Program Associate, Literacy

About WestEd

As a community of over 1,400 researchers, practitioners, consultants, and administrative professionals from all backgrounds and life experiences, we are committed to making a qualitative difference in the lives of youth, children, and adults. We conduct and apply research, develop evidence-based solutions, and provide consulting services across the country in both rural and urban communities to improve equitable outcomes for individuals from infancy through adulthood. Serving as trusted partners in the areas of education, health, and justice, our teams enhance capacity within communities and school districts to prioritize impact - asking the right questions, customizing methodologies, developing relevant tools, and implementing best practices specific to a diverse range of stakeholder needs.

WestEd supports individual initiative, excellence, and hard work of all individuals in our hiring and work practices. WestEd complies with all applicable federal and state anti-discrimination laws, as well as OFCCP requirements. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, or status as a protected veteran.

SPECIAL NOTICE REGARDING THE WORK LOCATION OF THIS POSITION-Although WestEd provides the option of working at one of its facilities for employees, many roles allow employees to choose to work remotely for their own convenience. The decision to allow remote work at the employee's convenience is based on the requirements of the position or project in question.

About the Team:

WestEd's Language and Literacy team is a collaborative group of researchers, practitioners, and professional learning designers united by a shared commitment to equity and excellence in literacy education. We partner with schools, districts, and state education agencies to strengthen literacy outcomes for all learners through professional learning design and facilitation, instructional coaching, curriculum development, and program evaluation across grade levels and contexts. We bring both rigor and care to everything we do, grounding our practice in research while centering the assets and experiences of the educators and students we serve. Our work reflects deep expertise supporting multilingual learners, students who struggle with reading, and educators working in diverse and under-resourced settings.

Responsibilities:

Professional Learning Design and Facilitation (65%)

• Design and facilitate high-quality online and in-person literacy professional learning for teachers, coaches, and instructional leaders.
• Provide coaching and implementation support for teachers, coaches, and instructional leaders.
• Communicate effectively with a range of stakeholders (teachers, school administrators, and district leaders) and foster an effective, assets-based learning climate.
• Use formative and summative data from professional learning experiences to document professional progress and surface implementation successes/challenges to support iterative improvement of program design.
• Stay current with literacy research and emerging policy contexts (e.g., the Science of Reading, structured literacy mandates, multilingual learner policy) to ensure professional learning reflects evidence-based literacy practices.

Curriculum Design (25 %)

• Collaborate with the Literacy team, teachers, and thought leaders to refine existing and develop new curriculum and resource materials.
• Use research to create materials and resources that build on the assets and meet the needs of diverse learners.
• Develop materials that bridge foundational skills and comprehension instruction across grade bands, including for intervention contexts and multilingual learners.

Institutional Engagement (10%)

• Participate in agency-wide trainings.
• Collaborate with the Language and Literacy team to contribute to the growth, visibility, and quality of literacy services and publications.
• Contribute to proposals, publications, or conference presentations that advance the team's visibility and extend the evidence base for literacy improvement.

What We Are Looking For

• Deep knowledge of the science of reading, including phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, and how these interact across development.
• Knowledge of disciplinary and academic literacy instruction at the secondary level.
• Understanding of assets-based approaches to literacy instruction for multilingual learners (ELs) and striving readers.
• Ability to use student data and program evaluation findings to inform instructional and professional learning recommendations.
• Master's degree in education, literacy, linguistics/applied linguistics, curriculum, or a related discipline.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience teaching inK-12 schools that support diverse populations.
• Minimum 3 years of experience designing and facilitating professional learning (workshops, institutes, virtual learning, etc.) for varied audiences, including design and facilitation for adult learners from diverse professional backgrounds.
• Minimum 3 years literacy coaching experience within a K-12 context.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, and collaboration skills; ability to work effectively with diverse staff, colleagues, and clients.

Additional Experiences of Interest (Preferred, not required)

• Experience designing writing-integrated literacy instruction.
• Experience with structured literacy or Science of Reading-aligned instructional approaches.
• Experience contributing to or supporting program evaluation, research-practice partnerships, or grant-funded initiatives.

Work Location and Travel

• This position is home based (remote).
• Ability to travel extensively (50% or more), including in-person facilitation at client sites, summer institutes, and team convening's across multiple states.

*Note: Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Successful candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

WestEd conducts a criminal background check and education verification for all new hires. Any offers of employment will be contingent on receiving a clear background check in accordance with applicable law.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

The full salary range for this position, WestEd level (10), is $92,000 to $143,000, but WestEd does not typically hire at or near the top of the salary range. The typical hiring range for this role is $92,000 to $115,000. The actual offer considers multiple factors, including but not limited to education, experience, internal equity, and other organizational needs.

In addition to the base salary, benefits include:

* 15% contribution toward retirement effective day 1 of employment and immediately 100% vested

* Pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Account option

* All health/welfare benefits are effective the first of the month following the hire date

* PTO: 19 days (increases to 21 days beginning the third year of employment), 12 paid holidays

* Life Insurance: value of 3x gross salary, max of 500k

* Opportunities for annual merit-based performance increases + annual incentives

* Professional development opportunities & mentorship program

For more details about our benefits, go to: https://www.wested.org/work-at-wested/#benefits WestEd is a Drug Free Employer and maintains a drug-free workplace. #LI-Remote #Circa-Remote

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)