Managing Director of Special Services

A mission-driven educator committed to Democracy Prep’s mission of college success and authentic civic engagement for all scholars.

A strategic leader with a track record of improving outcomes for Students with Disabilities and Multilingual Learners.

A systems thinker with a demonstrated ability to design and implement scalable supports that improve both compliance and instructional impact.

An experienced people manager and team leader who has successfully coached and developed leaders overseeing special education, multilingual learner development, and tier two and three intervention systems.

A collaborative leader who can align diverse teams across Academics, Finance, People, Talent Development, and school leadership.

A strong communicator who can translate complex policy, legal requirements, financial and billing practices, and pedagogy into clear guidance and systems for schools.

Salary range is $170,000 - $190,000 commensurate with your experience. Democracy Prep employees are provided with a benefits package that includes medical, vision, and dental insurance, 403B matching, parental leave, a smartphone, and a laptop. Democracy Prep employees work on a hybrid schedule with three days based in our New York City office and two days at home each week. Some evenings and weekends will be required, including attendance at board meetings, fundraising events, or other network events.

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Democracy Prep is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, or ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, veteran or military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, familial status, domestic violence victim status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. Our mission is to educate responsible citizen-scholars who will change the world. We strongly believe that by building a DREAM team that represents numerous perspectives, backgrounds, and expertises, we can achieve this goal together. This is a value we highly support and strongly encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply.

Democracy Prep Public Schools seeks a dynamic and strategic Managing Director of Special Services to lead the vision, strategy, and execution of Special Services across the network. As a senior leader within the Charter Management Organization (CMO), the Managing Director of Special Services ensures that students with diverse learning needs — including Students with Disabilities (SWDs), Multilingual Learners (MLLs), and students requiring additional academic and behavioral supports — receive high-quality services that enable them to achieve ambitious academic outcomes. This leader is responsible for building a cohesive vision for special services that ensures strong compliance, effective service delivery, and meaningful academic progress for all students receiving support.  They will simultaneously support strong execution of current programming while building the strategic plan that transitions the network into an effective MTSS model. The Managing Director partners closely with school leaders, Deputy Superintendents, and CMO teams to ensure that Special Services systems are aligned with core academic priorities, operational systems, and talent development. Critically, the Managing Director of Special Services will partner closely with the Managing Director of Academics and CAO to build and execute a unified vision in which all scholars — across all learning needs and profiles — access rigorous, standards-aligned instruction and achieve ambitious outcomes. This role combines deep expertise in special education and effective development of pedagogy for multilingual learners  with strong leadership, strategic planning, and cross-functional collaboration.

Set and Advance the Vision for Special Services

Establish and communicate a clear, compelling vision for Special Services across the network as well as the pathway to achieve that vision over time.

Partner with the Managing Director of Academics to ensure that students receiving services have access to rigorous, standards-aligned instruction within inclusive academic environments.

Align Special Services strategy with Democracy Prep’s academic priorities and organizational strategic plan.