Senior Director, Research & Insights
DonorsChoose
Unknown
Full-Time
$2
RemoteDirector
At DonorsChoose, we believe every student deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive. We also know that too many public school classrooms lack the resources students need to reach their full potential.
Since 2000, DonorsChoose has connected teachers who know exactly what their students need with generous supporters who want to help. Together, more than 6 million people and partners have contributed nearly $2 billion to fund classroom resources and experiences for students across the country. Today, teachers at more than 90% of U.S. public schools have used DonorsChoose to bring learning to life for their students.
Our impact extends beyond delivering classroom resources. Every teacher request gives us a unique window into what's happening in America's classrooms: from emerging learning trends to the evolving needs of students and educators. These insights help inform our own strategy and equip partners across philanthropy, business, and education with a deeper understanding of where opportunity exists and where support can make the greatest difference. By combining the expertise of teachers with the generosity of supporters, we're helping unlock the potential of every student while building a stronger future for public education.
DonorsChoose has been recognized as a best place to work by GOOD Magazine and the Nonprofit Times, while Fast Company named DonorsChoose one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies in the Worldthe first time a charity has made this list. Our dedicated team works from across the United States to bring classroom dreams to life.
The Impact & Insights team exists to help DonorsChoose become the most trusted source of insights about America's classrooms. We believe teachers are among the first to see emerging needs, changing student experiences, and new opportunitiesand that those closest to classrooms should help shape the conversations happening far beyond them.
By combining educator perspectives, research, data, and organizational intelligence, we produce insights that inform strategy, strengthen fundraising, shape partnerships, and help leaders across education, philanthropy, and business better understand where opportunity exists for students.
DonorsChoose is seeking a Senior Director of Research & Insights. Reporting to the Chief Impact & Insights Officer, this role is not a traditional research leadership role. While research rigor and methodological expertise matter, the primary value of this position is helping DonorsChoose build an organizational intelligence capability rooted in classroom resource needs that informs strategy, influences decisions, strengthens fundraising, shapes partnerships, and advances student opportunity.
This context matters for a K12 organization like ours, as we are not seeking someone whose primary orientation is academic research, publication, or evaluation for its own sake. We are seeking a strategic thinker and translator who can identify meaningful signals, connect disparate sources of information, generate relevant intelligence, identify where classroom realities intersect with broader opportunities, and help leaders act on what we learn.
We believe one of DonorsChoose's greatest strategic advantages is our proximity to America's classrooms. Teachers are often the first to see emerging student needs, changing classroom experiences, and new opportunities. The successful candidate will share our belief that these perspectives are not simply stories to collect: they are strategic signals to investigate, synthesize, and translate into intelligence that helps others make better decisions.
We're looking for someone with informed perspectives and a deep curiosity about K12 education, but also the intellectual humility to let evidence shape (and sometimes change) their thinking.
This role sits at the intersection of education, research, data, strategy, and organizational learning. The ideal candidate is a builder, combining strong analytical instincts with exceptional communication skills. This role may be for you if youre equally comfortable discussing survey methodology, collaborating with data scientists, briefing a wide range of internal and external stakeholders on insights, shaping a funder narrative, and speaking externally about what educators are experiencing.
Within the first year, this leader will:
Our compensation philosophy ensures that we are both externally competitive with tech-forward nonprofits of a similar size and internally fair in our pay practices. The following ranges represent the target offer range given the scope and experience expectations for this role.
Once employees are hired, everyone at DonorsChoose is eligible to receive annual performance-based raises as they grow in their role. We are open to a variety of experiences, and recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced or more senior than this job description as posted. If you dont check every box listed here, or you know youd bring additional experience to the table, we hope youll submit your application.
In addition, we offer full-time staff 25 paid vacation days per year and 11 paid holidays, a rich employer-paid individual and family health plan, a matching 401(k) plan (up to 5% of base salary), annual professional development stipend, and casual and flexible work environment. To learn more about what it is like to work for DonorsChoose, visit our careers page.
In this role, youll have the option to work a flexible hybrid schedule in our NYC office, or to work fully remotely from CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, MA, MD, MI, MN, NC, NJ, NY, OR, PA, TN, TX, VA, WA, or WI.
Candidates who are not in the NYC area should expect to travel to our NYC office on an as-needed basis, about 4-6 times per year. All work-related travel expenses will be covered by the organization.
DonorsChoose participates in E-Verify. We will provide the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from each new employees Form I-9 to confirm work authorization.
An important note on communications: All messages from our hiring team will come from an official @donorschoose.org email address. If you ever receive a message about a role with us from a different domain, its not from us, and you should not reply or click on any links. We care deeply about your time, your privacy, and your experiencethank you for your interest in joining the DonorsChoose mission!
EQUITY
Combating systemic inequity is crucial to a brighter future for all. This reality fuels our ambitions and drives us to persevere.
INTEGRITY
We strive to do right. Were up-front about the facts. We boldly learn and grow from mistakes.
GRATITUDE
We begin and end with thanks. We take joy in our mission, our communities, and each other.
Please submit your resume and answer the application questions online. Since were trying to get to know you through our hiring process, we ask that you please refrain from using AI writing tools to craft your response to our application questions. A cover letter is optional and may be addressed to Kristina Steen Lyles, Chief Impact & Insights Officer.
A Final Note
The DonorsChoose team works toward a nation where students in every community have the resources needed for an excellent education. To do this we hire and support a diverse team of the best and the brightest talent available because it makes us more effective, high-performing, creative and resilient. If you are passionate about our mission, highly skilled in your field, and looking for a place where you can bring all of yourself to work, we want you.