Vice President, Program Implementation
Remote
Full Time
Business Development
Executive
Vice President of Program Implementation
About Sandy Hook Promise
Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) envisions a future where all children are free from school shootings and other acts of violence. As a national nonprofit organization, SHP’s mission is to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and communities. Creators of the lifesaving, evidence-informed Know the Signs prevention programs, SHP teaches the warning signs of someone who may be in crisis, socially isolated, or at-risk of hurting themselves or others and how to get help. SHP also advances school safety, youth mental health, and responsible gun ownership at the state and federal levels through nonpartisan policy and partnerships.
SHP is led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.
Commitment to Belonging, Community, Engagement, and Respect
SHP strives to ensure its culture and work environment reflect the values of belonging, community, engagement and respect. We actively seek to understand and respond to the diverse perspectives and lived experiences of individuals across socioeconomic backgrounds, rural and urban communities, and diversity of thought, in addition to traditional protected categories. We are committed to ensuring that every SHP employee feels heard, valued, and a true sense of belonging. SHP encourages individuals who share our commitment to these core values and to our mission to apply.
Location
We are a U.S. based organization and most of our staff work remotely. This role will require 30-40% travel (on an as-needed basis).
About the Role
The Vice President of Program Implementation will lead the development and execution of nationwide implementation strategies to ensure fidelity and effectiveness of K–12 educational programs delivered during the school day and in afterschool settings. This executive role will be accountable for designing scalable implementation models, aligning professional learning with educator and student needs, and building cross-functional systems that support the sustained adoption and impact of a portfolio of educational products. The ideal candidate will bring extensive experience in program delivery, instructional leadership, and district-level and/or nonprofit organizational partnerships, with a strong understanding of how to support diverse school communities through synchronous and asynchronous methods.
Under limited supervision of the Chief Program Officer, the VP of Program Implementation will ensure SHP’s youth violence prevention programs for students, educators, out-of-school time professionals, and other school community members are increasingly scalable, high-quality, research-based, and effective from conception through delivery. Programs include student lessons, teacher resources, professional learning, and the implementation supports to ensure their success. This is a standout opportunity for a proven strategic and innovative leader with a strong command of K-12 product strategy, implementation science, educational pedagogy, culturally relevant approaches, and youth engagement as applied to upstream violence prevention programs.
Job Responsibilities Include (but are not limited to)
Strategic Leadership and Vision
- Develop and lead the national strategy for program implementation to drive usage, fidelity, and impact across diverse K–12 settings.
- Establish a professional learning strategy with a focus on adult capacity building as a driver for adoption.
- Develop a product strategy for the program portfolio that defines strategies and growth metrics for scaling specific programs and services on an annual basis. Communicate the product roadmap for organizational alignment with the VP, Business Development & Relationships, VP, Research, Evaluation & Quality Improvement, VP of Technology, and VP of Marketing to identify dependencies and shared accountabilities for achieving growth rates.
- Collaborate with innovation learning, research, and field teams to ensure that implementation strategies are aligned with intended program outcomes and research-based best practices.
- Lead the vision for integrating implementation across in-school and afterschool environments, ensuring alignment with district priorities and instructional time constraints.
- Develop a multiyear strategy for educational technology platform implementation across all programs in the portfolio, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, adult and youth engagement needs.
- Define year over year user growth metrics based on organizational baselines towards an established growth of 11M annual users by 2028.
- Identify and evaluate an educational technology platform, analyze associated cost models, and create a business case for adoption, focusing on scalability, ROI, and alignment with engagement objectives.
- Lead the pilot, rollout, and training for the platform, establishing protocols for operational fidelity, addressing challenges, and ensuring staff readiness through comprehensive training programs.
- Translate youth engagement strategies into the digital space by integrating gamification, personalization, and interactive learning, supported by data-driven enhancements to foster sustained engagement.
- Implement data-driven systems to monitor platform usage, assess effectiveness, and optimize functionality based on feedback and performance data for continuous improvement.
- Develop a train-the-trainer model for student and adult programs to ensure scalability and implementation fidelity.
- Design differentiated implementation pathways tailored to district contexts, including urban, suburban, and rural school systems.
- Establish clear guidance on roles, responsibilities, and delivery models (e.g., in-person, hybrid, asynchronous) for implementation partners.
- Lead the development of tools, frameworks, and protocols that support fidelity of implementation, including onboarding materials, pacing guides, and fidelity rubrics.
- Collaborate with district and school leaders to co-design implementation plans that build educator capacity, support sustainable program integration, and translate program goals with local and state instructional standards.
- Develop strategies to support educators’ and leaders’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for successful program adoption.
- Oversee the development and delivery of implementation support services, including professional learning, coaching, and technical assistance.
- Identify and manage external partnerships with national organizations and universities to build a pipeline of co-development, content curation, and thought leadership partners.
- Define and oversee scalable implementation operations for learning design and development, professional learning, youth engagement, and digital product delivery.
- Define and monitor KPIs and benchmarks to measure the effectiveness and scalability of implementation.
