Director of Higher Education Strategy & Implementation

**Job Title:** Director of Higher Education Strategy & Implementation **Classification:** Full-Time @ 40 hrs/wk, Exempt, Work authorization is required **Salary Band:** Band 5, Director **Compensation:** $100,000 - $103,700 **Location:** Remote, work must be performed in California **Travel Requirements:** 20% of time (includes local travel and other travel within CA and the U.S.) **Department:** Higher Education **Reports To:** Director of Programs **Direct Reports:** This position supervises 1 position **ABOUT IMMIGRANTS RISING** Founded in 2006, Immigrants Rising transforms individuals and fuels broader changes. With resources and support, undocumented people are able to get an education, pursue careers, and build a brighter future for themselves and their community. For more information, visithttp://www.immigrantsrising.org. **ABOUT THE POSITION** The Director of Higher Education Strategy & Implementation provides strategic and operational leadership for Immigrants Rising’s higher education portfolio as a core pathway to educational access, persistence, and completion for undocumented students. This role is responsible for advancing a cohesive higher education approach that bridges direct services, affordability implementation, institutional partnerships, technical assistance, campus engagement, and statewide higher education strategy. The Director leads program strategy and execution, manages a growing team and portfolio of partners, and plays a central role in strengthening Immigrants Rising’s impact across colleges and universities. As a departmental leader, the Director of Higher Education Strategy & Implementation works closely with the Director of Programs and cross-functional teams to align higher education programming with Immigrants Rising’s broader mission, policy priorities, and organizational strategy. The role requires a balance of program leadership, people management, external partnership development, and a deep understanding of the structural barriers undocumented students face within postsecondary systems. This position carries responsibility for departmental outcomes, grant performance, institutional partnerships, and the continuous improvement of higher education programs and serves as a key strategist, coalition partner, and issue expert connecting on-the-ground implementation realities to the organization’s policy agenda. **KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES** **Strategy, Vision, and Program Leadership (Approximately 30% of the role)** - Set and advance a clear, cohesive higher education strategy aligned to Immigrants Rising’s strategic plan goals—including affordability implementation, institutional partnerships, technical assistance, campus engagement, and statewide higher education strategy—that advances equitable postsecondary access and success for undocumented students. - Identify opportunities to strengthen and adapt higher education models in response to student needs, institutional dynamics, and field-level trends. - Translate higher education policy, research, and program insights into programmatic direction and improvements. - Lead and manage Immigrants Rising’s institutional higher education partnerships, including relationship management, campus engagement, and statewide convenings. - Manage strategic partnerships with aligned organizations to expand the organization’s higher education reach, technical assistance capacity, and institutional influence. **Systems Change Leadership (Approximately 20% of the role)** - Serve as a senior programmatic leader and issue expert advancing Immigrants Rising’s higher education agenda across external advocacy campaigns, coalitions, and strategy spaces, ensuring postsecondary access and success remain central pathways within the organization’s broader economic mobility framework. - Partner closely with policy, research, and communications colleagues and external stakeholders to align higher education strategy with policy priorities, narrative change efforts,…