Vice President of Training & Development at DSST Public… · Denver

POSITION: Vice President of Training & Development

LOCATION: DSST: Home Office

SALARY RANGE: $135,000 - $164,600 based on up to 10 years of relevant experience

STATUS/CLASSIFICATION: Full time, year round, benefits eligible, exempt, in-person position (Denver, CO)

START: Immediate

KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Vice President of Training & Development serves as an enterprise leader responsible for building and sustaining a high-performing leadership and talent development system across DSST Public Schools. Reporting to the President, this role sets the long-term vision, strategy, and systems for adult learning, leadership development, instructional coaching, and organizational capacity-building across the network.

The Vice President leads through influence and partnership to ensure DSST develops exceptional teachers, leaders, and leadership pipelines capable of sustaining excellent student outcomes and organizational excellence over time. This leader designs and aligns systems that strengthen leader and teacher effectiveness, reinforce shared frameworks for excellence, and build leadership capacity at every level of the organization.

The Vice President operates as both an enterprise leader and functional leader — balancing strategic vision-setting with execution, integrating priorities across schools and Home Office teams, and ensuring training and development systems create long-term organizational value. This role requires visionary thinking, strong cross-functional leadership, systems design, talent strategy, and a deep commitment to building an equitable, high-performing organization where leaders and teams thrive.

The Vice President establishes and drives a consistent vision for high-quality coaching and feedback that builds the instructional and leadership capacity of staff, partners closely with school and Home Office leaders to align development efforts with organizational priorities, and continuously evaluates and refines systems to maximize impact, ensuring every school is supported by highly effective, well-developed educators and leaders.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

Leads organization wide vision and strategy for leader & teacher training & development (25%)

• Create a cohesive, long-term vision and strategy for learning and development across roles at DSST and align senior school and home office leaders across DSST to this vision and strategy
• Lead through leaders by developing and empowering high-performing functional teams responsible for teacher development, leader development, and instructional leadership including Teacher Development, Instructional Leadership, and Leader Development Teams, ensuring the teams delivers on the vision for developing great teachers and leaders at every DSST school
• Integrate training and development priorities with broader organizational priorities, ensuring systems support both immediate school needs and long-term enterprise goals
• Establish clear systems, rhythms, success metrics, and accountability structures that ensure high-quality implementation and continuous improvement across all development programs including: New Leader Institute, LeaderYou, New Staff Institute, New Educator Institute, Teaching & Learning Institute, Instructional Leader Development, and Assistant School Director (ASD) development.
• Use data, feedback, external benchmarks, and organizational outcomes to continuously refine the project management and continuous improvement of all development systems and strengthen enterprise impact
• Create conditions for innovation, continuous learning, and cross-functional collaboration across schools and Home Office teams
• Serve as a steward of DSST’s leadership frameworks, instructional expectations, and equity-driven leadership practices across the organization

Build and sustain enterprise leadership pipelines and succession systems (20%)

• Develop and execute a long-term strategy for leadership pipeline development and succession planning across the network
• Design leadership development systems that prepare leaders to successfully navigate increasing levels of leadership responsibility across the DSST Leadership Turns framework
• Oversee high-impact leadership development programs and cohorts that accelerate readiness for future leadership roles
• Build systems that identify, develop, and retain high-potential leaders across lines of difference
• Partner with senior leaders, school leaders, and Talent Acquisition to strengthen internal leadership pipelines and organizational sustainability
• Ensure leadership development systems cultivate enterprise thinking, values-based leadership, strategic capacity-building, and organizational agility
• Design differentiated leadership pathways and development experiences that strengthen the advancement of leaders of color across the network
• Devise the strategy and processes to determine the selection and matching process with SDiTs and Mentor SDs

Leads the organizational vision and manages the execution of DSST’s Leader & Teacher coaching programs (20%)

• Oversee the implementation of DSST’s instructional coaching program, aimed at supporting teachers in improving their instructional practices, fostering a culture of reflective practice, and improving student learning outcomes.
• Design and uphold clear expectations and systems for leader coaching and development - including “coaching on coaching”, individualized leadership plans, etc.
• Develop strategic plans for the instructional coaching program, setting clear objectives, outcomes, and benchmarks for success.
• Build sustainable systems for coaching quality, consistency, leader accountability, and leadership growth across schools
• Ensure coaching systems reinforce a culture of reflective practice, psychological safety, continuous improvement, and high expectations
• Lead the ongoing refinement of coaching frameworks, leadership development structures, and individualized growth systems aligned to organizational priorities
• In partnership with the Director of School Support, manage a team to provide high quality on the ground support in schools to directly improve school teaching & leadership practice.
• Monitor and evaluate the impact of the instructional coaching program on teaching effectiveness and student learning outcomes, making data-driven decisions to enhance the program continuously.

