Jacq Bennett Consulting

Director of Strategic Initiatives

Massachusetts Alliance for Early College (MA4EC)

Location: Massachusetts/hybrid

About Us

Founded in 2022, the Massachusetts Alliance for Early College (MA4EC) is a cross-sector coalition working to dramatically expand access to high-quality Early College across the Commonwealth. Our work sits at the intersection of practice and policy: we partner with educators, state leaders, higher education institutions, and community organizations to expand access, strengthen program quality, and align policy and funding to enable scale. As a trusted intermediary working with over 90% of designated Early College programs in Massachusetts, MA4EC plays a central role in shaping the state’s strategy at a pivotal moment of growth. We are a small, high-impact, and deeply collaborative team that values boldness, continuous learning, and delivering real value to the field.

About the Role

This is a high-impact, highly visible leadership role - and a rare opportunity to help shape a transformative education initiative at a pivotal moment for Early College in Massachusetts. The Director of Strategic Initiatives will lead the Alliance’s work to help define and advance clear, actionable recommendations to scale Early College statewide - anchored in the state’s long-term goal to reach 100,000 students by 2036. This work requires both ambition and pragmatism: setting a compelling north star, building a realistic path to get there, and supporting stakeholders across the system to execute effectively.

In parallel, the Director will lead ongoing efforts to grow the scale and impact of Early College statewide. This includes identifying and advancing best practices, surfacing and supporting innovation across programs, and drawing on national models and emerging best practices. The Director will ensure that strategy remains dynamic and responsive - continuously refining the path forward based on what is working, what is not, and what is needed next.

This role is both strategy and delivery: structuring ambiguous problems, building the growth model, shaping key recommendations, and driving progress across priorities. The Director will regularly engage senior leaders across state agencies, K-12, higher education, and partner organizations - aligning stakeholders around a shared path forward and ensuring that strategy is grounded in real-world implementation.

The Director of Strategy is a Massachusetts-based hybrid role, with optional access to co-working space in Boston. The role includes monthly in-person team meetings and regular in-state travel (approximately 2–3+ times per month). This position reports to the Executive Director.

What You’ll Do

Create a plan for Early College Success in MA

• Collaborate with state, higher education, and district leaders to drive a coordinated strategy to expand Early College access across the Commonwealth 
• Craft and deploy a clear, evidence-based narrative that builds alignment and momentum across legislative, administrative, and local audiences
• Build and maintain a robust fact base to inform approach and strategy
• Define and continuously refine the statewide growth model, including targets, capacity, key levers, enabling conditions, constraints, and tradeoffs 
• Build and drive a clear, actionable roadmap to scale Early College statewide, grounded in data, stakeholder input, and implementation realities
• Identify key risks, bottlenecks, and tradeoffs within the plan, and propose concrete mitigation strategies and next steps

Align Leaders Across the System

• Complete a statewide landscape analysis of Early College programs, partners, and system capacity to inform priorities and decisions
• Build alignment across state agencies, K–12, higher education, and partners on the path to scale, navigating diverse perspectives and competing priorities
• Clearly communicate and build consensus around the strategic direction and the corresponding execution path 
• Develop and present recommendations to state leadership on key decisions, priorities, and tradeoffs
• Design and facilitate high-impact meetings with senior leaders that drive clarity, alignment, and forward momentum
• Translate alignment into action by defining clear next steps, owners, and timelines for execution

Drive Execution Across Priority Workstreams to win in Early College

• Own and drive the core workstreams required to deliver the statewide Early College strategy, including clear plans, timelines, deliverables, and stakeholder coordination
• Partner closely with the Executive Director and team to take on and lead priority projects as they emerge, maintaining a responsive, solutions-oriented approach
• Lead planning for key statewide milestones, ensuring readiness across partners and workstreams
• Maintain consistent momentum across multiple, interdependent efforts - holding others accountable, removing barriers, and ensuring follow-through

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep alignment with MA4EC’s mission and a commitment to expanding equitable access to college and career pathways for all students
• Strong track record in strategic consulting, policy, project management or similarly analytical and fast-paced environments
• Demonstrated ability to structure ambiguous problems and translate them into clear, actionable plans
• Experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder projects with strong execution and follow-through
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level synthesis
• Proven ability to analyze data and generate insights that inform strategy and decision-making
• Ability to operate seamlessly between strategic thinking and detailed execution
• Strong project management skills, including planning, prioritization, and coordination across workstreams
• Experience working with or influencing senior leaders and external stakeholders
• Self-starter mindset with high ownership and comfort operating in ambiguity
• Ability to quickly build context and credibility in new domains and environments
• Experience in education or Early College is helpful but not required

Salary and Benefits

The salary range for this role is $125,000 – $150,000. MA4EC also offers a comprehensive benefits package including:

• Comprehensive health coverage, including medical and dental insurance
• Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) with annual employer contributions
• 401(k) retirement plan with partial employer match
• Unlimited paid time off, with a strong encouragement to take at least two weeks annually, plus paid holidays
• Monthly stipend for cell phone and data expenses
• Flexible work setup, including a $400 home office stipend or access to co-working space at CIC (50 Milk Street)

Application

Interested and qualified applicants should apply here. Note: the application deadline for this position is May 31, 2026.  We do not guarantee review of applications submitted after this date.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value building a diverse and inclusive team. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds - including those historically underrepresented - to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.