Director, School Leader Recruitment and Selection

Office:

Office of Schools

Date Posted:

7/1/2026

Salary Range:

1-5 / $115,320 - $130,146

NTE Date:

N/A

Position Overview

The Office of Schools is responsible for effective management, operation and achievement of schools and provides leadership to principals, administrators, and teachers to ensure academic excellence for all students.

Divisions/Teams

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Instructional Superintendents are responsible for managing (1) the leadership of their assigned schools, (2) the performance of their assigned schools, and (3) the operations of their assigned schools. The core focus of the Instructional Superintendents is to ensure that high-quality instruction is delivered in their schools, by continually assessing the quality of curriculum, instruction, and assessment at the school level.

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School Leader Recruitment, Selection, and Development leads the strategic vision and implementation of the Equity-Centered Pipeline Initiative, building comprehensive and aligned principal pipelines grounded in the seven critical domains identified by Wallace. Their work ensures DC Public Schools recruits, selects, and develops exceptional school leaders who can bring the district’s vision of equity to life. In addition to designing and delivering robust instructional leadership programs, the team works to strengthen school leader recruitment and selection processes. By aligning these efforts with leadership development, they ensure coherence across the pipeline and improve the district’s ability to identify and support equity-centered leaders. Their programming focuses on instructional excellence, data analysis, targeted intervention, and capacity building within schools. The team also triangulates qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate leadership initiatives and ensure alignment with the developmental needs of school leaders.

School Leader Recruitment, Selection, and Development leads the strategic vision and implementation of the Equity-Centered Pipeline Initiative, building comprehensive and aligned principal pipelines grounded in the seven critical domains identified by Wallace. Their work ensures DC Public Schools recruits, selects, and develops exceptional school leaders who can bring the district’s vision of equity to life. In addition to designing and delivering robust instructional leadership programs, the team works to strengthen school leader recruitment and selection processes. By aligning these efforts with leadership development, they ensure coherence across the pipeline and improve the district’s ability to identify and support equity-centered leaders. Their programming focuses on instructional excellence, data analysis, targeted intervention, and capacity building within schools. The team also triangulates qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate leadership initiatives and ensure alignment with the developmental needs of school leaders.

The School Leader Recruitment and Selection team leads the district’s innovative efforts to identify outstanding school leaders through individualized, targeted recruitment efforts and to select top talent to lead our schools. The Director, School Leader Recruitment and Selection will set the strategic vision for the School Leader Recruitment and Selection team and drive the team’s work to meet ambitious goals related to recruiting and selecting the best school leaders for DC Public Schools.
This position has been designated as Protection Sensitive. Pursuant to section 410 of Chapter 4 of the D.C. Personnel Regulations; in addition to the general suitability screening, individuals applying for or occupying protection sensitive positions are subject to the following checks and tests: Criminal background check; Sex Offender Registry check; Pre-employment drug and alcohol test; Traffic record check (as applicable); Reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol test; and Post-accident or incident drug and alcohol test.
The Director, School Leader Recruitment and Selection will report to the Deputy Chief, School Leader Recruitment, Selection, and Development .

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The below statements are intended to describe the general nature and scope of work being performed by this position. This is not a complete listing of all responsibilities, duties, and/or skills required. Other duties may be assigned.

• Manages, develops, and executes the design and implementation of an innovative and targeted strategic plan for recruitment and selection best practices, and diversity and inclusion strategies for outstanding principals, assistant principals, and Instructional coaches to join DCPS.

• Leads a team of one to five full-time staff members, in addition to approximately 50 DCPS principals, assistant principals, and central office leaders, who support various aspects of the selection process, such as phone interviews and in-person interviews.

• Determines clear, specific, and aggressive performance metrics to guide work; analyzes relevant data; tracks progress; and intervenes as needed to ensure team success.

• Collaborates with the chiefs of schools, instructional superintendents, school leaders, and central office stakeholders to understand targeted recruitment needs, provide differentiated support, and escalate issues when necessary to ensure that all school leader vacancies are filled in a timely manner.

• Works closely with school leaders, teachers, and central office staff to develop a deep understanding of the unique needs and cultures in schools across the district.

• Builds relationships with senior district leadership and collaborates with central office staff across various departments and school based staff across DCPS.

• Builds relationships with executives in other school districts and states across the country in order to learn from examples of good practice.

• Determines clear, specific, and ambitious performance metrics; analyzes relevant data; tracks progress; and intervenes as necessary to ensure success.

• Responds effectively to requests from internal and external DCPS stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and five to seven years of related work experience.

• Master's degree preferred.

• Previous exposure to or experience in the education sector a plus.

• Three years of experience managing an inclusive talent recruitment and/or selection process preferred.

• Outstanding interpersonal, teamwork, and management skills.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

• Strong organizational skills, including keen attention to detail, and ability to meet critical deadlines.

• Excellent time management and a willingness to work non-standard hours.

• Ability to work independently and be a self-starter, while collaborating with others on meeting common goals.

• Strong acumen engaging in conversations and producing work products that are centered in equity and inclusion best practices.

• Experience managing others strongly preferred.

DCPS Values

• STUDENTS FIRST: We recognize students as whole children and put their needs first in everything we do.

• COURAGE: We have the audacity to learn from our successes and failures, to try new things, and to lead the nation as a proof point of PK-12 success.

• EQUITY: We work proactively to eliminate opportunity gaps by interrupting institutional bias and investing in effective strategies to ensure every student succeeds.

• EXCELLENCE: We work with integrity and hold ourselves accountable for exemplary outcomes, service, and interactions.

• TEAMWORK: We recognize that our greatest asset is our collective vision and ability to work collaboratively and authentically.

• JOY: We enjoy our collective work and will enthusiastically celebrate our success and each other.

We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to creating an inclusive, accessible workplace. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals with disabilities. Accommodation and/or application assistance is available upon request at all stages of the application and employment process. To request accommodation, please contact dcps.eeo-ada@k12.dc.gov.