Collaborates closely with other senior level leaders at home office and schools as well as outside partnerships to ensure a strong pipeline of highly effective leaders across the organization (20%)

• Develop a theory of action for building an effective pipeline of leaders ready to advance into greater leadership roles
• Collaborate with Managing Directors and Talent Acquisition to build the candidate pool of qualified internal leaders at every level
• Streamline systems for identifying high-potential future leaders and ensuring strong career communication with those leaders
• Manage strong succession planning and long-term projections of leader vacancy needs
• Partner with Managing Directors and Talent Acquisition to strategize and support leader selection and retention
• Identify and own partnerships with successful leadership development programs and partners that align to the definitions of leader excellence.
• Design and oversee the system for allocation of leader development professional development funds for external providers for all roles (home office, school directors, leadership team, and experienced teachers)

Collaborate with Schools & Academics Leadership Team and other Home Office teammates to achieve goals (10%)

• Collaborate with the other Vice Presidents, Managing Directors, and instructional leaders across the network to ensure effective implementation of instructional strategies, teacher development, and instructional coaching.
• Collaborate with the Vice President of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum to ensure cohesion between the network instructional vision, curriculum & assessment, and training and development.
• Actively participate in the Schools Impact Leadership Team, contributing to the work of implementing our strategic initiatives and the overall mission of enhancing educational quality across the network.
• Advocate for and represent the network’s educational vision and desired student outcomes within and outside of network settings, building strong relationships with stakeholders and educational partners.

Additional Duties (5%)

• Model our Core Values, Commitment to the Human Condition, and our commitment to equity as a Leader within the Network
• Play an active leadership role in building and sustaining Home Office culture
• Engage with our school communities to actively build relationships between our schools and the home office
• Participate in & support the execution of Home Office & Network-wide events

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

DSST Public Schools seeks candidates with strong character, passion for excellence, a commitment to student achievement and to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Job applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

• Bachelor’s degree
• Master’s degree in Education field preferred
• 10+ Years of Professional Experience in Education
• Demonstrated excellence in leading professional development
• Demonstrated experience in developing school-based leaders into greater leadership roles
• Track record of developing & managing leaders across lines of difference
• Evidence of developing and executing against a strategy with strong results
• Demonstrated proficiency in leading through change, executing on major initiatives, and leading cross-departmental work
• Previous school leadership required, ideally in a high performing school context
• Previous principal management experience strongly preferred

Who We Are

At DSST Public Schools, we are proud to achieve transformational results for our 7,500+ students — 97% of whom attend a Green (top-rated) school. Just as important is how we achieve them: values-centered, human-focused, and together.

We invite educators and leaders who share our belief that there is more in us — more brilliance, more courage, more possibility — to join us.

Our Impact

• 100% of DSST graduates have been admitted to college or a postsecondary program
• 15 of 16 schools rated Green on the 2024–25 SPF
• 9 out of 10 DSST families would recommend DSST to a friend
• 95%+ of staff say their managers check in regularly and care about them as people

Why Work at DSST?

At DSST, our Quantum 5 Culture defines how we help every team member grow, belong, and thrive.

• Comprehensive Compensation & Benefits: Competitive pay and a Total Rewards package that includes fertility and adoption support, educator-focused mental-health care, and everyday perks like Safeway grocery discounts.
• Growth & Opportunity: Weekly 1:1 coaching, data-driven feedback, and clear career pathways such as Apprentice Teacher and Emerging Leader.
• Rewards & Recognition: Core Value and TOAST Awards, milestone celebrations, and the signature Flower Person Award honoring staff who help our community flourish.
• Whole Human Wellness: Access to the Therapist of Color Collaborative, Wellness Wednesdays, comprehensive health coverage, and six weeks of paid parental leave.
• Thriving in Colorado: Time to recharge with 11+ weeks off each year, relocation support for out of state applicants, and local discounts that help you enjoy life in our beautiful sunshine filled state.

Learn more about ourQuantum 5 Culture and Compensation & Benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

DSST Public Schools is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not exclude participation in, deny benefits to or discriminate on the basis of, race, color, religion, National origin, sex (including pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity), Age (40 and older), Disability, Genetic information (including employer requests for, or purchase, use, or disclosure of genetic tests, genetic services, or family medical history), retaliation for filing a charge, reasonably opposing discrimination, or participating in a discrimination lawsuit, investigation, or proceeding in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in its programs and activities.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. This position is active and may require standing, walking, bending, kneeling, stooping, and crouching throughout the day. The employee must lift and/or move items up to 30 pounds. The employee must have sufficient hand, arm, and finger dexterity to operate a computer keyboard and other office equipment. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.