Senior Director, Research-Skills Center

About ETS:

ETS is a global education and talent solutions organization enabling lifelong learners worldwide to be future-ready. For more than 75 years, we've been advancing the science of measurement to build benchmarks for fair and valid skill assessment across cultures and borders. Our worldwide impact extends through our renowned assessments including TOEFL, TOEIC, GRE and Praxis tests, serving millions of learners in more than 200 countries and territories. Through strategic acquisitions, we've expanded our global capabilities: PSI strengthens our workforce assessment solutions, while Edusoft, Kira Talent, Pipplet, Vericant, and Wheebox enhance our educational technology and assessment platforms across critical markets worldwide.

Through ETS Research Institute and ETS Solutions, we're partnering with educational institutions, governments, and organizations globally to promote skill proficiency, empower upward mobility, and unlock opportunities for everyone, everywhere. With offices and partners across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, we deliver nearly 50 million tests annually. Join us in our journey of measuring progress to power human progress worldwide.

Position Summary

The Senior Director serves as the founding leader of the Skills Center and is accountable for setting the scientific vision, building organizational capacity, and securing external funding to advance ETSs leadership in the research and assessment of complex and durable skills across education and workforce contexts.

Reporting into ETS Research leadership, the role provides enterprise-level leadership in:

(a) defining and executing a forward-looking research agenda for skills,

(b) building and leading a high-performing, multidisciplinary research organization, and

(c) expanding ETSs impact through strategic partnerships, funding, and national and global visibility.

The Senior Director ensures that the Skills Centers work is scientifically rigorous, mission-aligned, and tightly connected to ETSs broader research, product, and policy priorities.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic & Scientific Leadership

Define and lead a forward-looking vision and multi-year research agenda for complex and durable skills that positions ETS as a national and global thought leader.

Oversee the development of core scientific foundations for skills assessment, including construct frameworks, learning progressions, evidence models, and innovative assessment and measurement approaches.

Identify and lead opportunities at the intersection of skills, AI-enabled assessment, STEM integration, and multimodal evidence ecosystems.

Organizational & Portfolio Leadership

Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing, interdisciplinary research team, fostering a culture of scientific excellence, collaboration, and innovation.

Provide direction, oversight, and quality assurance for the Skills Center research portfolio, ensuring rigor, coherence, and impact across projects.

Ensure strategic alignment of Skills Center initiatives with ETSs research priorities, mission, and business strategy.

Funding & Partnerships

Serve as the primary driver of external funding growth for the Skills Center, developing and executing a strategic fundraising plan in partnership with ETS leadership and development teams.

Secure research investments from federal agencies, philanthropic foundations, state partners,and private-sector collaborators.

Build and sustain strategic partnerships with states, districts, research institutes, employers, and workforce organizations to promote system-level integration of skills research and assessment.

External Visibility & Influence

Represent ETS and the Skills Center in national and global forums, initiatives, and policy-relevant conversations related to skills-based learning and assessment.

Oversee the development of influential research outputs, reports, and thought leadership that communicate the Centers vision, findings, and impact to research, policy, and practitioner audiences.

#LI-RK1

Qualifications

Required

• Ph.D. in educational psychology, industrialorganizational psychology, learning sciences, quantitative psychology, measurement, or a closely related field (or equivalent combination of education and experience).
• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in research leadership roles, including experience leading large-scale research programs, centers, or comparable research enterprises.

Preferred

• Demonstrated success leading a research center, institute, or major institutional initiative.
• Strong public research record and national or international recognition in skills-based learning, assessment, or related fields.
• Experience working across education, workforce, and policy contexts.

The successful candidate will demonstrate many of the following:

Leadership & Vision

Demonstrated experience setting research vision and institutional strategy for a complex research organization or program.

Proven ability to build, lead, and sustain high-performing, multidisciplinary teams and inclusive research cultures.

Research & Domain Expertise

Deep expertise in complex and durable skills research, learning sciences, educational or workforce measurement, or related domains.

Experience with innovative and AI-enabled assessment approaches and evidence-centered design.

Funding, Influence & Communication

Proven track record of securing major external funding from federal, philanthropic, or other sponsors.

Ability to represent an organization credibly and effectively as a national and international thought leader.

Strong communication skills across research, policy, and practitioner communities.

About ETS

ETS is the worlds premier educational measurement organization, dedicated to advancing knowledge and practice in education. The ETS Research Institute conducts foundational and applied research to inform policy, practice, and long-term improvement across education and workforce systems.

ETS is mission driven and action oriented

• We are passionate about hiring innovative thinkers who believe in the promise of education and lifelong learning.
• We are energized by cultivating growth, innovation, and continuous transformation for the next generation of rising professionals as leaders. In support of this ETS offers multiple Business Resource Groups (BRG) for you to learn and advance your career growth!
• As a not-for-profit organization we will encourage you to lean in to your passion for volunteering. At ETS you may qualify for up to an additional 8 hours of PTO for volunteer work on causes that are important to you!
• The base salary range advertised represents the low and high end of the anticipated salary range for this position. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. The base pay is only one aspect of the Total Rewards Package that will be offered to the successful candidate.

ETS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by law. We believe in creating a work environment where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity.