Manager, Usable Knowledge Systems & Operations

Start Date: Immediate
Role Type: Full-time
Reports to: Saya Taniguchi Reed
Team: Usable Knowledge

Location/Travel: Remote (U.S.-based); willingness to travel approximately 3 times per year for 3-4 days depending on the location and duration of trips.

Who We Are

Transcend is a national nonprofit that helps communities reimagine and redesign schools so every young person can thrive in a rapidly changing world. Across the country, communities are recognizing that classrooms built for the industrial age aren’t preparing learners for what’s next. Instead, schools must be designed for continuous evolution: relevant, resilient, and ready for the future. For more than a decade, Transcend has partnered with school and system leaders to build the capacity for bold, lasting change—change led by the people who live it every day. We’ve worked with nearly 500 schools and 200 districts serving over 225,000 students in 35 states. Together, we’ve seen what’s possible when communities lead redesign with proven methods, insight, and support. From that work, we develop and share tools, research, and models that help schools everywhere make the leap to extraordinary learning—for every child, in every community.

For more information, visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn.

The Opportunity

The Usable Knowledge team supports Transcend’s larger organizational mission by surfacing and synthesizing existing knowledge from research and practice into actionable and accessible resources for school designers.

As a member of the Usable Knowledge team, you’ll collaborate closely with teammates on the Usable Knowledge team to contribute to resource development and maintain the systems that make our work possible.

In this role, you will play a critical part in maintaining the structures and systems that make the team’s work possible. You'll combine skills in project coordination, operations, database management, and research to help ensure our knowledge base is organized, accessible, accurate, and up to date. You'll manage tasks, communicate proactively, and take initiative in a collaborative environment where curiosity, learning, and perpetual beta are essential.

To see a day in the life of the role, click here.

More specifically, you will get to:

• Support the development of high-quality resources for a variety of projects and purposes. (~35%)
  In partnership with your manager and other team members, you will gather and organize knowledge from diverse sources and translate complex information into simpler language. Examples include drafting overviews of adoptable programs and schools, revising or updating existing resources based on feedback and evolving needs, sourcing and evaluating innovative education programs and products, and coordinating design or production tasks that bring resources to life and get them into the hands of the users who need them.
• Support and maintain strong systems and structures. (~35%)
  With the support and oversight of your manager, you will maintain and improve systems to organize work streams across the Usable Knowledge team. You will oversee the knowledge management systems that house the team’s work, including updating databases with new information, maintaining taxonomies and tagging structures, monitoring data accuracy, proactively flagging gaps, and creating and updating documentation for system use across the team.
• Provide operational support across the team. (~10%)
  Provide essential project management, communications, and logistics support to ensure smooth operations. You will support the team in navigating operational needs and constraints by coordinating project plans and calendars across a range of projects. You will also support team routines—for example, by organizing files and folders, ensuring naming conventions and version control systems are used, scheduling team stepbacks and meetings, and overseeing e-commerce, printing, and fulfillment services.
• Manage yourself effectively and contribute to UK team spaces and culture. (~10%)
  You will create and follow project plans developed with your manager, manage your own time and deliverables, and communicate progress regularly. You’ll engage in self-learning activities co-designed with your supervisor to meet personal growth goals and will contribute to a constructive, collaborative team culture.
• Transcend Citizenship. (~10%)
  Participate fully in Transcend’s culture and uphold and live into Transcend’s core values.

Who You Are

You love all things project management and have incredible organizational superpowers. You have a knack for organizing and clarifying—whether it’s a messy Google Drive or a complex process —and you find satisfaction in maintaining order and operational flow. You are a detail-oriented systems thinker and find comfort in structured, repeatable processes and improving them over time.

You are effective at working with a range of personalities, working styles, and functions; You enjoy working on a team, asking thoughtful questions, and contributing to shared success. Taking initiative and managing your time effectively are second nature to you, and you take pride in being reliable, resourceful, and proactive. You’re excited to learn, to be coached, and to grow into an even more capable coordinator and collaborator.

And above all, you love that your everyday work is in service to a mission that matters. You believe deeply in the power of education to change lives and believe in redesigning schools so that young people can live a life of limitless opportunities.

To all this, you bring:

• Outstanding project management, organization, and follow-through to manage multiple work streams and logistics efficiently, all while working independently in a remote setting.
• Experience with or readiness to learn about a range of tools and processes related to project management, knowledge management, customer relationship management, e-commerce, printing, fulfillment services, and more.
• Attention to detail and a commitment to quality, accuracy, and continuous improvement.
• Proactive communication, including the ability to keep teammates updated, surface questions early, and flag risks or blockers.
• Proficiency with data and knowledge management systems. Experience managing databases (e.g., Airtable, Salesforce, Google Drive) is a plus.
• Clear, concise writing and editing skills, with an ability to translate complex ideas into simple, usable language.
• Flexibility to navigate shifting priorities, iterate based on feedback, and adapt to evolving project needs.
• Collaboration skills that enable you to work effectively with a range of teammates and, at times, external partners.
• Willingness—even enjoyment—working iteratively to learn from feedback and iteration and improve on processes and deliverables until goals are met or exceeded
• Experience working in or with PK-12 education organizations as a teacher, operations specialist, director of special projects, etc.
• A deep commitment to Transcend’s mission of transforming education and an eagerness to add to Transcend’s culture and live into Transcend’s core values

Application & Hiring Process
We review applications on a rolling basis and are committed to a thoughtful and people-centered hiring experience that helps candidates feel what it’s like to work at Transcend. Here’s what you can expect if you are selected to move forward:

• Initial interview with the team via Zoom to learn more about your interest and experiences. A note on compensation: during your initial interview with the team, we will confirm your location and accompanying salary range. *More on how we determine this is below
• Try-on activity to engage in a role-aligned exercise. This helps us get a sense of how you approach the work and gives you a feel for what the role might be like
• A panel interview with the hiring manager and members of our team, where we’d debrief the try-on task and engage in some scenarios you are likely to encounter in the role
• Final interview with Ross Lescano Lipstein, Chief Program Officer
• Reference checks to learn more about your superpowers and working style

Salary

As a national team, we apply a cost-of-labor adjustment by adjusting salaries into 3 geographical bands (geo-band) in order to offer competitive compensation for all employees across the US. These geo-bands help us tailor compensation appropriately based on the specific location of each teammate. Below are the three salary geo-bands for this role, and we will confirm the individual range for your location during this initial interview, if you move forward in the process.

• Geo Comp 1: Currently Includes: NYC metro area, CA Bay Area, Boston City, LA City, Washington, D.C, Seattle $75,000 - $95,000
• Geo Comp 2: Currently includes locations such as: San Diego; New Haven, CT; Ventura, CA $71,250 - $90,250
• Geo Comp 3: Currently Includes: Most other US locations $67,500 - $85,500

A Few Nuts & Bolts
We are an experienced team focused on extraordinary learning for all. We welcome candidates who are passionate about ensuring that all students thrive. We are also committed to providing our colleagues with a competitive benefits package and offer medical, dental, and vision coverage options, org-wide holidays, paid time off, paid parental leave, professional development opportunities, and fully remote work. We take pride in our collaborative environment, exceptional team, and shared commitment to principled, impactful work.

We look forward to learning more about you!