Executive Director of Transformation

Location: Network Support Team (NST) positions are primarily in person, with team members expected to work on-site 80% of the week at the NST office or one of our Rocky Mountain Prep campuses, based on the needs of their role and the organization. Team members may work remotely up to 20% of the week. This structure keeps our NST team closely connected to the staff, students, families, and communities we serve while allowing for limited flexibility to work remotely.

The RMP Promise

Rocky Mountain Prep is a network of public charter schools in Colorado serving approximately 5,000 students across 12 campuses. We are a new executive team leading a turnaround, with one goal for every school: a green SPF rating and 60% proficiency. We get there by coaching principals and their teams in the field and using student work to decide where to focus next.

Every RMP team member plays a role in advancing our shared goals for student success and organizational strength. Our Big Five Goals establish the key outcomes we are working toward together across our schools and network:

1. Student Achievement: 60% average proficiency on CMAS & PSAT by Spring 2027; zero schools rated Orange or Red on the 2027–28 Colorado School Performance Framework
2. Financial Sustainability: 5,100 students enrolled, as measured by October Count; $4MM in total philanthropic gifts during the 2026–27 school year
3. Parent Satisfaction: 90% regular attendance; no more than 10% chronic absenteeism
4. Staff Engagement & Enablement: 75% annual staff retention from July 2026 to July 2027
5. Student Persistence — Health & Wellness: 90% year-over-year student persistence from September 2026 to September 2027

Each team member contributes to these goals through their role and collaboration across RMP.

The Role and who you report to:

The Executive Director of Transformation trains, coaches, manages, and monitors principals at our transformation schools so they can drive rapid, sustained improvement in school outcomes. Transformation schools are currently the lowest-performing in the network and need the most intensive central support. Strong central management through a prescriptive plan and tight-loop management is required.

Your job is to build principals’ skills and mindsets while directly managing the execution of school-specific transformation plans, removing barriers, and verifying that changes in adult practice improve student learning. You are accountable for the Big Five across your portfolio, and you work in schools, not around them.

You report to the Chief Achievement Officer, who sets the bar for the role, holds you accountable for portfolio results, observes you in the field, and coaches you against the five core skills below.

How you will spend your time:

• School-Facing Leadership (Primary Focus). Spend the majority of your time working directly with principals and school leaders to accelerate transformation. Observe and coach leaders in the field; conduct walkthroughs, lesson rehearsal and first-teach cycles, and student work analysis meetings; monitor implementation of transformation plans; and verify that changes in adult practice improve student learning.
• Network-Facing Leadership (Supporting Focus). Dedicate focused time to analyzing leading and lagging indicators, developing and adjusting prescriptive priority plans, documenting principal progress, coordinating intensive central support, and participating in Schools Team and executive team meetings. Ensure network-level work directly supports execution and measurable improvement at transformation schools.

Core Skills of the Role:

1. Lead management and coaching cycles

Intended impact: Principals trust you, receive intensive, high-quality development, and execute clear improvement priorities that increase their effectiveness and school outcomes.

• Establish a trusting partnership with each principal as their manager and coach: set clear expectations of excellence in the principal role, co-develop rigorous transformation plans, and create space for consistent, timely two-way feedback with candor and care.
• Execute the development and management cycle: hold principals accountable to the bar and the transformation plan, monitor progress frequently, retain and promote high performers, and develop low performers or, when needed, manage them out with dignity.
• Lead effective one-on-ones and frequent implementation check-ins: use evidence of student learning and adult execution to identify gaps, practice concrete next steps, and verify follow-through. Develop principals to do the same.
• Execute coaching cycles on walkthroughs, lesson rehearsal, and student work analysis meetings: align on criteria for success, observe, create space for reflection, give targeted feedback, model and practice, and co-create bite-sized action steps with built-in accountability.

2. Use data-driven action cycles

Intended impact: You use data strategically and tight-loop management to accelerate principal effectiveness and measurable student and school improvement.

• Diagnose school and leader performance against a bar of excellence using quantitative and qualitative data; identify root causes and connect schoolwide gaps to leader performance gaps.
• Develop a prescriptive, time-bound transformation plan for each school with SMARTIE goals, prioritized instructional and culture actions, clear owners, benchmarks, evidence of implementation, and defined escalation points.
• Establish tight feedback loops: regularly review student work, classroom observations, attendance, and other leading indicators; compare implementation against the plan; give immediate feedback; and adjust actions when results fall short.
• Monitor data across the portfolio, intensify support where needed, and manage principals to outcomes with consistent feedback and performance conversations.

