Director of Culture and Learning

Director Of Culture And Learning

Full-time employment

Location:

Sacramento, California (Periodic Statewide Travel Required)

Reports To:

Chief Learning and Programs Officer

Status:
Full-Time | Exempt | Executive Leadership Team

About Umoja

Umoja is a community of educators and learners committed to the academic success, personal growth, and self-actualization of African American and other students. The Umoja Community seeks to educate the whole student—body, mind, and spirit. Informed by an ethic of love and its vital power, the Umoja Community will deliberately engage students as full participants in the construction of knowledge and critical thought.

The Umoja Community seeks to help students experience themselves as valuable and worthy of an education.

Position Summary

The Director of Culture and Learning is a senior leadership role within the Programs and Learning division responsible for advancing culturally responsive pedagogy and African-centered teaching and learning across the Umoja Community Education Foundation. This role leads the design, development, and cultivation of curriculum, professional development, and organizational culture grounded in African-centered practices, ways of knowing, and ways of being.

Unlike a traditional curriculum and instruction role, this position is designed to cascade across the entire organization—shaping not only the professional development and pedagogical resources delivered to Umoja's 83+ campus communities, but also deepening the cultural grounding, ceremonial practices, and learning practices within UCEF's internal operations. The Director of Culture and Learning serves as a thought leader and practitioner who is steeped in the scholarship of the African diaspora and committed to the integration of that scholarship into every dimension of Umoja's educational mission.

Key Responsibilities

Culture and Organizational Learning

• Lead the development and facilitation of culturally responsive ceremonial practices, openings, and grounding practices for organizational events, convenings, and internal team gatherings.

• Serve as a resource and thought partner across UCEF departments on integrating African-centered principles into organizational culture, communications, and practice.

• Design and deliver professional development for UCEF staff that deepens understanding of African-centered education, culturally responsive pedagogy, and diasporic scholarship.

• Curate and recommend readings, scholarship, and resources that inform the cultural and pedagogical direction of the organization.

Curriculum and Pedagogy

• Lead the development, codification, and continuous improvement of curriculum frameworks for Umoja's signature programs, including the Summer Learning Institute (SLI), Faculty Institute, Annual Conference, regional symposia, and Student Leadership Summit.

• Develop and maintain codified objectives, outcomes, activities, and template agendas for each program component to support institutional continuity and replicability.

• Lead the Umoja curriculum committee and provide recommendations to leadership on innovative teaching and learning approaches, strategies, and technologies.

• Provide expertise on educational theory, research, and data related to serving African American and other students, with particular emphasis on culturally responsive and African-centered pedagogical practices.

• Design and produce instructional and training collateral—including lesson plans, interactive learning activities, facilitation guides, and presentations—grounded in Umoja's pedagogical philosophy.

Practitioner and Community Development

• Administer the full spectrum of strategic and operational activities related to training and development of Umoja practitioners, including strategic planning, learning impact assessment, and training evaluation.

• Lead the development of training frameworks and processes that equip campus coordinators, counselors, and faculty with culturally grounded instructional practices.

• Participate as part of the Umoja support team to provide campuses with resources, training, and technical assistance needed to strengthen their Umoja programs.

• Provide data,…