Professional Learning Manager, Facilitator Onboarding

The Purpose of Zearn

Zearn is the nonprofit educational organization whose mission is to inspire all kids to love learning math. Everything we do is driven by our belief that every kid is a math kid.

Our top-rated learning platform is designed to catch kids up and move them forward in grade-level math. And it works. Large-scale efficacy research shows students who use Zearn make significant gains in math proficiency, including the students who start multiple grade levels behind.

As a nonprofit, all of our work is driven by what is best for kids. At the same time, we operate as an intense and fast-moving technology company, inclusively solving hard problems that will impact current and future generations. The problems we solve require expertise in teaching, learning science, software development, design, video production, and countless other disciplines. As an organization that is always stretching to get to the next level of impact, every single person owns mission critical work.

If you’re ready to join our Team of problem solvers, and own work that will drive us to achieve impact at scale, we are looking for you.

Learn more about us at https://about.zearn.org/. 

The purpose of the Professional Learning Manager, Facilitator Onboarding role at Zearn is to ensure new facilitators build the foundational skills, readiness, and independence required to deliver high quality professional learning. In this role, you will own the execution and continuous improvement of the 0 to 12 month onboarding journey, serving as the primary coach and evaluator for our newest team members. You will ensure that every facilitator who advances from onboarding is fully prepared to drive student success in the classrooms they serve. This is achieved by:

Building foundational mastery through structured coaching and modeling to ensure facilitators are ready for independent delivery.

• Manage a cohort of facilitators.
• Implement and continuously improve cohort-based onboarding experiences, including bootcamps, practice cycles, and co-facilitation sequences.
• Run structured foundational coaching cycles aligned to  our Criteria for Success to bridge skill gaps early.
• Model strong facilitation and co-facilitate with new hires, providing a clear "north star" for what excellence looks like in practice.
• Conduct structured observations and debriefs that focus on core facilitation skills, preparation routines, and delivery consistency.

Managing the transition to independence to maintain high standards of quality across the Professional Learning team.

• Conduct readiness observations and synthesize evidence to make clear recommendations regarding facilitator independence.
• Calibrate readiness decisions with the Director of Professional Learning to ensure a unified standard of excellence.
• Adapt materials from the Professional Learning Content team’s rollout of training sessions to ensure new facilitators deeply internalize and accurately deliver existing content.
• Own the collection of readiness evidence and transition documentation to ensure a seamless move into State Support.

Using data and insights to refine the onboarding journey and support the growth of the facilitator pool.

• Track facilitator growth using observation data, survey feedback, and internalization artifacts to identify trends in the onboarding cohort.
• Maintain accurate progress records that support data driven readiness recommendations.
• Participate in facilitator hiring and selection as a subject matter expert, providing feedback on candidate skill and potential.
• Refine preparation protocols and internalization cycles to help facilitators build independence in their own planning routines.

The Next Problems for this Role to Solve

• How might we accelerate the "Speed to Readiness" for new facilitators without compromising our bar for quality?
• What innovative coaching routines could we implement to help facilitators internalize complex content more deeply during their first 90 days?
• How might we improve our readiness documentation to make calibration conversations with leadership more efficient and data driven?
• What methods can we use to better predict a candidate's "readiness potential" during the hiring process?

Skills You Bring to the Table

• Master Facilitator: You have a deep understanding of what makes professional learning "click" for adults. You can model excellence in the moment and break down complex facilitation moves into learnable steps.
• Insightful Coach: You don't just see what is happening; you see why it is happening. You can identify the root cause of a skill gap and provide the specific feedback or practice routine needed to fix it.
• Evidence Based Evaluator: You are disciplined about collecting data and artifacts. You can synthesize multiple observations into a clear, objective narrative about a person's readiness to work independently.
• Collaborative Partner: You work seamlessly across teams, especially with Content and Leadership, to ensure that onboarding stays aligned with the broader goals of the organization.

Potential Markers of these Skills

• 7+ years of experience in K-12 education, with a significant focus on delivering or managing professional development.
• Demonstrated experience coaching adult learners, specifically in a "train the trainer" or facilitator development capacity.
• A track record of using rubrics or "Criteria for Success" models to evaluate performance and drive improvement.
• Experience managing complex projects or onboarding sequences where speed and quality were both mission critical.
• High proficiency in synthesizing qualitative observation data into clear, actionable reports for leadership.
• BA/BS in Education, Organizational Development, or a related field.

HOW WE WORK:

• We aim to create a numeracy movement. This is no easy feat, and no one of us can solve this on our own.  Given that, Zearn is a transparent, collaborative, and open-to-feedback culture. 
• Our work is often collaborative in nature:
• We own our deliverables in close collaboration with others
• We communicate openly, and share early thinking and drafts often
• We seek ways to create and improve systems, and work with each other to contribute thinking in both asynchronous and synchronous discussions.
• We create a sense of community through regularly sharing context so we can collectively solve problems to drive Zearn’s velocity.

LOCATION:

This role is remote and can be performed in any of the following states/locations:  

CA, CT, FL, IL, LA, MA, MD, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI and Washington D.C. 

TRAVEL:

This role requires up to 90% travel weekly, year round, to facilitate in-person professional development sessions. You will also travel to an annual team building meeting each year.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

The compensation range for this role is $90,000 - $105,000 per year.

We offer a competitive benefits package, including comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, 401K matching, parental leave, and a flexible PTO policy. We also offer a collegial and passionate culture and the potential to positively impact the lives of millions of children.

TO APPLY: https://apply.workable.com/j/EA72F9ADDF

Zearn is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.

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