Deputy Director, Pathways bei Educate Texas

Educate Texas (EDTX), an initiative of Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT), exists to help solve the most significant challenges facing public education. Our vision is for all Texans to have the education they need to earn a thriving, living wage, pursue a purposeful career, and realize their dreams for themselves, their families, and their communities. 

EDTX operates as a public-private partnership with CFT, one of the largest community foundations in Texas. This partnership is now over 20 years strong. CFT’s mission, "Thriving communities for all," is pursued through investments in health, wealth, living, and learning.  

Your role: 

The Deputy Director for Pathways Design leads the development and continuous improvement of career-aligned pathways with colleges and universities that participate in the learning networks across programs within the Higher Education and Workforce Development portfolio of Educate Texas. This role will collaborate with cross-functional teams within colleges and universities to ensure that pathways are designed to support learner needs, including dual credit, direct-to-college, transfer, and adult learner populations. The deputy will ensure that pathways are structured to support student progression and completion, integration of work-based learning experiences, and alignment with relevant industry standards for certifications or licensure. The position will be based in Dallas and the successful candidate must reside locally or be willing to relocate. Candidates must be willing to travel overnight (both in/out of state) up to 25% of the time.   

What you’ll do: 

• Work with colleges and university teams to define and sequence student milestones (e.g., entry points, progression benchmarks, capstone experiences).
• Guide process to align course curriculum with career pathways, ensuring coherence across courses and programs.
• Ensure the integration of work-based learning (WBL) experiences such as internships, apprenticeships, and clinical placements into pathways programs.
• Analyze existing pathway frameworks to identify gaps, redundancies, and opportunities for improvement.
• Identify and map essential career knowledge, skills, and competencies for targeted industries.
• Use labor market data and employer feedback to validate learning goals and outcomes.
• Align pathway outcomes with requirements for industry-based certifications and professional licensure. Ensure pathways reflect evolving industry standards and emerging technologies.

• Implement processes in collaboration with Strategy and Insights to track and report key performance indicators (KPIs) such as completion rates, credential attainment, and employment outcomes.
• Support efforts to leverage digital tools for pathway visualization, student advising, and competency tracking.

Experience you bring:  

• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree highly preferred  
• 5 years of management experience in education to career program areas required
• Experience leading secondary and postsecondary education program partnerships 
• Knowledge of postsecondary certificate and degree programs along with non-credit degree programs 
• Knowledge of Texas higher education and workforce development governance is highly preferred 
• Experience administering competitive RFP processes and grant management preferred
• Experience collaborating on large projects and programs with multiple stakeholders 
• Ability to contribute in a cross-functional team environment 
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to communicate openly and work collaboratively within and across teams  
• Proficient or expert skills using PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook, SharePoint 
• Exemplary project management skills 
• Exceptional written, presentation and verbal skills 
• Agility to work in a fast-paced environment where each day may look different 
• Commitment to developing solutions to support underserved student success 
• Proficient data collection, analysis, and synthesis skills to support data-informed program decisions and strategy  
• Knowledge of current research, trends, and innovations in higher education and workforce  

• Effectively model and demonstrate CFT’s core competencies which include Collaboration, Impact and Problem Solving, Integrity and Accountability, Learning, and Internal and External Service  

Disclaimer:   The above sections contain representative examples of job duties that might be performed by employees assigned to this classification. CFT is a dynamic organization, and the environment can be fluid. Roles and responsibilities may be altered to accommodate changing conditions and objectives as well as to tap into the skills and experience of its employees. Accordingly, employees may be asked to perform duties that are outside the specific work that is listed. This is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and/or skills required of all employees within this class.  

Accommodations: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.