Organization Overview

Families In Schools (FIS) imagines a public education system where parents play a leadership role in their children’s learning and where students, particularly those farthest from opportunity, are set up to succeed in school and life.

Founded in 2000, FIS is a nonprofit statewide organization based in Los Angeles, California, whose mission is to ensure student success by building authentic partnerships between families, educators, and system leaders through capacity-building efforts for system leaders and parent-led advocacy. In 2024, FIS entered a new chapter, marked by new leadership and a clear, unflinching commitment to excellence and impact. In this new chapter, FIS brings greater innovation to family engagement by strengthening the capacity for educators to authentically partner with families, more deeply centering the voices of families on critical system and policy decisions, and activating coalitions to drive local and state-wide campaigns powered by parent leadership.

Position Overview

The Director of Training and Capacity Building will play a pivotal role in developing, implementing, and evaluating exemplary, best-in-class family engagement curricula, tools, coaching, consultation services, and parent power-building opportunities. This role is instrumental in setting Families In Schools apart as a leading family and community engagement organization in the nation. In addition to having a keen understanding of high impact family engagement practices, the Director has a deep commitment to addressing unconscious bias and shifting mindsets; brings a strong business acumen; and has the capacity to grow FIS’ footprint in our fee-for-service capacity-building work. The Director will be responsible for creating and implementing a strategic business plan to meet annual revenue goals while ensuring the relevance and effectiveness of our programs.

This full-time, exempt position reports to the Vice President of Programs.

Key Responsibilities

Program Leadership

Lead FIS’s Training and Capacity Building team, overseeing budgets, strategic planning, program implementation, and evaluation.
Lead and mentor a team of program managers and part-time trainers, fostering a collaborative and inclusive team environment that encourages innovation and professional growth.
Develop and oversee training programs, tools, coaching, consultation services, and parent power- building programs to meet the organization's goals and strategic priorities.

Curriculum Design and Implementation

Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of curricula and educational tools.
Ensure curricula are culturally relevant, evidence-based, responsive to parent needs, and aligned with the latest research in family and community engagement.
Oversee the delivery of training programs in various formats, including in-person, virtual, and hybrid models.
Ensure effective evaluation methodologies to measure the impact and effectiveness of our training services.
Use data and feedback to inform continuous improvement and innovation in program offerings
Identify emerging trends and best practices in training and development to ensure the organization remains at the forefront of industry standards.
Prepare regular reports on program outcomes and financial performance for internal and external partners and funders.

Partner Engagement

Promote training and capacity-building services to generate new clients and maintain existing ones to meet goals for earned income revenue, resource development, and program services.
Actively cultivate and secure contracts with schools, districts, county offices of education, child welfare agencies, medical providers, and other relevant sectors.
Represent the organization at events, conferences, and meetings to promote curricula and training services.
Engage with diverse communities to understand their learning and support needs around family and community engagement.

About You

You have demonstrated experience in adult learning and high impact family engagement. You have a deep commitment to closing equity and opportunity gaps.

Experience

A bachelor’s degree in education, organizational training and development, child development, social work, or a related field.
An advanced degree is preferred.
Strong understanding of adult learning principles, instructional design, and training evaluation
methods.
Experience with program fee-for-service models and generating earned income revenue
Certification in training and development (e.g., CPTD, ATD Certification) preferred.

Skills & Competencies

Strong project manager. A self-starter who can work independently and effectively manage a variety of projects and complex tasks with minimal oversight
Strategic and creative thinker and problem solver
Expertise in program and project management, developing scopes of work and budgets, and
monitoring project implementation.
Exceptional people skills and able to build trust and relationships with external partners, funders, families, and staff.
Culturally competent, able to seamlessly adapt to multicultural, multi-ethnic environments.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including strong public speaking skills.
Bilingual in English and Spanish preferred.

Mindsets

Collaborative: Committed to collaboration, teamwork, and accountability to oneself and others. Committed to building positive relationships with all agency stakeholders across levels, roles, and functions.
Learning Oriented: Demonstrate an openness to feedback and a commitment to learning and improving.
Flexible & Adaptable: Embraces change and ambiguity with a positive attitude. Willing to adapt to new situations, challenges, and information. Resilient in handling complex situations and environments.
Capacity Builder: Commitment to excellence in building the assets of underserved families and the capacity of leaders in sectors/systems serving families and children/students.
Action Oriented: Ability to work in a fast-paced, results-oriented environment while maintaining quality attention to detail.
Trustworthy: Ongoing use of good judgment, tact, and diplomacy in all professional matters. High degree of integrity, strong work ethic, and commitment to the efficient and effective use of resources.

Additional Qualifications

Willingness to work weekends and evenings and travel as necessary
Access to a car, possession of a valid driver’s license, and proof of automobile insurance
Can lift up to 25 lbs. (books, materials, supplies, etc.)

Families In Schools

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Director, Training & Capacity Building