Principal, K-12 Practice

Afton Partners LLC (Afton), an impact-driven consultancy working across the cradle-to-career spectrum, seeks a strategic, entrepreneurial, and collaborative Principal to lead and grow its K-12 education practice. This is a defining opportunity for an established education expert with experience at the highest levels of K-12 systems leadership and a track record of establishing vision and strategy, influencing and mobilizing, and delivering results. The Principal will build and shape Afton’s future strategy, market position, and long-term impact across the K-12 sector nationwide.

Afton Partners was founded in 2011, and its mission is to create more opportunities, better outcomes, and brighter futures for all. Afton helps leaders put public dollars to work strategically toward excellent outcomes, build coherent state and local systems centered on families and learners, and close opportunity gaps starting from the earliest years. The firm is unique in its ability to design and influence systems change at scale, driving results for students with clarity in how financial and other resources are deployed to achieve these results. At a time defined by fiscal pressure, enrollment volatility, policy shifts, expanding school choice, and rising expectations for outcomes, education systems that move outcomes are investing in evidence-based strategies, intentionally allocating resources to match them, and following through on implementation. As of 2026, Afton has partnered with over 150 counties, cities, schools, districts, and state leaders in 40 states and territories, including recent engagements with the Maryland Accountability and Implementation Board, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the national Strategic Funding and Finance Center.

The Principal will be the most senior member of Afton’s K-12 practice, responsible for shaping the firm’s K-12 strategy and growth, building the firm’s presence and influence in the most important K-12 movements in the United States, establishing its work to support high-stakes system decisions for complex education challenges, and mobilizing the team toward excellence in client delivery. The successful candidate will be a recognized leader with proven impact and strong relationships across and extensive knowledge of federal, state, and local K-12 contexts (including policies, programs, and systems). They will have specific expertise in systems-level complexity and change, including matters related to governance, funding, and cultivating high-quality systems, as well as experience making difficult, high-stakes decisions and leading large-scale improvement efforts with measurable results.

The ideal candidate will be an innovative and resourceful self-starter; creative, committed, and energized by complexity, a problem-solver by nature, and eager to apply their deep experience across the K-12 landscape in a consulting and senior advisor capacity. They will be enthusiastic about strategic business development and employ a relational approach to working with clients and the Afton team. They will bring leadership skills that enable Afton’s K-12 team to continue to thrive, promoting a culture of trust and shared ownership in which team members feel supported, speak up, and do rigorous, honest, human-centered work.

COMPENSATION AND LOCATION

The base salary for the position is $300,000, with additional compensation available through successful business development. This is a full-time, remote position with geographic flexibility in the United States, requiring up to 20 percent travel, and offering competitive benefits, including health insurance, paid time off, and 401(k) with company match.

APPLICATIONS, INQUIRIES, AND NOMINATIONS

Nominations, inquiries, and applications, including resumes/CVs with cover letters that address the opportunities and challenges outlined in the full position profile, should be submitted below. Screening of applications will begin immediately and continue until the search process is completed. If you require reasonable accommodation to complete an application, interview, or otherwise participate in the candidate selection process, we welcome you to submit an inquiry to the team.

Katie Rockman is leading this search with Tatiana Oberkoetter and Maria Connor.

Afton Partners is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a Drug-Free Workplace. A full list of physical, mental and cognitive demands is available upon request. Candidates must be able to accomplish core tasks with or without reasonable accommodation. No visa sponsorship is available for this position. The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.