Senior Director, Pre-Kindergarten-Post-Secondary Systems

JOB

Puget Sound ESD seeks a Senior Director of Pre-Kindergarten to Post-Secondary Systems (Engagement) to provide regional leadership and program implementation across King and Pierce Counties to advance the Agency's End: Success for Each Child and Eliminating the Opportunity Gap by Leading with Racial Equity. In collaboration with school leaders, staff, and community partners, this role ensures that programs are designed to meet the diverse needs of students and families. The position plays a critical role in supporting efforts that align with PSESD goals while fostering inclusive, equitable, and supportive learning environments that promote student engagement and successThis position reports to the Executive Director – Learning, Teaching & Family Support Leadership Development.Open until filled; for best consideration, submit a complete application by January 5th,2026. Tentative in-person interviews are scheduled for: First Interviews Thursday, January 8,2026 and Friday, January 9,2026.PSESD is one of nine regional educational agencies serving school districts and state approved charter and private schools in Washington. Serving over 39% of Washington's K-12 public school students, our agency provides critical services designed to ensure that our students are ready to enter school, achieve at high levels in the K-12 system, and succeed in postsecondary endeavors. We are committed to becoming an Antiracist Multicultural Organization driven by equity in education. To learn more about PSESD, visit FUNCTIONSBuild capacity and provide leadership in the area disconnected youth reengagement, Career & Technical Education (CTE) and workforce development for the purpose of supporting programs and projects in alignment with Agency work.Lead the design, alignment, and continuous improvement of youth-serving systems that span education, workforce, human services, juvenile justice, and community-based organizations.Ensure regulatory and funding compliance for grants, including reporting, budgeting, and documentation.Collaborate with partner districts to facilitate the implementation, integration, and evaluation curriculum that meets state CTE standards and industry expectations.Provide strategic oversight for dropout re-engagement initiatives, including Open Doors/1418 programs, alternative learning environments, competency-based education models, and flexible scheduling pathways.Lead integration of CTE, career-connected learning, and workforce development systems across K–12, community and technical colleges, and regional employers.Strengthen alignment between industry demand, regional labor market data, and education programming.Partner with Workforce Development Councils, chambers, labor, and industry intermediaries to expand paid work-based learning, apprenticeships, and credential pathways.Build and maintain partnerships with employers, workforce boards, higher education institutions, and community organizations to support work-based learning and job placement for youth.Lead strategies to recruit students into CTE pathways, reengage disconnected or off-track youth, and ensure equitable access to programs.Monitor program quality and student outcome indicators such as completion rates, credential attainment, work-based learning participation, and postsecondary transitions to drive continuous improvement.Lead with moral clarity, professional integrity, and ethical responsibility in all decision-making, particularly in complex cross-system environments impacting young people, families, and communities.Demonstrate ecosystem leadership by stewarding relationships across education, workforce, community, Tribal, public sector, and industry partners with humility, trust-building, and shared accountability.Navigate ambiguity, competing interests, and power dynamics with discernment, courage, and transparency, prioritizing the long-term well-being of youth and communities over short-term institutional gain.Model values-aligned leadership behaviors including empathy, reflective practice, cultural humility, and respect for lived experience.OTHER FUNCTIONSAssist other personnel as may be required for the purpose of ensuring an efficient and effective work environment.Provide direct supervision and strategic leadership for staff hired to support PreK–Postsecondary engagement, re-engagement, workforce development, CTE, and related regional programs.Ensure staff roles, workplans, and performance expectations are clearly aligned to program goals, regional strategies, and equity-centered outcomes.

EXAMPLE OF DUTIES

Skills, Knowledge, and AbilitiesSKILLS are required to perform multiple, technical tasks with a need to periodically upgrade skills in order to meet changing job conditions. Specific skill-based competencies required to satisfactorily perform the functions of the job include: See competencies under Abilities below.KNOWLEDGE is required to perform advanced math; review and interpret highly technical information, write technical materials, and/or speak persuasively to implement desired actions; and analyze situations to define issues and draw conclusions. Specific knowledge-based competencies required to satisfactorily perform the functions of the job include: See competencies under Abilities below.ABILITY is required to schedule a number of activities, meetings, and/or events; routinely gather, collate, and/or classify data; and consider a number of factors when using equipment. Flexibility is required to work with others in a wide variety of circumstances; analyze data utilizing defined but different processes; and operate equipment using a variety of standardized methods. Ability is also required to work with a diversity of individuals and/or groups; work with data of widely varied types and/or purposes; and utilize a variety of job-related equipment. Independent problem solving is required to analyze issues and create action plans. Problem solving with data requires analysis based on organizational objectives; and problem solving with equipment is moderate. Specific ability-based competencies required to satisfactorily perform the functions of the job include: JOB-SPECIFIC COMPETENCIESCONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF PROGRAMS AND SYSTEMS: Collaborates with stakeholders to identify, recommend and implement improvements to Agency programs, services and processes.MANAGING AND MEASURING WORK: Prioritizes and organizes work plans based on objectives and desired outcomes. Collaborates and shares responsibility for decisions and monitors progress toward goals by establishing strong feedback channels.NAVIGATING AMBIGUITY: Actively engages in areas of uncertainty and skillfully progresses and/or leads others in times of uncertainty.PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FACILITATION: Sharing knowledge and expertise with the goal of improving professional skills and knowledge through adult learning programs.SYSTEMS THINKING: Sees the integral, complex relationships of interconnected systems that need to work together for the whole to function successfully. Events and actions are seen in detail and in the larger context of a pattern that unfolds over time.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

Experience in the development of fundraising goals and soliciting funds.Existing relationships in Pierce and King Counties with various levels of leadership within K12, CBO, and PostsecondarySkilled at building and maintaining relationships to achieve challenging goals: Able to engage and build generative relationships with community, educators, leadership, and students. Clear, precise, compassionate communication. Able to inspire excitement and commitment toward common goals.Able to manage, measure, and prioritize work: Skilled at project and program management. Skilled work planner, able to delegate, track lots of different work, provide support and accountability. Collaborates and shares responsibility for decisions and monitors progress toward goals by establishing strong feedback channels.Demonstrates ability to innovate, be entrepreneurial, and navigate ambiguity to generate creative approaches, breakthrough barriers, and solve problems that challenge the status quo and expand possibilities.Able to track, distill, and present substantial and complex content in digestible formats