Associate Director for Policy and Communications

University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA); Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 111,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

UCLA Center for Community Schooling seeks an Associate Director for Policy and Communications to provide advanced academic leadership, translating research findings into actionable policy recommendations for community school implementation and practice.

The role advances scholarly communications, publications, and dissemination to diverse audiences while coordinating university-school district partnerships at the state and national levels.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or equivalent in Education, Public Policy, Educational Leadership, Social Sciences, or related field.
• Significant progressively responsible experience in academic program development, educational research, policy analysis, or research-practice partnerships.
• Demonstrated expertise in educational policy, community schools, public education systems, or related areas of educational transformation.

Responsibilities

• Provide advanced academic leadership translating research into policy recommendations and resources for community school implementation.
• Lead development of policy briefs, reports, testimony, and scholarly publications for local, state, and national audiences.
• Collaborate with faculty and research teams to analyze statewide CCSPP implementation and evaluation data to inform policy and practice.
• Represent the Center on statewide and national committees, professional associations, and policy forums.

Skills

Policy analysis

Educational research

Research-practice partnerships

Education

Master's degree in Education/Policy/Leadership or related field

Significant experience in academic program development/research/policy analysis

Demonstrated expertise in educational policy/community schools

Job description

Position Overview

Position title: Associate Director for Policy and Communications

Salary range: See Table 36: t36 for the salary range for this position. A reasonable estimate for the annual salary for this position is $111,002 - $240,000

Position description

Summary of organization/unit

The UCLA Center for Community Schooling advances democracy, justice, and public education by helping schools become vibrant, community-centered places where young people learn and thrive. Bringing research, policy, and practice into close conversation, the Center partners with students, families, educators, and public agencies to support meaningful and lasting school transformation. This work is grounded in long-term research-practice partnerships with the two UCLA Community Schools in LAUSD, where democratic values and community voice shape everyday learning. At the state level, the Center co-leads California's $4 billion Community School Partnership Program, supporting more than 2,000 public schools and reaching over one million students and families. Through applied research and implementation support, the Center demonstrates how universities can be powerful partners in advancing equitable, community-driven change.

UCLA has established and maintained an active program of engaged scholarship and research at the UCLA Community School since 2009, when the school opened. Given the success of the UCLA Community School and the establishment of the Mann UCLA Community School in 2016, the UCLA Center for Community Schooling was established to study and share research and practice at both sites-supported by a Regional Training Center grant from the University of Pennsylvania to expand university-assisted community schools on the West Coast.

Since that time, the UCLA Center for Community Schooling has become a nationally recognized leader in community school transformation. Its work synthesizes emerging research, rigorous documentation of practice, and strategies for continuous improvement to generate insights and tools that support educators and communities.

Description of position

The Associate Director for Policy and Communications will work closely with the Co-Directors for the UCLA Center for Community Schooling to provide advanced academic program leadership that strengthens the Center's capacity to connect educational research, policy, and practice. Through independent coordination of complex academic initiatives, scholarly publications, research translation, and institutional partnerships, the position will contribute to the Center's statewide and national impact while advancing UCLA's mission of research, public service, and community engagement.

The Associate Director will play a critical role in translating the Center's research and evaluation findings into actionable policy recommendations, scholarly publications, and resources that inform educational practice and systems change. Working collaboratively with faculty directors, principal investigators, researchers, policymakers, and community partners, the incumbent will lead academic initiatives that strengthen the Center's influence on community school policy, implementation, and institutional development.

The position requires substantial expertise in educational policy, research translation, community school systems, and research-practice partnerships. The incumbent will exercise a high degree of independent academic judgment in developing and coordinating complex initiatives, representing the Center in academic and policy settings, and advancing the dissemination and application of research findings.

The Associate Director will also provide intellectual and programmatic leadership for the Center's scholarly communications, including serving as Associate Editor of the Center's journal, developing policy briefs and research publications, and coordinating the dissemination of findings to diverse audiences.

Primary responsibilities

A. Academic Policy Leadership and Research Translation

• Provide advanced academic leadership in translating research and evaluation findings into policy recommendations and resources that inform community school implementation and educational systems change.
• Lead the development of research-informed policy briefs, reports, legislative testimony, and scholarly publications for local, state, and national audiences.
• Collaborate with faculty directors, principal investigators, and research teams to analyze and synthesize complex research findings, including statewide CCSPP implementation and evaluation data, to inform educational policy and practice.
• Identify emerging educational policy issues and opportunities to apply the Center's research to state and national policy discussions.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and provide research-based consultation to policymakers, educational organizations, philanthropic partners, and public agencies.