- Work with data and research teams to collect and analyze feedback and outcomes to inform continuous improvement.
- Manage departmental budgets, staffing, and resourcing plans to ensure timely and efficient execution of implementation strategies.
- Build and manage a high-performing implementation team with national reach.
- Cultivate a culture of collaboration, accountability, and innovation within the department.
- Mentor and develop staff through strategic delegation, performance feedback, and leadership opportunities.
- Evidence of ability to anticipate challenges and problems before they occur, and quickly lead others in implementing a variety of effective and realistic solutions in a timely manner
- Adaptive and relational; evidence of experience leading through influence and emotional intelligence
- Cultivate a nurturing and inclusive environment where team members feel psychologically safe to share ideas, take risks, and grow professionally.
- Establish clear goals and accountability measures, providing ongoing coaching and development to ensure team members achieve their objectives while maintaining a supportive culture.
- Identify team growth opportunities aligned with business needs, ensuring that skill gaps are addressed, and organizational objectives are supported.
- Strategically plan and implement team expansion or reorganization while balancing capacity constraints to maintain operational efficiency and effectiveness.
- Foster relationships with external stakeholders, including funders, national youth serving organizations, community organizations, K-12 school districts, and professional associations to advance programmatic goals.
- Develop internal processes that communicate the product strategy with Business Development, Partner Success, K-12 Education Marketing, and Technology teams and establish feedback loops with those teams so internal and external insights inform the program portfolio design and offerings.
- Co-develop process and implementation of evaluation plans for place-based learning projects in partnership with the VP of Research, Evaluation and Quality Improvement.
- Ensure evaluation findings are translated into actionable strategies and reports for internal and external stakeholders, to include program adaptations for diverse audiences.
- Serve as a liaison between Programs, Development, and Finance Departments to align operational goals with funding models and programmatic pipelines.
- Partner with the VP of Engagement to define how the adult program portfolio supports the organizational engagement strategy, ensuring adult programming topics support the needs of the Promise Leader Program where applicable.
- Conduct annual workforce, strategic, and operational planning processes, including budget development, key performance indicator (KPI) analysis, and reporting
- Proven experience (10+ years) in K–12 education, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role overseeing implementation or program delivery.
- Deep knowledge of instructional practices, curriculum integration, change management, continuous quality improvement, and school systems operations.
- Demonstrated success in leading large-scale program implementation across multiple states or school districts.
- Strong strategic thinking and planning skills with the ability to translate complex goals into actionable, scalable plans.
- Strong expertise in designing professional learning for educators, leading change management efforts, and applying systems thinking to drive impact.
- Exceptional communication, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
- Experience collaborating cross-functionally with product, marketing, and research teams. Ability to travel as needed (25%) to support district and nonprofit partnerships and implementation success.
- Experience building and leading highly effective and results-driven teams.
- Proven ability to understand and anticipate the relationship between future business trends and external education/youth development trends.
- Experience advising on developing credible, validated, and breakthrough strategies to advance organizational priorities.
- An understanding of effective strategies for youth and adult-centered learning and how those are applied within implementation methods.
- A strong command of national education trends, regularly benchmarking initiatives of peer organizations to ensure all programs, training, and initiatives are best-in-class in violence prevention.
- An exceptional ability to write, design, and advise on developing curriculum, training, and other program resources.
- Experience identifying new opportunities to strengthen existing strategies and leverage opportunities to advance the direction of work
- Ability to and comfort with taking calculated business risks, considering the future state of programs and initiatives.
In addition to the core qualifications, candidates who bring the following skills and attributes will be especially well-positioned for success in this role:
- Advanced degree in K-12 Education, Implementation Science, Public Health, Public Administration, Organizational Leadership, or related field.
- Experience in both school-day and expanded learning/afterschool contexts.
- Familiarity with evidence-based practices in program fidelity, continuous improvement, and implementation science.
- Prior experience working with digital learning products or edtech platforms.
The salary range for this position is $147,000 - $150,000.
(SHP follows a strict internal rubric to help guide salary placement and ensure equitable pay amongst new hires and current staff. New hires should expect to be brought on at the start of the range, except in extenuating circumstances.)
- SHP offers a competitive benefits package, including:
- Unlimited PTO
- Flexible schedules
- Paid holidays and 10 days sick leave
- Paid parental leave
- Health, dental, and vision
- Employer paid life insurance and short- and long-term disability
- 401k match
- Professional development stipend
- Wellness & mental health support
- Employer Paid Employee Assistance Program.
Application Instructions
- We are working with an external recruiter who will only contact those who are selected for first round interviews. Thank you for your interest!
SHP is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We strive to be an employer of choice: where a diverse mix of talented people want to come and do their best work. SHP does not make employment related decisions based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We are focused on promoting multiculturalism and inclusion so that all SHP employees feel valued and respected. We believe deeply that a diverse workforce comprised of people of all beliefs, backgrounds, and life experiences who seek to prevent gun violence and stop the tragic loss of life will make SHP a stronger, more effective organization.
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