitioners, families, and policymakers themselves.

You will:

• Own and advance the organization’s state policy agenda, including translating and designing policy to advance the organization's education reform agenda.
• Develop playbooks, toolkits, and guidance documents that help state legislators and agency staff design and adopt effective K-12 policy.
• Conduct targeted qualitative research — interviews, focus groups, and stakeholder conversations — to inform and strengthen policy recommendations.
• Support the organization’s initiatives to engage governors, gubernatorial candidates, and state leaders in advancing bold education reforms aligned with our ambitious and bold policy agenda that centers innovation, accountability, and choice.

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of experience in education policy; time working inside a state Department of Education office is ideal, though experience at a state legislature, think tank, or advocacy organization is welcome.
• Demonstrated experience translating policy into practical guidance for policymakers — e.g., developing playbooks, frameworks, or toolkits — rather than direct on-the-ground implementation support.
• Experience with qualitative research methods, including designing interview protocols, conducting interviews or focus groups, and synthesizing findings into clear conclusions.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate complex state policy into accessible guidance for policymakers, advocates, and other audiences.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent state policy workstreams independently.
• Federal policy exposure is a plus but not required; the Vice President, K-12 Policy leads most federal-level engagement.
• A postgraduate degree in public policy, education, or a related field is preferred but not required for candidates with a strong record of experience.

Requirements

• Develop and advance the organization’s state policy agenda focusing primarily on executive actions and state DOE responsibilities across our innovation, accountability, and choice priorities.
• Monitor and assess state legislation, regulations, and State Board of Education actions relevant to K-12 education policy across DFER's priority states.
• Work closely with state legislators and their staff, state Department of Education officials, and allied education advocacy organizations to protect and advance state priorities.
• Develop playbooks, frameworks, and guidance documents that help state agency leaders and legislators design and adopt effective policy, with a focus on strategy and design rather than direct implementation support.
• Partner with implementation and monitoring experts to translate policy frameworks into actionable guidance for policymakers and practitioners.
• Provide support to state legislative offices and agency leaders navigating relevant policy proposals.
• Design and conduct qualitative research — interview protocols, focus groups, and structured stakeholder conversations — to surface practitioner, family, and policymaker perspectives.
• Summarize and synthesize qualitative findings into clear, actionable insights for internal strategy and external-facing products.
• Use qualitative findings to strengthen the credibility and real-world grounding of the organization’s policy positions.
• Partner with the programs, legislative advocacy, and federal policy teams to ensure state strategy is coordinated with federal priorities and pillar-specific work.
• Represent the organization at conferences, coalition meetings, and with state legislators and agency officials.

Benefits

• Health, vision, and dental coverage.
• Flexible spending plan.
• Life insurance.
• Short- and long-term disability insurance.
• 401K plan with a match.
• Paid family leave.
• Paid time off (vacation, sick time, floating holidays, and all national holidays).

Company Description

Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) is a national political organization that supports elected Democrats and candidates for office who seek to expand policies and practices that work well for America’s students and confront those that do not. We prioritize students and families, especially low-income students and students of color who should be better served by our country’s public education system.

• DFER partner Education Reform Now Advocacy (ERNA) is an advocacy group that advances education reform measures through empowering community leaders to support our legislative and political advocacy work.
• DFER partner Education Reform Now (ERN) is a nonpartisan think tank that promotes increased resources and innovative reforms in K-12 public education, particularly for students of color and students from low-income families.