Director, French Language Program & Curriculum
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
Nelson is seeking a Director to lead the French Language Program & Curriculum for Edwin. You will guide strategy, manage internal and external experts, and align with policy and market needs while collaborating across Content & Curriculum, Strategy, Classroom Success, Sales, Engineering, Design and Marketing to grow Edwin.
The role requires a Bachelor’s (B.Ed in French preferred), 7–8 years in K-12 French education, strong leadership, and a track record of successful products.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree required, preferably a B.Ed. with specialization in French and K-12 experience.
- Fully bilingual.
- 7-8 years’ experience in the K-12 French language education market across teaching, product/content, market research, and customer success.
- Proven track record launching and managing profitable products and services.
- Strong knowledge of K-12 Francophone curricula (FFL and FSL) and translating trends into engaging learning.
- Experience with assessment strategies and digital resources including AI tools.
- Portfolio planning with contingency foresight.
- Strong problem solving and communication; comfortable with ambiguity.
- SaaS experience with agile teams; UX/product design is a plus.
Responsibilities
- Conduct market research to identify opportunities and define the products, services, and solutions that best serve them.
- Collaborate with Content & Curriculum, Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success to guide Edwin content.
- Launch innovative French content, assessment, and features; test and iterate performance.
- Lead content conceptualization and instructional design using market data and customer insights.
- Work with cross‑functional teams to develop new content strategies and services.
- Recruit, train, and mentor a French Language team of educators and SMEs.
- Provide thought leadership and occasional travel for school leadership and ministries.
- Oversee portfolio goals, budgets, and go‑to‑market content strategies.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
At Nelson, we’ve been shaping the future of education for children and youth across Canada for over 110 years.As the country’s largest K-12 education content provider, we remain dedicated to our legacy of looking forward, paving the way in creating boundless, accessible, and engaging learning experiences for all.
Our innovative solutions, including Edwin, our digital learning platform, provide curriculum-aligned content that support diverse learning styles while fostering critical thinking, creativity, and lifelong learning. We listen intently to the unique needs of educators, students, and administrators everywhere, and continuously evolve what we do and build to improve their lives daily.
The Director, French Language Program & Curriculum reports to the Vice President, Content & Curriculum. This role drives the vision, strategy, and growth of Nelson's French Language portfolios on Edwin. Core responsibilities include leading a team of internal specialists and external contributors, identifying new product opportunities, setting instructional direction based on French language policy, curriculum, and market needs, and providing editorial leadership for French freelance authors, subject matter experts, and digital asset creators. The role is accountable for portfolio goals, budgets, competitive positioning, market feedback, and efficacy. The Director collaborates across all functions of the business and regularly conducts customer-facing research to inform and validate portfolio decisions. This role will work closely with the Content & Curriculum, Strategy, Classroom Success, Sales, Engineering, Design, and Marketing teams to address customer needs and develop go-to-market content strategies that grow and retain the Edwin customer base.
- Conduct market research to identify opportunities and define the products, services, and solutions that best serve them.
- Liaise with Content & Curriculum, Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success to identify key teaching, learning, and assessment trends and challenges that shape Edwin content and grow its user base.
- Launch innovative French content, assessment, and features, testing performance and iterating quickly.
- Lead subject‑area content conceptualization, assessment, and instructional design by synthesizing market research, Customer Success insights, and customer experience data while balancing customer needs with curriculum outcomes.
- Work across teams (Content & Curriculum, Content Services, Commercial, Product Engineering and Design) to develop and launch new and revised content strategies and services.
- Build relationships with Francophone authors, educators, school boards, and subject matter experts who inform product development.
- Lead and develop a high-functioning internal team of French and Francophone subject matter experts, plus external freelance authors, SMEs, and educator reviewers.
- Embrace CRRP and UDL best practices and a culture of collaboration, agile development, and innovation to build a pipeline of ideas that expand and retain Edwin’s market.
- Provide subject‑area thought leadership internally and externally, including occasional travel and public speaking to school leadership, educators, ministries of education, and at internal meetings.
