ETCH Jobs of the Week 11/27/24
Algorithms gone wild! HR teams on fire! Is creativity dead? & other musings for your Thanksgiving holiday!
ETCH Jobs of the Week (JOTW) is a collaboration between ETCH (now The EdSheet at Whiteboard Advisors), your home for EdTech news and information; and my recruiting practice, Tenzing, which helps orgs positively impacting education efficiently attract, source, vet and hire mission-aligned talent.
Hi friends,
With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, here’s a mix of thought-provoking reads in case you’re looking to kill some time while watching my 2-9 New York Football Giants take on the 4-7 Dallas Cowboys on Thursday afternoon:
From Hiring to Firing: Entire HR team terminated after manager's own resume fails automated screening via The Economic Times - The manager, frustrated by the HR team’s struggle to find qualified candidates, decided to test the system by submitting his own resume—only to have it promptly and automatically rejected without any human review. Was the HR department fired for the system’s failure, or perhaps the HR Director remarked, “Hmmm… have you considered the possibility that you aren’t qualified for the job?”
Because we love piling on ATS’ and automated screening technology…
New Study Shows AI Resume Screeners Prefer White Male Candidates: Your 5-Step Blueprint to Prevent AI Discrimination in Hiring. You can see the original research paper here. The authors’ conclusions:
“We found that the models do not exhibit occupational biases, but rather reinforce societal ”defaults,” such as the preference for White and male identities. Further intersectional analyses showed that Black males are at the greatest disadvantage…”
This paper comes on the heels of Illinois joining Colorado and NYC in signing into law restrictions on the use of generative AI in HR processes, including recruitment, hiring, and promotion.
I was fortunate enough to meet Kevin Schroeder in Denver earlier this month, check out his Top 5 Takeaways from the Edweek Market Brief Summit, which addresses ways school districts are influencing product development and stretching their budgets, AI in education, cybersecurity, tailored and adaptable curriculum solutions, and navigating the current political and social climate.
If your venture is / will be pursuing funding in the next 12 months, check out the FOHE < > ETCH Angel Opportunities Newsletter to submit your company to get added to their private list that they send out to their network of EdTech Angels and Pre-seed investors. Thanks to Matt Tower (editor of this newsletter), Ray Batra, and Jake Weissbourd for putting this together.
EdTech Insiders Generative AI Map is a must-read / look at, which pulls from a database of 300 AI tools, and features 60 K-12 specific use cases.
And as usual, Claire Zau’s GSV’s AI News & Updates (11/25/24) is jam-packed with AI news nuggets that will keep you busy for the entire holiday, including Apple’s LLM Siri, Mistral’s Pixtral Large, Google Gemini Memory, GPT-4 Beats Doctors, Meta’s Llama Pivot, Microsoft AI Agents, Teams Language Interpreter, X sues Deepfake Deception Act.
Speaking of AI and algorithms, Kirby Ferguson asks Is Creativity Dead? in this brilliant NYT op-ed. There appears to be hope below the mainstream algorithm-driven tip of the iceberg. I would pair Ferguson’s piece with Patreon’s Jack Conte’s SXSW 2024 Keynote entitled Death of the Follower & the Future of Creativity on the Web.
My personal Thanksgiving tradition is to always read The Desolate Wilderness by Nathaniel Morton, which the WSJ publishes every year in the Editorial section. Here’s a link to the text that isn’t hidden behind the paywall.
Now, let’s get to the Jobs of the Week…
Location: Remote (United States)
Education Focus: Empowering developers with tools to securely connect devices and networks.
Mission: Tailscale simplifies secure networking for individuals and organizations, creating a safer and more connected Internet.
Job Summary: The Community Manager will grow and engage Tailscale’s developer community by building relationships with advocates, managing community programs, and sharing user feedback with internal teams. Responsibilities include implementing engagement strategies, driving user advocacy, fostering influencer partnerships, and aligning community initiatives with business goals. Ideal candidates have experience in community management, technical literacy, and a passion for developer advocacy.
Compensation: $163,000–$204,000 annually, plus equity and comprehensive benefits.
Director of Finance | Catalyst:Ed
Location: Remote
Education Focus: Capacity building for education organizations
Mission: To connect education organizations with the expertise and support they need to achieve transformational student outcomes, fostering equity and innovation in education.
Job Summary: Catalyst:Ed seeks a Director of Finance to lead its financial strategy and operations during a period of growth. Reporting to the CEO, this role combines strategic vision with operational management to ensure financial sustainability and compliance. Responsibilities include long-term financial planning, risk management, budgeting, and oversight of grant management. The Director will collaborate with leadership, manage outsourced accounting vendors, and provide insightful financial guidance to the executive team and Board. This position is essential in ensuring that financial systems are optimized to support the organization’s mission of advancing equity and excellence in education.
Compensation: $130,000–$160,000 annually, commensurate with experience, plus full benefits, including a 403(b) match, medical and dental insurance, and a generous leave policy.
Director, Strategic Engagements, Horizons Summit | Jobs for the Future
Location: Remote
Education Focus: Transforming education and workforce systems to ensure equitable access to quality jobs.
Mission: Jobs for the Future (JFF) works to transform U.S. education and workforce systems to achieve equitable economic advancement by breaking down systemic barriers, creating pathways to quality jobs for 75 million individuals by 2033.
Job Summary:
The Director of Strategic Engagements will lead JFF's annual Horizons Summit, a prominent event connecting leaders across education, workforce, and policy. This role includes managing event strategy, logistics, sponsorships, content development, and stakeholder engagement. Overseeing a team of 3-4, the Director will refine and grow the Summit, enhance attendee experiences, and build year-round engagement strategies. Key responsibilities involve managing budgets, fostering partnerships, developing diverse and inclusive event content, and scaling the Summit’s impact.
Compensation: $100,000–$125,000 annually, plus comprehensive benefits and remote work flexibility.
Location: New York City
Education Focus: Streamlining affordable allied healthcare training to create job-ready graduates for leading healthcare institutions.
Mission: Stepful revolutionizes vocational education by training individuals in under four months for healthcare roles, providing equitable access to fast-growing career opportunities.
Job Summary: The Compliance Manager will oversee regulatory compliance, manage state licensing, and ensure Stepful’s programs align with jurisdictional requirements. Responsibilities include writing and managing vocational school applications, preparing reports, liaising with regulatory bodies, and implementing policies in collaboration with the learning and operations teams. Ideal candidates have 3+ years of experience in consulting or public policy, strong research and communication skills, and thrive in cross-functional environments.
Compensation: $80,000–$100,000 annually
Manager, New Program Development | Evidence Action
Location: Hybrid (Washington, DC, USA)
Education Focus: Global health, nutrition, and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene).
Mission: Evidence Action scales proven, cost-effective solutions to improve global health and development outcomes, leveraging rigorous research and partnerships with national governments. Their work has positively impacted over 500M people, reducing preventable diseases and improving lives sustainably.
Job Summary:
As a Manager in New Program Development (NPD), you'll lead research and development of new health and nutrition programs for Evidence Action’s Accelerator. Responsibilities include conducting literature reviews, cost-effectiveness modeling, program design, and in-country feasibility assessments. You'll manage pilot implementations, refine interventions, and collaborate with cross-functional teams. Success in the role requires expertise in research, stakeholder management, and program evaluation.
Compensation: $66,100–$74,000/year, with comprehensive benefits including healthcare, retirement plans, and flexible leave options.
Need more hire power? Tenzing will do all the legwork (e.g., sourcing, vetting, and managing the hiring process) for half the cost of traditional headhunters.
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