Design Lead - Leaders Program

About Intrinsic Schools

Intrinsic Schools is a public charter network committed to reimagining secondary education so that every student is prepared for postsecondary success and meaningful, world‑changing endeavors. We believe deeply in the potential of our students and in the power of great teaching, strong relationships, and intentional use of technology to personalize learning.

Our model prioritizes both academic excellence and the development of essential non‑cognitive skills such as empathy, independence, perseverance, and intellectual curiosity. Intrinsic serves diverse student communities across two campuses:
Belmont (grades 7–12) and Downtown (grades 9–12). Our student population is 90% students of color, 86% eligible for free or reduced lunch, and 19% students with disabilities. We view this diversity as a strength and seek educators who are committed to equity, inclusion, and high expectations for all learners.

Intrinsic is launching the Future Leaders program, a new lab‑school model for an incoming cohort of roughly fifty 9th graders. This model is designed to challenge traditional schooling by deeply integrating student agency, real‑world learning, and mastery‑based cohort experiences. We are looking for an innovative educator to help build real‑world learning experiences.

The Experience Design Lead is responsible for leading the design, coordination, and operational management of the program's afternoon immersive experiences. The role balances strategic program development—both building directly and cultivating external partnerships—with direct instruction and facilitation with active cohorts. This individual shapes meaningful, high‑engagement learning structures to help students develop purpose, agency, collaboration, way finding, and real‑world readiness connected to Intrinsic's Portrait of a Graduate framework.

This is a one‑year, grant‑funded role. Candidates should understand that the position may not extend beyond the grant period and should be open to returning to a classroom or prior role at Intrinsic, if internal.

The role is 50% experience design—both building directly and through partnerships—and 50% direct work with students.

Responsibilities include:

• Program Design & Experience Development:
  Build and organize a coherent system of immersive afternoon experiences aligned to Intrinsic's graduate vision, developing student‑facing materials, sourcing project pipelines, and collaborating with school leaders and external partners to shape new experiences over time.
• Systems & Operations Coordination:
  Manage the operational backbone of the afternoon program, including schedules, rosters, staffing logistics, space allocation, materials coordination, transportation tracking, and cross‑team communication via trackers and spreadsheets.
• Direct Experience Facilitation & Student Leadership:
  Act as the primary, direct lead on specific signature experiences and community quests (off‑site real‑world work, immersive tours, and field way finding), directly coaching students on public voice, collaboration, and self‑directed goal tracking during learning sprints.
• Pilot Management, Analytics & Iteration:
  Support rapid prototyping and execution tracking during the pilot year; gather, disaggregate, and implement stakeholder feedback to monitor quality, address implementation issues in real time, and document best practices for scaling.
• Preparation for Scale:
  Design and facilitate professional development toolkits, execution playbooks, pacing guides, and community‑engagement protocols for future use.
• School Culture & Advisory Alignment:
  Nurture relationship‑centered learning environments that seamlessly integrate social, emotional, and cognitive skill‑building with academic content, upholding the network student culture and expectations outlined in the Student Code of Conduct.

• Bachelor's degree in education or a related field from an accredited institution.
• Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL) with appropriate endorsement preferred.
• Minimum of 3 years of secondary teaching or instructional leadership experience…