3. Advocate for schools and drive network systems

Intended impact: Transformation schools receive coordinated, intensive central support and clear direction so principals can prioritize instructional leadership and drive outcomes.

• Elevate principals’ perspectives and voices in network decisions while setting clear non-negotiables for executing the transformation plan and protecting time for instructional leadership.
• Build collaborative working relationships with network teams, and bring in colleagues on the network Achievement Team and other experts to solve problems and remove barriers to student learning.
• Coordinate network resources (people, materials, funds) to Transformation schools based on diagnosed need; clarify owners and deadlines; and escalate unresolved barriers quickly.

4. Facilitate the principal learning community

Intended impact: Principals learn together, feel a sense of belonging, and build the skills to sustain strong school outcomes.

• Set a vision and norms for the principal community aligned to student outcomes; create space for candid conversation, celebrate successes, and use data to spread exemplary practices.
• Lead effective principal PD: use data to prioritize development needs, build in practice to mastery, and align coaching cycles and data gathering with PD topics so follow-through is accountable.
• Codify effective turnaround practices and implementation routines so schools can sustain improvement beyond an intensive support period.

5. Invest time in high-impact areas

Intended impact: You prioritize time and central support on the few actions most likely to accelerate transformation school outcomes.

• Analyze portfolio-wide and school-level data at critical points of the year, triangulate sources, and identify the highest-leverage focus areas for each school and principal.
• Create monthly priority plans with your top priorities, actions, and share of time, and share them with principals. Build a weekly schedule focused on time in schools, differentiated by school and leader need.
• Use frequent implementation checks to determine whether actions are occurring with quality; intervene directly when execution slips and adjust the plan when evidence requires a change.
• Pivot to provide on-the-ground support during moments of crisis, then work with principals to prevent repeat crises.

What you will bring:

• Lead self. You reflect, seek out how your actions are perceived, and read situations and adjust.
• Lead people. You build trusting relationships, communicate directly and with care, clarify goals, coach with curiosity, monitor performance, and hold people accountable.
• Lead results. You use technical and content knowledge to drive outcomes, build the systems that monitor them, and synthesize complexity into clear priorities.

Requirements 

• Minimum of three years as a principal with a record of results: documented gains in student achievement and school performance, strong attendance, and staff retention.
• Demonstrated record of results as a principal manager, including successfully coaching, developing, and holding principals accountable for measurable improvements in instructional leadership, student achievement, and overall school performance.
• Demonstrated success leading significant and sustained school improvement or turnaround work, including disciplined execution of improvement plans and measurable gains in student outcomes.
• Proven ability to coach adults to proficiency in walkthroughs, lesson rehearsal, and student work analysis.
• Strong data analysis skills and a record of building and managing systems that change practice and drive results across multiple schools or teams.
• Ability to set clear non-negotiables, manage tight implementation loops, and balance urgent intervention with principal development.
• Commitment to field-based leadership, prioritizing direct support, coaching, and accountability in transformation schools while effectively managing network-level responsibilities. 
• Master’s degree in educational leadership or a related field, including a content-specific degree in Reading/Literacy or STEM.
• We use E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires.

Salary

This is a full-time position with a salary range of $140,000 to $190,000, based on experience and qualifications.

Rocky Mountain Prep uses a transparent compensation structure designed to ensure consistency and equity across our organization. Salaries are determined using an established compensation ladder that considers comparable years of experience and other role-specific criteria. Because compensation is set through this standardized process, salaries are not individually negotiated.

Benefits

At Rocky Mountain Prep, taking care of our team is essential to building joyful, academically excellent schools. We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Paid Time Off – including vacation, personal, and sick days
• 5 Weeks of Paid Organizational Holidays – including Winter and Summer breaks
• Comprehensive Health Insurance – medical, dental, and vision coverage, with 100% of medical coverage for employee-only plans.
• Retirement Through PERA – Public Employees' Retirement Association of Colorado
• Paid Leave of Absence Options – including parental, medical, and disability leave
• Mental Health & Wellness Support – to help you thrive personally and professionally
• Pre-Tax Accounts – flexible spending accounts (FSA), dependent care accounts, and health savings accounts (HSA)

*A detailed list of benefits is