[Hiring] Rubric Development Lead – Reading/Language Arts and Social Studies @Safal Partners

Role Description

Safal Partners is seeking a strategic, experienced professional to lead the development of subject-specific rubrics and evidence guides for reading/language arts and social studies. The Rubric Development Lead manages the full lifecycle of rubric development for these content areas, ensuring all tools are rigorous, research-grounded, and aligned to client priorities. This is a full-time position within Safal's Education Practice, working as part of a project team supporting a state education agency client.

• Rubric design and development: Lead the creation and refinement of grade-level rubrics and evidence guides for reading/language arts and social studies, ensuring alignment with relevant content standards, instructional frameworks, and research-based instructional strategies (RBIS).
• SME facilitation and working groups: Facilitate training sessions and collaborative drafting with contracted SMEs and senior SMEs. Design and lead working group sessions in which experienced educators conduct mock reviews, guiding participants through rubric application and documenting consensus.
• Training development: Develop training resources that support rubric application and quality review processes for assigned content areas, ensuring materials align with rubric design intent and support calibrated, accurate scoring across diverse reviewer audiences.
• Project management and delivery: Manage timelines, deliverables, and quality controls for all assigned rubrics and evidence guides. Serve as the primary point of accountability for on-time, high-quality delivery.
• Stakeholder engagement: Collaborate with client staff, SMEs, and education stakeholders to gather input and ensure rubrics reflect current needs, policies, and priorities.
• Research and continuous improvement: Conduct and synthesize research on best practices in instructional materials evaluation and subject-specific RBIS, integrating findings into rubric development.
• Documentation and reporting: Produce clear documentation of development processes, design rationale, and revisions to support transparency and accountability.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or higher, preferably in education, curriculum and instruction, educational leadership, or a related field (PhD preferred).
• Minimum 10 years of experience in curriculum development, instructional design, or educational consulting.
• A background and depth of content knowledge in literacy is required; familiarity with social studies content is preferred.
• Experience working with state education agencies or large-scale instructional materials review initiatives strongly preferred.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and facilitation skills.
• Proven experience developing instructional materials evaluation tools or educational rubrics.
• Deep knowledge of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS), and Research-Based Instructional Strategies (RBIS) in reading/language arts and social studies content areas.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate collaborative working sessions with subject matter experts and diverse stakeholder groups.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects with multiple stakeholders, high visibility, and tight timelines.
• Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal, including the ability to synthesize complex ideas for diverse audiences.
• Proficiency with collaborative tools and project management platforms (e.g., Smartsheet, Microsoft Office, Teams, and SharePoint).

Benefits

• Health & Wellness: Robust medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and disability insurance and employee assistance programs.
• Time Off: Paid federal holidays, generous PTO, and dedicated sick leave.
• Retirement & Savings: 401(k) with immediate vesting and competitive company matching.
• Career Growth: Flexible pathways that support advancement, mobility, and long-term professional development, including access to courses and certifications.
• Meaningful Work: Opportunities to contribute to innovative, mission-driven projects with impact at the federal, state, and national levels.
• Supportive Culture: A collaborative environment grounded in continuous improvement.