Ignite Reading teaches kids to read.
Today, 67% of students and 82% of low-income students can’t read at grade level by the end of third grade. That’s when you are supposed to go from learning to read to reading to learn. It’s America’s number one education crisis and we know how to fix it.
Ignite teaches kids to read by providing 15 minutes a day of 1:1 virtual reading instruction. We focus on the reading fundamentals (letters, phonics, and sight words) kids need to master so they can decode a sentence. Our program accelerates reading progress 2.4x and we are disrupting how schools think about reading instruction.
Ignite launched our first school implementation in the fall of 2021. Sixteen months later, we will have grown our number of schools and students 35x.
Ignite Reading is a mission-driven public benefit corporation. We believe we can do well for our team members and shareholders while we solve one of the nation’s biggest challenges. We believe we will be more successful with a diverse team and are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Your Role
Reporting to the SVP, Tutor Operations and Experience, as a Director, Tutor Relations, you will:
- Collaborate with the Senior Vice President, Tutor Operations and Experience and the Ignite Reading team to define a vision and practices for providing thousands of Ignite Reading tutor educators with systems, policies, and processes that provide the support they need to be successful on a daily basis and in the face of student safety issues, crises, and unexpected emergencies.
- Create proactive internal policies, processes, and knowledge management for all areas of tutor relations that place paramount importance on the safety, well-being and learning of our students first, with a clear vision for how they are implemented, communicated and understood, with opportunities for ongoing revision
- In partnership with the full tutoring team, surface recruitment, selection, onboarding and voluntary training topics for Ignite Reading Tutor Educators based on common scenarios faced by tutors; participate in and/or lead projects focused on continuous improvement of our tutor experience
- Partner with tutors, the Tutor Operation and Experience team, and Ignite Reading’s People Operations team to implement tutor and full-time employee relations internal policies and practices with fidelity
- Ensure all tutor relations practices and internal policies align with Ignite Reading’s values and organizational people policies and desire to provide a best in-class tutoring experience. We believe Ignite Reading tutors must embrace a growth mindset, adhere to the belief that all students deserve a rigorous and quality education, and be adept at building meaningful connections with students from diverse racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds.
- Deliver real-time, reactive people relations support and coaching to Ignite Reading’s Tutor Support and Tutor Performance teams and Ignite Reading tutors when issues arise
- Manage tutor relations issues, including but not limited to, complaints, student safety and communication issues, emergency and crisis management, and data privacy.
- Lead communications and resolution of moderate to severe student and/or tutor safety and behavior related incidents with designated school PoC (point of contact) in a timely and effective manner
- Establish KPIs and reporting tools for measuring the effectiveness of Ignite Reading’s tutor relations work
You are an inclusive team leader and a policy and process creator. You know you have what it takes to help Ignite Reading create internal policies, processes and systems to support our thousands of tutors - now and as we grow. You have creative ideas on how to implement internal policies at scale and ensure their adoption in a remote workforce. You have experience managing others - both laterally and directly - to succeed.
You are skilled at managing the various challenges, crises and emergencies that can arise when tutors are working with students. You have an asset-based belief in the power of exceptional tutoring and teaching, and are knowledgeable and experienced in the social emotional and safety issues that can arise among tutors and students in an instructional setting and school environment. You have experience managing these issues on the front line and through coaching staff who support our workforce.
You have a passion for seeing tutors succeed. You aren’t satisfied unless every loose end is closed and every issue is clearly resolved so that tutors can teach and, more importantly, students can learn. You anticipate where problems might arise and proactively create solutions to address them before they become ongoing issues. You understand how to work with tutors and appreciate how adults learn and best take in and retain key information about their work with children.
You believe the best work is done in a highly collaborative way. You have a vision for people relations work, but you know that the best way to achieve that vision is through collaboration and active feedback with stakeholders. You crave constructive feedback, and know how to set up spaces to get the best, most creative thinking out of a group. You see patterns in your work that can set up our tutor community for success, and can work collaboratively across the team to get things done.
Competencies
- 10+ years of demonstrated experience in people performance and people relations work, ideally in a school environment
- Strong knowledge of people policies and procedures
- Experienced and highly comfortable with remote work and supporting 2000 part-time employees
- Ability to work in an environment where they can contribute to building and developing our processes and operations.
- Exceptional coaching and consulting skills, comfortable working through and with others to get things done
- You are extremely approachable, with expert communication, interpersonal skills and a high level of emotional intelligence; the support culture you develop will be critical to the job satisfaction of thousands of tutors
- Strong problem solving and influencing skills
At Ignite Reading, we’ve decided to embrace a transparent compensation structure for a few reasons:
To promote fairness and equity: This approach supports fairness within our structure. When everyone knows how compensation decisions are made, it reduces the likelihood of pay discrimination based on factors like gender, race, relationships, or negotiation skills.
To provide accountability for our approach: The same role receives the same compensation, with no negotiation.
To build trust within the organization: When employees understand how their compensation is determined, they are more likely to trust organizational structures and decisions, which can lead to overall better culture.
To support legal considerations: Many states are moving to requiring compensation listed on job descriptions and we want to follow these rules.
Salary: $130,000
We also ensure you have the tools you need to thrive both in and out of work.
- Employee Stock Options
- Medical, Dental, and Vision (80% employee coverage, 50% dependent coverage)
- Short-term disability (100% employer paid)
- Technology Stipend
- Unlimited PTO + 12 paid holidays
- Professional Development Stipend
- Wellness Reimbursement
- Internet Stipend
- 12 Weeks of Parental Leave
- Yearly Staff Retreat
- Voluntary Life Insurance
At Ignite Reading, we believe in building and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace environment. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer where all applicants are considered for employment without attention to color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. Research shows that candidates from underrepresented backgrounds often don't apply for roles if they don't meet all the criteria – unlike majority candidates meeting significantly fewer requirements. We strongly encourage you to apply if you’re interested!
We are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are a virtual organization with headquarters in the California Bay Area.