Senior Director, Technical Solutions
Junior Achievement
About Junior Achievement USA®
Junior Achievement is education for what’s next. As a strategic partner working in collaboration with educators, employers, investors, leaders, and the communities they serve, we are dedicated to helping students achieve academically today and economically tomorrow. As a leader in experiential learning operating on a national scale with over a century of experience, we are driving toward lasting change. This means ensuring a generation of students has the transferable skills and competencies needed to navigate a rapidly changing world. By delivering career-connected learning, we are invested in accelerating economic mobility through education. By helping students become confident, capable, and connected today, we can ensure they have access to opportunity-filled futures tomorrow. Junior Achievement reaches more than 4.6 million students annually across nearly 100 U.S. markets, and is part of JA Worldwide, which serves over 19.9 million students in more than 100 countries. Learn more at www.ja.org.
Position Summary
The Senior Director, Technical Solutions, will work with the assigned project advocates and leads on the overall delivery of education software. This position will report to the Vice President of Education Delivery and Technology Solutions. The primary focus of the position is to understand all education technology needs, manage/balance requests and requirements across these platforms, and ensure updates and delivery are within scope, schedule, and budget. They will work across the education team, JA USA departments, and JA Areas to ensure that the creation and maintenance of solutions are the best solution for the user and address the challenges of a changing market. The position will work closely with vendors and JA stakeholders to ensure effective delivery of these solutions, updates, enhancements, and issues. They will be responsible for communicating status across the organization as well as to donors and management. They will use expertise in software delivery to work with the various teams to test and deploy the solutions. A strong background in software development, especially web technologies, is highly advantageous for this role. The ability to analyze technical issues across web properties, interpret error logs, and propose innovative solutions is essential.
Essential Functions
- Oversee coordination and scheduling across all projects in development and associated technology implementation through a proven production methodology and implementation.
- Actively work with JA education departments, especially Field Program services and User Experience on development and engagement of JA Areas, co-creation with users, and testing to inform program releases and ensure successful outcomes.
- Collaborate with technology vendors to architect and implement solutions that align with organizational needs, leveraging deep technical expertise to evaluate options and troubleshoot issues.
- Serve as a technical liaison between vendors and JA staff, translating complex technical concepts into accessible language for non-technical stakeholders.
- Work closely with internal IT infrastructure teams to prepare, maintain, and optimize environments for education technology platforms.
- Develop and document processes and requirements as needed across all technology projects, including ensuring internal and user feedback, good decision-making, efficiency, and continual improvement.
- Direct key solutions associated with the development and implementation of the systems, to include but not limited to, 1) collaborate with field program services, design, development, and technology teams on project plans, and 2) identify and manage key vendors and contractors.
- Lead troubleshooting efforts for setup and operational issues, driving innovation and continuous improvement in technology solutions.
- Coordinate key meetings and decisions with Education department leadership.
- Actively participate in meetings as required for Education group committees, projects, JA USA, JA Areas, or donor relations.
- Manage and update backend configurations and systems as needed, including system administration of JA’s learning management system (LMS) and other systems as directed.
- Works with vendors on business solutions while coordinating with IT on education solutions and integrations.
- Builds or manages required communication, instructional, and training materials associated with learning technology solutions.
- Performs quality assurance and testing on releases as needed.
- Manages associated budget(s) and provide reporting as required.
- Performs other job-related duties as assigned or requested.
- Maintains clear processes for communication amongst project managers around projects’ status, issues, risks, and decisions.
- Collaborates across JA USA departments to meet program milestones and goals.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years of relevant work experience in education product development and/or systems development and delivery, including direct experience managing software development teams and IT operations.
- Solid understanding of current education and/or technology trends.
- A deep experience in various project management and business analysis processes (scheduling, requirements gathering, etc.)
- Extensive experience in using collaborative project team tools.
- Attention to quality in managing and delivering products and systems.
- Demonstrated expertise in web technologies, including diagnosing and resolving issues in web-based platforms.
- Proven ability to communicate technical solutions effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Experience bridging communication gaps between technology vendors and internal stakeholders.
Desired Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in technology, education, or related field or equivalent education/experience.
- Demonstrated success in managing education products and working with learning technologies system projects throughout their life cycle.
- Experience with Agile project management.
- Experience using collaborative project management tools (i.e., MS Project, DevOps, JIRA, Asana, ClickUp, Monday, Workfront, or other).
- Attention to quality in managing and implementing products and systems.
- Experience using Learning Management Systems and hands-on system administration.
- Hands-on experience with web infrastructure, cloud environments, and modern web application frameworks.
- Ability to read and interpret code and understand software logic, regardless of programming language, to support troubleshooting, vendor collaboration, and solution design.
- Track record of driving innovation in technology solutions within a collaborative, multi-team environment.
Benefits
JA USA’s health care benefits provide coverage when needed—focusing on programs that support and encourage healthy living and your overall well-being. We offer medical, dental, vision, life insurance, long-term disability, holidays, paid time off, and 401(k).
Our Commitment
At JA USA, we believe that our success is directly tied to our ability to foster an environment where all individuals have access to opportunities and can thrive. We are deeply committed to creating a workplace where inclusion and belonging are not just principles but lived experiences. This commitment drives us to attract, develop, retain, and promote a workforce that mirrors the communities we serve, bringing together a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and talents.
We embrace the unique contributions that every JA USA employee brings to our mission and encourage individuals from all backgrounds to join our team. By welcoming various voices, we continue to expand our understanding of the world, and we actively seek to elevate representation of different individual experiences and the perspectives they shape.
We are dedicated to fostering an environment where everyone feels respected, valued, and heard—where people can be their authentic selves and know that they belong. This is how we build a workplace where every individual can succeed, and where we work together to create lasting impact for the young people and communities we serve.
Additional Information
JA USA does not provide sponsorship for employment visas for this position. All candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for sponsorship, now or in the future.