Director of Principal Leadership

The Director of Principal Leadership (DPL) provides strategic and operational oversight for the Indiana School Leaders Pipeline (ISLP), a statewide initiative funded through a federal Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) grant, designed to strengthen Indiana's pipeline of current and future school leaders and improve school-based leadership of evidence-based literacy and learning practices.

The DPL will lead the design and implementation of professional learning, leadership development, coaching, and mentoring experiences for current principals and aspiring principals, as well as experienced principal mentors. The position will translate research into practical experiences to help school leaders strengthen instructional leadership, use data to drive continuous improvement, implement evidence-based literacy practices, and build sustainable systems within their schools.

REQUIREMENTS/MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Required Qualifications

• Master's degree in education leadership, education, school administration, organizational leadership, or a closely related field.
• Significant experience in public K–12 education, school leadership, & professional learning
• Demonstrated experience working directly with principals, assistant principals, aspiring school leaders, district leaders, and/or other educational leaders.
• Knowledge of instructional leadership, school improvement, adult learning, and evidence-based approaches to improving teaching and learning.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate professional learning and develop relationships with diverse groups of educators and stakeholders across the State of Indiana.
• Strong written, verbal, facilitation, organizational, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Experience using data to inform professional learning, coaching, school improvement, or leadership development.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, timelines, partners, and project deliverables in a complex and collaborative environment.
• Ability and willingness to travel throughout Indiana for school visits, meetings, professional learning, and project activities.
• Familiarity with various digital communications and collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom.

Preferred Qualifications

• An advanced degree in educational leadership, school administration, organizational leadership, or a related field.
• Building-level administrator license or comparable school leadership credential.
• Experience as a principal and / or district administrator.
• Practical experience with leadership coaching or executive coaching
• Knowledge of the Instructional Leadership Coaching (ILC) framework or competency-based leadership coaching approach.
• Knowledge of Sir John Whitmore's Coaching for Performance model, including the GROW coaching framework.
• Knowledge of evidence-based literacy instruction, the Science of Reading, and the Science of Learning.
• Experience with continuous improvement processes, data-driven instructional improvement, or school improvement planning.
• Experience collaborating with state education agencies, professional associations, higher education institutions, school districts, or other education-sector partners.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

None

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Principal Leadership Development

• Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of the ISLP's current school leaders program and Future Principals Program.

• Develop and facilitate professional learning experiences that strengthen principals' capacity to lead evidence-based literacy instruction, science of learning practices, data-driven improvement, professional learning systems, and schoolwide instructional change.

• Lead the development and implementation of virtual leadership sessions, in-person leadership academies, workshops, webinars, and other professional learning experiences.

• Translate research and evidence-based practices into practical tools, strategies, and leadership applications for school leaders.

• Support participants in developing and implementing school-level improvement strategies and action plans aligned with student learning data and state priorities.

• Incorporate participant feedback, implementation data, and evaluation findings into ongoing program improvement.

Coaching and Mentoring

• Develop and maintain a coherent coaching and mentoring model for current principals participating in ISLP.
• Apply the Instructional Leadership Coaching (ILC) framework to support structured, job- embedded cycles of leadership development, goal setting, data inquiry, action, reflection, and refinement.
• Apply the principles of Sir John Whitmore's Coaching for Performance model, including the GROW approach, to promote reflection, self-awareness, goal clarity, options development, ownership, and accountability among school leaders.
• Train, support, and calibrate principal mentors in the use of evidence-based coaching and mentoring practices.
• Develop resources, tools, protocols, and structures that promote consistency and quality across mentoring relationships.
• Facilitate ongoing communication and professional learning for the mentor cohort, including opportunities to examine coaching practice, address challenges, and strengthen implementation.
• Support mentors in helping principals translate professional learning into school-based action and sustain progress over time.
• Participate in or conduct coaching and mentoring activities as appropriate to model effective practice and ensure fidelity to the project's coaching approach.

Curriculum and Professional Learning Development

• Lead or contribute to the development of curriculum and materials for principal leadership training, the Leadership Academy, mentor training, and Future Principals programming.
• Integrate evidence related to the Science of Reading (SoR), Science of Learning (SoL), instructional leadership, data-driven improvement, professional learning communities, teacher development, and school improvement.
• Collaborate with subject-matter experts, school leaders, university faculty, and state education partners to identify and incorporate high-quality content and resources.
• Support the development and continuous improvement of the project's AI-focused micro-credential and the integration of responsible AI applications into leadership development and coaching.
• Ensure learning experiences are accessible, practical, relevant to participants' school contexts, and aligned with project goals. Partnership and Stakeholder Engagement
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with IDOE, IASP, school districts, principals, university partners, and other stakeholders.
• Collaborate with partners to recruit current and aspiring principals and experienced mentors.
• Convene and facilitate meetings with project stakeholders to support alignment, communication, and implementation.
• Represent CELL and the ISLP at relevant state and professional meetings, conferences, and other external engagements.
• Build relationships with school and district leaders that support the recruitment, engagement, and success of program participants.

Program Management and Evaluation

• Manage day-to-day implementation of assigned ISLP activities and ensure that project milestones and deliverables are completed on schedule.
• Coordinate project calendars, participant communications, professional learning activities, mentor activities, and other program logistics.
• Monitor participation, implementation, and other project data and use findings to inform program improvement.
• Collaborate with the external evaluator and CELL leadership to support data collection, evaluation activities, reporting, and dissemination.
• Contribute to annual and final federal project reports, research products, presentations, and the development of a toolkit to support replication of effective principal leadership development and mentoring practices.
• Maintain accurate documentation of project activities, outputs, and outcomes.
• Ensure activities are implemented consistently with grant requirements, University of Indianapolis policies, and CELL procedures.

This role serves as a Title IX Responsible Employee.

Yes This role serves as a Campus Security Authority. No This role requires a clean or acceptable driving record. Yes This role