Why ATD?
Achieving the Dream is a partner and champion of community colleges across the country.
Learn more about our workWe believe that equity — our core founding principle — is the driving force to achieve the educational, economic, and social benefits of higher education for the students we serve. We believe that when colleges intentionally design and implement just structures, policies, and practices that combat oppression, students and their communities thrive.
Read our equity statementWhat We Offer
We continually strive to be a committed, diverse, values-based organization. We also offer a robust portfolio of benefits, including:
Flexible Work
- Mobile first work policy: Remote work allows employees to work at home for all or part of their workweek as a viable, flexible work option to support the changing needs of employees. Upon hire, employees are notified of their work location (Silver Spring or Remote). Fully remote may not be appropriate for all positions at ATD. ATD wants to ensure that both employees and the organization will benefit from these arrangements.
Paid Leave and Professional Development
- Paid sick leave, vacation time, and personal days.
- 10 federal holidays
- Closed the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and for Winter Break between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1
- Four paid “Summer Friday” holidays
- Professional development allowance (for full-time employees on successful completion of 90-day intro period)
- Technology usage reimbursement
Health and Wellness
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- 401(k) retirement plan
- Optional pre-tax spending account for qualified medical FSA, dependent care FSA, and commuter expenses
- Premiums paid by ATD for short-term disability insurance, long-term disability insurance, life and AD&D insurance with options to elect and pay for additional coverage for spouse and children
- Employee Assistance Program
Current Openings
Job Overview:
Reporting to the Chief Program and Network Officer, the Executive Director, Pathways and Upward Mobility leads ATD’s portfolio of work focused on helping colleges design clearer, more connected pathways into and through post-secondary education and into the workforce. Grounded in ATD’s Community Vibrancy framework, this role supports colleges in aligning institutional strategy, student success efforts, and workforce partnerships to broader community and economic outcomes. This includes strategy and implementation support related to dual enrollment, workforce-connected pathways, advising redesign, and holistic student supports. The role translates field learning into scalable tools, partnerships, and services that strengthen institutional capacity, improve student outcomes, and support stronger communities.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Program Leadership & Innovation (30%)
- Lead ATD’s strategic portfolio for K–college partnerships, dual enrollment, workforce-connected pathways, advising redesign, and holistic student supports, using ATD’s Community Vibrancy framework to connect student success strategies to workforce and community outcomes.
- Design and advance strategies, tools and services that help ATD network colleges build clearer pathways from K-12 to postsecondary education and into the workforce.
- Drive continuous learning and improvement across the portfolio by identifying, testing, and scaling high-impact practices that strengthen student progression, completion, and workforce readiness.
- Build and sustain partnerships with key stakeholders, including college leaders, funders, and external organizations, to advance ATD’s mission and goals.
- Oversee the development, implementation, and evaluation of key initiatives that strengthen institutional capacity, improve student outcomes, and support career-connected learning.
Coaching and Direct Support to Colleges (15%)
- Provide subject matter expertise and direct support to colleges in designing pathways and student support strategies that align with ATD’s Community Vibrancy framework and local workforce and community priorities.
- Serve as a college relationship manager for assigned colleges, helping align ATD services and supports with institutional priorities, capacity, and phase of institutional transformation.
- Collaborate with coaching team leadership to strengthen coaching approaches, develop field-facing tools and resources, and build coach capacity in high-impact practices across the portfolio.
Thought Leadership and Content Development (15%)
- Lead the development and dissemination of field-facing resources including toolkits, case studies, and formal presentations that translate Community Vibrancy principles and effective institutional practice into actionable strategies for colleges.
- Support the design and delivery of ATD convenings, learning events, and strategic engagements.
- Collaborate with the research, assessment, and marketing teams to identify emerging practices, capture field learning, and elevate institutional examples across the network.
- Represent ATD at national and regional conferences, webinars, and other public events to elevate the organization’s advance in the organization’s voice and expertise in pathways design, student success, and workforce-connected learning.
Management, Supervision, Operations, and Administration (20%)
- Manage team budgets, grants, and contracts to ensure compliance and strategic use of resources, meeting deadlines and deliverables on time and within budget.
- Provide strategic leadership and oversight for staff responsible for program development and delivery.
- Supervise, train, and coach team members, defining responsibilities, priorities, and goals for direct reports.
- Oversee the strategic allocation of resources to support program goals and organizational sustainability.
Business Development and Grant Stewardship (20%)
- Identify and cultivate funding and partnership opportunities that advance ATD’s Community Vibrancy framework and expand the organization’s capacity to support colleges in connecting student success to workforce and community outcomes.
- Manage an active portfolio of grants and contracts, maintaining funder relationships, ensuring compliance with award requirements, and delivering timely, high-quality reports that reflect program impact and strategic progress.
- Serve as the primary programmatic lead on assigned grants, partnering with ATD’s development and finance teams to align deliverables, manage budgets, and anticipate renewal or extension opportunities.
- Generate and close fee-for-service engagements with colleges, systems, and external partners that advance ATD’s mission and contribute to organizational sustainability.
Qualifications/Experience:
- Master’s degree required; doctoral degree preferred. Minimum 8 years of progressive leadership experience in higher education, workforce development, or a related national nonprofit context.
- Demonstrated track record of designing and scaling programs that improve student outcomes, with evidence of impact across multiple institutional or organizational contexts.
- Demonstrated understanding of how institutional strategy, workforce pathways, and community outcomes intersect to support student success and economic mobility.
- Proven experience managing complex grant portfolios — including funder relationships, compliance, reporting, and budget stewardship — and contributing to successful grant proposals at the six- and seven-figure level.
- Experience leading and developing high-performing teams in matrixed organizations, with a record of building staff capacity and sustaining accountability across distributed work.
- Demonstrated ability to translate applied research and field knowledge into practitioner-facing resources, public presentations, and thought leadership that advances sector discourse.
- Skilled communicator across audiences with a particular strength in translating complex data into actionable institutional recommendations.
- Direct experience coaching or consulting with community college leadership teams on student success, advising redesign, workforce alignment, or related areas.
ATD strongly encourages applicants from diverse and historically underrepresented backgrounds to apply. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their role.
Equity and Inclusion
ATD takes meaningful steps to promote inclusion in its hiring, retention, promotion, and board recruitment, and supports equity work at the community colleges it serves.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Achieving the Dream is committed to creating and maintaining a diverse work environment. Employment policies and decisions are based upon merit, qualifications, performance, and business needs. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth), gender identity or expression, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, legally protected genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.