- Apply a deep understanding of Nelson's corporate vision to the strategy of the French Language portfolio to optimize growth, improve product performance, and drive success metrics for Edwin.
- Bachelor’s degree required, preferably a B.Ed. with a specialization in French, French Studies, or Francophone Studies, plus significant K-12 French language curriculum and instructional experience.
- Fully bilingual
- 7-8 years’ experience in the K-12 French language education market, spanning teaching, product and content development, market research, and customer success.
- Demonstrated / documented success defining or sourcing, launching, and managing profitable products and services.
- Proven track record of effectively engaging the target market: prospective and existing customers, partners, and other stakeholders.
- Strong knowledge of the K-12 Francophone and French language education sector, including FFL and FSL (Core, Extended, and Immersion) curricula, and the ability to translate curriculum and pedagogical trends into engaging learning experiences.
- Experience developing assessment strategies that support assessment for, as, and of learning and strengthen the teaching and learning cycle.
- Understanding of the K-12 French resource landscape, including traditional resources alongside digital platforms and generative AI tools.
- Short-, medium-, and long-range portfolio planning, with the flexibility to pivot on market needs and the foresight to plan contingencies.
- Proactively identifies risks and develops contingency plans.
- Strong Francophone market connections and ability to identify, recruit, train, mentor, and grow a French Language team of educators and subject matter experts.
- Understanding of how research and pedagogy apply to product design, with attention to detail and a commitment to accuracy, quality, and on‑time delivery.
- Experience managing, leading, and mentoring a team.
- Articulate, with constructive negotiation skills.
- Comfortable with ambiguity and change, with strong problem‑solving and communication skills
- SaaS business experience, working with technology teams in an agile environment; UX and product design experience a plus.
You are a results-oriented leader, strategic problem-solver, innovator, creative thinker who’s proactive, hardworking, resourceful, well connected in the Francophone and French Second Language education systems, and good at noticing the details while keeping the big picture in mind.
The base salary range for this permanent full-time position starts at $122,000 per annum based on experience. This position may also be eligible for performance‑related incentive pay. Compensation is part of our broader Total Rewards package, which includes benefits and programs that support employee well‑being and growth.
At Nelson, we believe in taking care of our people.
Your well‑being, growth, and work‑life balance matter to us, which is why we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support you—professionally and personally.
- Flexible and customizable health, dental, and paramedical plans for employees and their families
- Health Spending Account (HSA) for medical, hospital, or dental costs not covered by insurance
- Personal Spending Account (PSA) for wellness expenses, including fitness and health related products
- A comprehensive Employee Assistance Program (EAP) providing confidential support spanning from mental health services to financial counselling, and many things in‑between
- Pension plan with company matching contributions
- Registered Retirement Pension Plan to help secure your future
- Annual educational reimbursement for professional development
- Access to LinkedIn Learning for continuous skill growth
- Hybrid work model with remote and in‑office options
- Flexible work hours (divisional dependent)
- Generous paid time off policies, including vacation time, sick leave, parental leave top‑up, personal days, and more
- Annual paid volunteer day to support causes you care about
- Holiday closure from Christmas to New Year’s
- Summer Fridays
Nelson teaches the world by learning from everyone in it.
We are committed to fostering an equitable, diverse, and inclusive workplace environment. This is an integral part of our company’s culture and mission that aligns with our four key pillars of Employee Diversity, Developing Authentic and Accurate Content, Amplifying External Voices, and Supporting the Local Community and Beyond.
We believe in the power of education and our ability to impact social change. Truth, honesty, integrity, and respect guide our decisions and actions in the development of learning solutions that empower success for all educators and learners.
We value a respectful, inclusive, and safe workplace that nurtures belonging and represents many different cultures, backgrounds, perspectives, and opinions. Everyone is free to be who they are.
We foster and continue to build relationships that are equitable, diverse, and inclusive with existing and future partners in education.
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Directeur ou directrice du programme et du curriculum de langue française
ChezNelson, nous façonnons l'avenir de l'éducation pour les enfants et
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