Temporary | Tutor-CogSci Learning Design Team Leader; Literacy Focus

Temporary | Tutor-Cog Sci Learning Design Team Leader (Literacy Focus)

Inst for Educational Initiatives, VP & Assoc Prov-Teaching & Learning

Gary, IN, United States

Part-time

Empower Tutors. Transform Literacy. Build Community.

Are you a passionate leader driven to close educational opportunity gaps? Do you believe every child deserves access to high-quality, evidence-based literacy support?

Join Tutor-Cog Sci as a Learning Design Team Leader. In this high-impact role, you will bridge cognitive science and real-world learning - coaching a team of dedicated tutors, partnering with local schools, and ensuring children receive the resources they need to thrive.

Our Vision:

To close educational opportunity gaps by expanding children's access to high-quality, evidence-based literacy support aligned with the Science of Reading.

Our Mission:

We serve children, educators, and our community through three core pillars:

• Expanding Access:
  Delivering high-impact, evidence-based tutoring directly into local schools.
• Developing Future Leaders:
  Providing a premier practicum and workforce development experience for college students preparing for youth-serving careers (educators, pediatricians, cognitive scientists, and advocates).
• Innovating Learning Design:
  Advancing open science by developing, refining, and scaling effective tutoring practices.

Position Overview:

As a Learning Design Team Leader, you are the heartbeat of our school-based operations. You will mentor, coach, and inspire a small team of tutors while fostering a vibrant, supportive community for both tutors and tutees.

You'll act as an exemplary representative of Notre Dame in the community, translating the Science of Reading into dynamic, daily practice. To keep your leadership grounded in real-world application, you will also spend a small portion of your time directly tutoring students using structured literacy programs.

What You'll Bring to the Role:

• Mentorship &
  
  Coaching:
  
  A passion for developing talent, delivering constructive feedback, and leading by example.
• Autonomy & Initiative:
  The drive to set goals, solve problems, and optimize your team's day-to-day operations.
• Relationship-Building:
  The ability to establish trust and strong partnerships across diverse groups—tutors, students, school staff, and university leadership.

Key Responsibilities:

• Team Leadership & Development:
  Manage, coach, and support a team of tutors delivering structured literacy programs to 2nd–3rd grade students.
• Modeling & Practice:
  Lead collaborative design meetings and model high-quality tutoring practices in action.
• Data-Driven Success:
  Track, analyze, and interpret tutor performance and student progress. Collaborate with Program Directors and Faculty Steering Committees to refine strategies and address learning trends.
• Community Partnership:
  Serve as a primary liaison between Notre Dame and school administration, fostering strong, transparent, and collaborative relationships.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
  
  Meet regularly with fellow Design Team Leaders and Assistant Directors to share best practices, optimize learning sequences, and solve challenges.
• Targeted Support:
  Monitor attendance and academic benchmarks, partnering with leadership to design tailored intervention plans for tutors or students who need extra support.

Is This Role Right for You?

This position is ideal if you:

• Are driven by purpose:
  You feel called to tackle educational inequities and hold high expectations for every learner.
• Love to mentor:
  You thrive on sharing knowledge, uplifting others, and helping team members realize their potential.
• Trust the science:
  You value educational research and actively seek evidence-based solutions to practical classroom challenges.
• Embrace continuous growth:
  You use feedback, data, and reflection to constantly refine your own leadership practice.
• Value connection & voice:
  You build authentic relationships, take a restorative approach to conflict, and view student voice as a vital asset in the learning process.

Qualifications:

• Minimum Qualifications:
• Master's degree in education or related field OR Bachelor's degree with at least two years of exemplary experience directly relevant to our mission OR Associate's degree with at least four years
• Relevant experience includes working in a psychology or education research lab, experience working as classroom teacher, tutor, or coach; experience acquired while working as a student or raising children qualifies of exemplary experience directly relevant to our mission.
• Highly organized and motivated to understand how children learn
• Demonstrates a "can do" attitude and comfort using technology
• Able to travel to schools in Gary, IN
• Preferred Qualifications:
• Prior exemplary performance as a teacher, tutor, or mentor of students in a school or after school program;
• Lived experiences similar to those of the children we serve in Gary;
• Experience working with children from a variety of racial, ethnic, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds;
• Experience supervising, coaching, or…