Accreditation Services Director

Education is ever-evolving. And so are we.

We seek passionate people from diverse backgrounds who are committed to helping improve the work of schools as a trusted partner in advancing learning. By joining the Cognia team, you will be immersed in a community of energetic and resourceful people dedicated to a common vision to impact and inspire education providers to advance and enable pathways of success for all learners. At Cognia we have developed a holistic approach to education that empowers schools to create real outcomes and optimize learning for students of all backgrounds, servicing more than 36,000 institutions, 5 million teachers, and 25 million students in 85 countries. When you join Cognia, you join a team of experts passionate about our mission and embracing our core values in everything we do.

NATURE AND SCOPE:

Under the leadership of the Senior Director, the Director serves as the expert in Cognia accreditation and certification. The Director leads the support, planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of accreditation products and services.

PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES:

• Upholds and actively promotes Cognia’s mission, vision, and core values to reinforce the organization’s standing as a trusted leader in educational accreditation and certification.
• Utilizes data-driven approaches to implement, monitor, and support accreditation and certification engagement reviews, ensuring alignment with Cognia’s strategic priorities.
• Provides comprehensive coaching and support to Regional Accreditation Evaluators throughout the client engagement lifecycle—from initial consultation and preparation, through Candidacy and Accreditation Engagement Reviews (AERs), as well as the Mid-Cycle Progress report, to debriefing, report unpacking, and ongoing client engagement.
• Facilitates, with the Senior Director, bi-weekly Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) for Senior Coordinators and Coordinators to enhance operational coordination, build collaboration, and drive continuous improvement across functional teams.
• Leads and contributes to accreditation and related reviews, ensuring high-quality execution and fidelity to Cognia’s established protocols and practices.
• Participates in in-depth contextual research and analysis of institutional practices to inform the continuous improvement of Cognia’s accreditation solutions and services.
• Supports the resolution of concerns or challenges arising during the engagement review process by ensuring clear, timely, and effective communication with all stakeholders.
• Collaborate with the Senior Director to oversee the assignment and supervision of Regional Accreditation Evaluators, ensuring optimal alignment of personnel and timely, high-quality completion of all engagement review reports.
• Provides the Senior Director with regular updates and key metrics related to the progress, completion, and quality of reviews.
• Records an agreed upon number of Every Member, Every Year (EMEYs) each quarter based on accreditation and certification delivery.
• Ensures that all review reports meet Cognia’s rigorous quality standards and are submitted to institutions within designated timelines.
• Collaborates with internal and external stakeholders to foster a culture of continuous improvement and shared ownership throughout the accreditation and certification process.
• Serves as a subject matter expert in accreditation and certification, providing strategic guidance and support to internal teams and external partners.
• Performs duties and fulfills responsibilities that may, from time to time, include related or unrelated tasks.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in education and/or business development required; Master’s degree preferred
• Three (3) to Five (5) years of related experience required; experience to include extensive knowledge of strategic planning for schools and school districts where alignment to a set of quality assurance standards is the desired outcome
• Experience with accreditation procedures and protocols as they relate to ensuring high expectations within educational settings required
• Experience leading teams of people as a school leader, corporate project manager, or immediate supervisor or director required

Competencies:

• Critical thinking and problem-solving: uses sound judgment to produce appropriate solutions to problems
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Teamwork and communication: collaborates effectively with others to work towards common organizational goals, policies, and procedures
• Work standards and integrity: pays close attention to detail, accuracy, and high standards in meeting commitments and organizational effectiveness
• Motivation, reliability, and adaptability: maintains a high level of self-direction and effort and can readily adapt to change
• Planning and organizing: allocates and uses resources properly, sets priorities, and achieves organizational objectives
• Extensive knowledge of all products, services, and solutions offered by Cognia
• Extensive knowledge of current issues in education, especially strategic planning, continuous improvement, accreditation, STEM, digital learning, and early learning in public and private institutions and systems
• Ability to deliver high quality oral and written presentations through a variety of digital tools
• Ability to build and maintain connections and relationships with leaders of educational associations and agencies
• Ability to work with minimal supervision and take personal initiative to promote Cognia vision, mission, and values
• Ability to work and communicate effectively using all Microsoft applications and other web-based presentation applications
• Perform with high levels of integrity, initiative and tenacity

Anticipated Travel (may include local, national, and/or international travel):

• Occasional travel (10-20%)
• Travel to All Staff Company Meeting required

At Cognia, we recognize the critical role played by our teams in carrying out the organization’s important educational mission. As a reflection of that recognition our exceptional benefits offerings include generous paid time off and holiday breaks, comprehensive insurance plans, and a 12.5% retirement savings contribution which is immediately vested, all effective on your date of hire. This represents a strong commitment by the organization to attract and retain the highest quality workforce – to ensure our continued ability to effectively serve our mission for years to come.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, protected veteran status, genetic information or any other characteristics protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations. Cognia is an Equal Opportunity Employer.