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Data Science 4 Everyone is a national initiative based at the University of Chicago working to catalyze the adoption of data science as a fundamental component of K-12 education. DS4E facilitates a broad coalition of influential leaders in and out of U.S. education, seeded by support from Steven Levitt (Freakonomics), Arne Duncan (fmr. U.S. Secretary of Education), Linda Darling-Hammond (Learning Policy Institute, California State Board of Education), Eric Schmidt (fmr. CEO Google), Ken Griffin (CEO of Citadel), Scott Cook (co-founder of Intuit), and many others. Incubated at the Center for RISC and popularized by the 2019 Freakonomics podcast “America’s Math Curriculum Doesn’t Add Up,” DS4E is now expanding into a dedicated center at the University of Chicago, striving to incorporate data science across all school subjects and grade-levels. Our core focus is to raise awareness and work with stakeholders across U.S. education to ensure every student is data literate by high school graduation. As a field catalyst, DS4E centralizes and disseminates resources, hosts convenings and communities of practice, builds awareness locally and nationally, creates partnerships with experts and stakeholders, pilots new content models and evaluates results, and helps schools and districts design new programs. We believe removing silos around stakeholders and empowering talent will uniquely enable our education system to adopt data science as fundamental.

Responsibilities:

We work with each student to match their expertise, skillset, and interests to several ongoing projects. Example projects may include but are not limited to:

• Communications strategy & social media

• Policy memos, reports, and outreach

• Academic research and evaluation

• K-12 lesson plan and curriculum development

• Data analysis, management, and automation

Please note that we only offer internships on a volunteer / unpaid basis at this time. We hope to make paid opportunities available in future academic cycles.

We also work with a number of student consulting and policy organizations. If you represent one of these organizations, please get in touch with us at info@datascience4everyone.org for client partnerships.

Credit Hours:

We are more than happy to work with you to prove credit-hours toward a University course, requirement, or other program. Please indicate on the form what you need.

Education:

• Freshmen / 1st-year college student or above, with weak preference for fields of study in data science, computer science, statistics, or related disciplines.

• We are looking for a variety of volunteers with different backgrounds and skill-sets. While we may leverage expertise in data science or related fields for curricular development, we have several projects in communications, social media, policy, academic research.

Deadline

• We accept interns on a rolling basis that match the academic-year schedule. Please define the period in which you have capacity to contribute in your application form.

Apply here through the University of Chicago

DS4E is seeking a Deputy Director to guide the organization through its next chapter of growth and impact. We’re looking for a leader who is passionate about bridging the country’s digital divide, cares deeply about the structures and practices that make a nonprofit thrive, and brings a systems lens to building internal strength while advancing an ambitious external agenda. This individual will draw upon a diverse set of experiences in the education sector to identify new focus areas or refine existing ones, continuously shape DS4E’s role in a dynamic and fast-evolving field, and rigorously evaluate what is working and what is not. As the team enters an important new phase of growth and formalization, the Deputy Director will play a key role in ensuring coherence across strategy, structure, and execution, including with new organizational structures.

A thought partner and operational leader, this person will regularly collaborate with DS4E’s Executive Director, funders, and team to co-develop strategy and then translate it into focused plans, clear priorities, and systems that support strong delivery. They will foster internal cohesion, manage cross-team execution, and help build a sustainable foundation for DS4E’s continued influence in education, policy, and innovation. The Deputy Director will report directly to the Executive Director of DS4E. The following team members will report to the Deputy Director: the Instructional Director, Policy Director, and Partnerships Manager. Additionally, the Strategic Initiatives Manager may also report to the Deputy Director. This structure is designed to support coherent leadership across DS4E’s key functional areas while enabling the Executive Director to focus on external relations, fundraising, and high-level strategy.

Responsibilities

• Serves as the internal anchor for a fast-growing, distributed team, connecting workstreams and reducing fragmentation.

• Manages and mentors team leads, supporting them to grow as people managers and confident decision-makers.

• Fosters a collaborative, inclusive culture that balances autonomy with shared accountability.

• Partners with the Executive Director to translate vision into clear organizational priorities and multi-year strategies.

• Leads annual and quarterly planning processes, ensuring staff are aligned on goals and how they’ll get there.

• Evaluates new opportunities against mission, capacity, and timing, making tough calls when needed.

• Ensures timely, transparent communication across teams and leadership, avoiding silos and confusion.

• Steps in to make high-leverage decisions when needed, especially in moments of ambiguity or urgency.

• Helps the team balance responsiveness with focus, knowing when to move quickly and when to hold the line.

• Builds and maintains lightweight, effective systems to track timelines, budgets, deliverables, and capacity.

• Oversees the execution of major cross-functional efforts, such as assessment roadmap, development of an independent organizational entity, ensuring scalable systems and infrastructure are in place to support long-term growth.

• Leads cross-functional coordination by partnering with the Operations Manager to ensure finance and grant processes facilitate execution. Provides oversight of floating grant accounts, stewards the evolution toward a hybrid operating structure, and builds systems to monitor financial data, project timelines, and initiative progress, supporting teams to stay focused, aligned, and well-resourced.

• Develops and administers program budgets and recommends or makes budgetary recommendations.

• Serves as a key resource for program information. Resolves problems or questions referred by program staff, University administrators, or other contingencies.

• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Competencies

• Familiarity with the K–12 education landscape, including experience working within or alongside schools, districts, or state agencies, such as through roles in publishing, education nonprofits, or other mission-aligned organizations.

• Proven track record leading teams or departments in mission-driven settings, such as nonprofit, education, or social impact organizations, particularly through periods of organizational growth, strategic change, or increasing operational complexity.

• Leading and developing individuals at all levels, with a track record of cultivating emerging leaders through structured support, clear communication, and intentional team-building practices.

• Demonstrated success designing and implementing systems for project planning, team coordination, budgeting, and grant management, including restricted and unrestricted funding.

• Skilled communicator with a track record of translating strategy and priorities across internal teams and external stakeholders such as funders, education leaders, and policymakers.

• Evidence of sound judgment and strategic prioritization, including the ability to assess tradeoffs, say no when needed, and focus an organization on high-impact work.

• Comfortable operating in fast-paced, ambiguous environments, with a disciplined approach to managing multiple priorities and aligning team efforts.

• Recognized for a leadership style rooted in humility, clarity, and trust, with a service-oriented approach to collaboration.

​ Pay Range

$120,000.00 - $140,000.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.