Director/Sr. Director of School & District Business Development

Position Overview

KID Museum is seeking a results-driven, mission-driven, experienced Senior Director of School & District Business Development to join our team. KID works closely with districts, teachers, and schools to deliver hands-on programs, curriculum, and professional learning that reimagine teaching and learning. This individual will play a critical role in advancing KID’s strategic imperative to scale access to high-quality maker-based learning. 

The Director is responsible for identifying new school and district-level opportunities, cultivating strong relationships with district decision-makers, and crafting compelling proposals and responses to RFPs for K–12 student programs, teacher professional learning, and STEM enrichment initiatives. The Director will conduct business development work with districts in the DC Metro region and nationally, and will be responsible for achieving annual revenue targets. The Director reports to the Managing Director, Strategy & Planning, and works closely with other senior leaders across the organization. The ideal candidate brings deep knowledge of the K–12 education ecosystem, a strong sales and partnership development track record, and a passion for equitable education and innovative learning models. 

The successful candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent work experience, with a proven track record of 8 years experience in school district sales, district-level administration, school district business development, or related fields. The incumbent will have experience cultivating and securing successful paid partnerships with schools and districts, writing persuasive and successful proposals, and experience managing a school engagement and business development team.

Ideal candidates are committed to supporting youth from backgrounds historically underrepresented in STEM, and fostering innovative approaches to education.

Deep knowledge of school district trends, challenges and opportunities related to STEM education budget processes, government education funding, and district finances is strongly preferred. This is an in-person position at KID Museum’s Bethesda, MD location, with occasional travel for business development purposes.

Essential Job Functions

• Develop multi-year partnership strategies to build sustainable, recurring revenue relationships.
• Serve as the primary relationship manager for school and district-level partners, cultivating strong, trust-based relationships with senior education leaders across the DMV region and nationally.
• Lead strategic outreach and cultivation efforts to grow KID’s pipeline of school and district partners, including through RFP responses, referrals, conferences, and direct outreach.
• Lead and conduct business development with school districts, securing annual earned income targets. 
• Collaborate with program and marketing teams to develop persuasive proposals and customized partnership offerings aligned with district needs and priorities.
• Manage end-to-end development of responses to district-issued RFPs and proposals, ensuring timely submission, alignment with program capacity, and high-quality presentation. Research and monitor RFP opportunities for teacher professional development, curriculum partnerships, consulting, and other related opportunities with school districts in the DC area and nationally. Lead contract negotiations and renewal processes with districts. 
• Develop and maintain a deep understanding of KID Museum’s multi-year strategy, program models, learning outcomes, and impact data to effectively represent offerings to potential partners.
• Track pipeline development, deal progress, and relationship status using CRM systems, ensuring accurate and timely reporting to leadership.
• Monitor education trends, funding opportunities, and policy shifts that may affect school district partnership strategy and positioning.
• Collaborate with the finance team to develop budgets and pricing models aligned with district procurement requirements.
• Work closely with internal teams to ensure smooth handoff and execution of school and district partnerships, including alignment on deliverables, timelines, and communication.
• Represent KID Museum at external events, convenings, and partner meetings to elevate visibility and expand networks.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree in education, public policy, business, or related field preferred.
• 8 years of experience in education partnerships, sales, district-level engagement, or nonprofit business development, preferably with a focus on K–12 systems. Knowledge of K-12 federal education funding is preferred. 
• Demonstrated success securing and managing large-scale ($500K) partnerships with school districts, public agencies, or education institutions.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with experience writing proposals tailored to education partners.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to translate organizational goals into scalable partnership models.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills; able to navigate complex organizational structures and influence key stakeholders
• Proven ability to lead and support staff across a range of experience levels and professional backgrounds
• Experience managing Salesforce or other CRM tools; strong organizational and tracking systems preferred.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
• Commitment to KID Museum’s mission and to expanding equitable access to innovative education experiences.
• Flexibility for occasional travel, evening, and/or weekend work in support of partnership cultivation or events.

About KID Museum

KID Museum is the nation’s leading educational makerspace for youth. Our mission is to revolutionize how kids learn through the maker experience. Through hands-on programming and deep learning experiences, we empower youth with the creative problem-solving and STEM skills to invent the future. With a focus on engaging populations traditionally underrepresented in STEM, our programs aim to build economic opportunity and diversify the future talent pipeline.

• Our vision is to become the standard of excellence for inclusive, impactful maker learning nationally, and a model for how to expand access to maker learning at scale. Our headquarters in the Washington, DC region serves as our innovation hub. In partnership with local school systems, government and philanthropic leaders, we design and deliver K-12 programs that produce results at scale in a large and diverse metropolitan region. We leverage insights from this learning lab to create resources, training, and technical support to expand high-impact maker learning nationally. For more information, please visit www.kid-museum.org.