B. Scholarly Communications and Publications

• Provide academic leadership for the Center's scholarly communications and research dissemination initiatives to expand the reach and impact of its scholarship.
• Serve as Associate Editor of the Center's journal, establishing editorial priorities and coordinating the development, review, and publication of scholarly articles and research-based resources.
• Develop and implement research dissemination strategies that effectively communicate complex findings to researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and institutional partners.
• Collaborate with faculty and research teams to identify publication opportunities and ensure scholarly materials maintain academic quality and accurately reflect research findings.
• Coordinate academic convenings, presentations, and other dissemination activities that elevate the Center's research and contributions to the field.

C. State and National Academic and Policy Partnerships

• Lead academic and policy engagement initiatives that strengthen the Center's role as a state and national resource for community school research and implementation.
• Represent the Center's research and academic initiatives on statewide and national committees, professional associations, policy forums, and educational networks.
• Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with universities, school districts, public agencies, research organizations, and other institutional partners.
• Monitor emerging research, policy developments, and implementation trends in community schools and related fields, including health, social services, and workforce development.
• Identify opportunities for collaborative research, policy engagement, and academic initiatives that advance the application of research to educational policy and practice.

D. Academic Partnership and Program Development

• Provide advanced academic coordination and program development expertise to strengthen research-practice partnerships and expand university-assisted community school models.
• Collaborate with faculty leadership, university administrators, school districts, and community partners to develop and sustain research-practice partnerships.
• Provide subject matter expertise in developing memoranda of understanding, institutional partnership frameworks, and implementation resources that support university-school district collaboration.
• Lead the coordination of academic and programmatic planning for university-assisted community school partnerships, identifying opportunities and strategies for sustainable institutional engagement.
• Contribute to the development of professional learning opportunities, academic convenings, and technical assistance initiatives that support community school implementation.

E. Strategic Academic Program Coordination and Evaluation

• Provide high-level academic coordination and oversight of initiatives that advance the Center's research, policy, and dissemination objectives.
• Collaborate with Center leadership to establish academic priorities, strategic objectives, and implementation plans for policy engagement and scholarly communications.
• Independently coordinate complex academic initiatives involving faculty, researchers, academic staff, and external institutional partners.
• Develop evaluation measures, assess program outcomes, and prepare substantive reports and recommendations to inform academic planning and continuous improvement.
• Contribute to the development of proposals and funding opportunities that support the Center's research, policy, and academic initiatives.

Qualifications

Basic qualifications

• Master's degree in Education, Public Policy, Educational Leadership, Social Sciences, or a closely related field.
• Significant progressively responsible experience in academic program development, educational research, policy analysis, or research-practice partnerships.
• Demonstrated expertise in educational policy, community schools, public education systems, or related areas of educational transformation.

Preferred qualifications

• Extensive experience in educational research, policy analysis, community school implementation, or evaluation, including knowledge of California's Community Schools Partnership Program and related educational policy initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience translating complex research findings into scholarly publications, policy briefs, technical reports, and other materials for academic, professional, and policy audiences.
• Experience providing academic leadership and independently coordinating complex initiatives involving multiple institutional partners at the local, state, or national level.
• Demonstrated experience developing and sustaining research-practice partnerships with universities, school districts, public agencies, and community organizations, including university-assisted community school models.
• Experience in scholarly communications, including academic journal editing, research dissemination, and the development of publications that inform educational policy and practice.
• Excellent analytical, written, and oral communication skills, with demonstrated independent judgment, organizational leadership, and commitment to educational equity and community-engaged scholarship.

Application requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter - In the cover letter, please include a research statement of your past research activities and your research mission for this position.
• Reference check authorization release form - Complete and upload the reference check authorization release form
• UCLA Mission Statement - As the nation's premier public research university, UC's mission is the creation, dissemination, preservation and application of knowledge for the betterment of our global society. We have a particular responsibility to the people of California which we express in the excellence of the education we provide, the impact of the research we do, the comprehensive, life-saving medical services we provide, and the public service mission we are devoted to. The University of California promotes the social mobility of its students, equips them with the tools and experience that furthers their ambitions, and regards their accomplishments across the life span as evidence of the profoundly positive impact of higher education.

  The UCLA campus has expressed these goals in its strategic plan as follows:

  Deepen our engagement with Los Angeles

  Expand our reach as a global university

  Enhance our research and creative activities

  Elevate how we teach

  Become a more effective institution

  Prompt for candidates for recruitment:

  Reflecting on your personal and professional experiences, highlight your past contributions and future commitments to advancing UCLA's mission as embodied in the 2023-28 strategic plan. These accomplishments and ambitions may be discussed in the context of describing your teaching, scholarship, and service

• Statement of Teaching (Optional)

Reference requirements

• 3-5 letters of reference required

Applicants must provide the names and contact information of their references and must prompt the recruitment system to request letters to complete their application

About UCLA

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, Students and Third Parties
• APM - 035: Affijicative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

Job location

Los Angeles, CA