School Board Governance Consultant

Position Location: Remote

Budget: Up to $24,000

Timeline: March 24, 2026 – September 30, 2026

Priority Deadline: March 12, 2026

The Local Progress Impact Lab is seeking a Consultant to support the expansion of our school board governance programmatic work.

The Consultant will be a temporary contracted position who will work closely with the School Board Program Manager to support research, coordination, and development of a school board governance curriculum and corresponding training.

About Local Progress and Local Progress Impact Lab

Local Progress and the Local Progress Impact Lab work collectively to advance a racial and economic justice agenda through all levels of government. Local Progress (LP) is a movement of more than 1,500 local elected officials advancing a racial and economic justice agenda through all levels of local government. The Local Progress Impact Lab (the Impact Lab) brings together local leaders, partners, and experts to build the knowledge, skills, and leadership needed to advance racial and economic justice at the local level.

The Local Progress Impact Lab brings together local leaders, partners, and issue experts to build the knowledge, skills, and leadership needed to advance racial and economic justice at the local level. The Impact Lab has a track record of supporting school board members across the country as they work to support and defend public school students and teachers.

Consultant’s Scope of Work

The School Board Governance Consultant will provide support to the Impact Lab in its work to develop its School Board Governance Curriculum and Trainings. The Consultant will report to the School Board Program Manager.

The consultant will research and create a school board governance program. This will include:

• Engaging 15-30 School board members through individual interviews and focus groups to gather input (challenges, lessons learned, recommendations) on governance issues related to:

1. Budgeting and facilities
2. Co-governing with labor
3. Board norms/policy creation
4. Superintendent relationships and evaluation

• Reviewing and researching other governance models to ascertain ways they may disempower boards and lack development of co-governance frameworks; identify ways to correct these gaps in the delivered governance program.
• Drafting content for curriculum on the 4 areas named above

The consultant will develop and deliver, in collaboration with the Impact Lab staff, 4-5 training modules that can be used with school board members based off of the above curriculum.

• Each module training should be 60-90 minutes
• Module materials should include a slide deck and speaker guide to include a presentation outline, overarching talking points, and scripted pieces to be determined in collaboration with the School Board Program Manager

Required qualifications:

• 5+ years of relevant experience such as a background in public education policy and/or school board governance
• Experienced project manager who can balance multiple projects and reach key deadlines
• Strong communicator and problem solver
• Results-oriented with a demonstrated ability to set up work plans oriented towards concrete goals, anticipate obstacles and identify ways to navigate challenges, identify and involve stakeholders appropriately, and drive projects independently;
• A demonstrated commitment to social, racial, and economic justice and a deep interest in education policy and local government

The ideal person will have:

• An understanding of the broader public education landscape, including the impact of privatization forces in public education
• Experience in, understanding of, co-governance framework, specifically as a relates to interacting with labor, parents, and community
• Experience with school board budgeting
• Experience working with Local Progress and the Impact Lab’s partner organizations
  • Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools
  • HEAL Together
  • Education labor unions

Budget and Timeline:

We encourage applicants to submit their proposals by March 12, 2026. The anticipated start date for this contract is March 24, 2026 to last through September 30, 2026. We expect the consultant to contribute 90 total hours to fulfilling our scope of work. The budget for this contract is up to $24,000. We anticipate the majority of the work will occur during the first part of the contract.

How to Apply:

Please submit a proposal that includes a 1) cover letter, 2) resume, and 3) any relevant work product examples such as a sample project plan or training draft.. Please submit all documents in your proposal (including resume and work samples) through the JazzHR portal as an attachment in a single PDF. Proposals will be considered on a rolling basis.

Local Progress is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and actively recruits people of color, womxn, individuals with disabilities, and members of the LGBTIQAA+ community.