Edtech.com's Summary

Wayside Publishing is hiring a Grants, RFPs & Adoptions Manager. This role leads grants research, RFP strategy, and oversees the Adoptions team, ensuring submissions and adoption materials meet state and national standards. The manager collaborates across departments to maintain compliance, guide product alignment, and drive competitive positioning in adoption cycles.

Highlights

Lead identification and evaluation of federal, state, and regional grants related to world language programs.
Manage RFP review, compliance analysis, and submission logistics to ensure alignment with state procurement standards.
Oversee creation of standards correlation artifacts and guide the Adoptions team on instructional alignment.
Evaluate product components and develop evidence-based rationales supporting adoption submissions.
Provide leadership, coaching, and workload management for the Adoptions team.
Collaborate cross-functionally with Sales, Product, Marketing, and Customer Enablement teams.
Required skills include data visualization and analysis tools like Tableau, Power BI, SQL, Python, and proficiency with procurement portals and collaboration platforms.
Must hold a bachelor's degree (Master’s in Education preferred) and have 5+ years of relevant experience with supervisory background preferred.
Compensation ranges from $105,000 to $115,000 with competitive benefits including health insurance and retirement contributions.
Role requires up to 20-30% travel for state meetings and vendor briefings.

Grants, RFPs & Adoptions Manager Full Description

Grants, RFPs & Adoptions Manager
Fully Remote • Sales & Adoptions

Job Type

Full-time

Description

The Manager, Grants, RFPs & Adoptions is a working manager responsible for leading Wayside’s grants research and RFP strategy while overseeing the Adoptions team. This role combines hands-on execution with leadership responsibilities to ensure that Wayside’s submissions, correlations, and adoption materials are competitive, accurate, and aligned to state and national standards.

The manager will serve as the organizational expert in world language grant opportunities, RFP evaluation, compliance analysis, standards alignment, and evidence development. In addition to owning the Grants & RFPs workflow, this role will directly manage the Adoptions team, providing guidance, coaching, quality oversight, and operational alignment to support successful state adoption cycles.

This role is highly collaborative and cross-functional, partnering with Account Managers, Product, Customer Enablement, and Marketing to ensure that all components of state submissions reflect accuracy, instructional integrity, and competitive positioning.

Who We Are

Wayside Publishing is a progressive developer of world language programs, resources, and materials for middle and high schools across the United States. We partner with educators to craft transformative texts and digital tools that engage students and foster successful communication and understanding across cultures.

Primary Responsibilities

Grants & Funding Strategy

Lead the identification, monitoring, and evaluation of federal, state, and regional grants related to world language programs.
Maintain a comprehensive grants calendar, flagging deadlines, eligibility requirements, and strategic opportunities.
Produce fit analyses, ROI evaluations, and risk assessments to guide organizational prioritization.
Advise Account Managers and leadership on ways to leverage grant opportunities to support business development.

RFP Review, Compliance & Submission Leadership

Serve as the primary owner of RFP review and analysis, including evaluation criteria, compliance requirements, procurement language, and submission logistics.
Analyze RFP language against state procurement standards and Wayside product capabilities; identify gaps, opportunities, and mitigation strategies.
Collaborate with Product, Legal, Marketing, and Sales to coordinate RFP responses and ensure alignment across stakeholders.
Oversee quality control for all RFP submissions and ensure compliance with state-specific adoption requirements.
Maintain awareness of competitor offerings and use insights to strengthen strategic positioning.

Standards Alignment & Correlation Oversight

Oversee the creation of standards correlation artifacts (matrices, alignment tables, evidence statements).
Ensure high-quality alignment to state standards, ACTFL proficiency frameworks, and relevant content areas.
Guide the Adoptions team on rubric interpretation, correlation best practices, and instructional alignment.
Support product-to-standards alignment conversations with Product and Learning Design teams.

Product Analytics & Evidence Development

Evaluate Wayside’s product components, including assessments, scaffolding, usability, teacher guidance, and student tasks, to support standards alignment and competitive positioning.
Write or oversee detailed evidence statements supporting scoring decisions in adoption rubrics.
Ensure accuracy and quality in research-based rationales included in submissions.
Support the development of product evidence packets, instructional descriptions, and evaluation documentation.

Leadership & Management of the Adoptions Team

Provide day-to-day management for the Adoptions team, including distribution of workload, coaching, performance feedback, and ongoing professional development.
Ensure the team adheres to deadlines, maintains high-quality standards, and follows consistent correlation and submission processes.
Build team capability in standards literacy, RFP compliance, and product fluency.
Collaborate with Sales leadership to forecast adoption needs, staffing requirements, and workflow adjustments.
Act as the point of escalation for complex adoption requirements or correlation challenges.

Reporting, Analysis & Continuous Improvement

Produce reports on funding trends, win/loss analytics, RFP outcomes, and adoption results.
Conduct data and market trend analysis, including monitoring new products, emerging AI tools, and evolving procurement practices.
Recommend process improvements, resource enhancements, and strategic focus areas.
Support the evolution of Wayside’s adoption strategy and readiness.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Partner closely with Sales, Product, Customer Enablement, and Marketing to ensure consistency and alignment across submissions.
Translate product features and instructional outcomes into language aligned with procurement and scoring criteria.
Contribute to proposal narratives, compliance checklists, and adoption resources.

Other Duties as Assigned

Serve on cross-functional working groups or strategic initiatives as needed.
Perform additional tasks to support organizational goals and adoption success.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s of Education preferred.
5+ years of experience in grants research, RFP analysis, education procurement, standards alignment, or related fields.
Previous experience in a lead or supervisory capacity strongly preferred.
Deep understanding of proficiency-based instruction, backward design, and ACTFL-aligned frameworks.
Ability to evaluate interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational communication modes.
Strong competency in product analysis, instructional alignment, and evidence-based writing.
Excellent communication and professional writing skills.
Strong attention to detail and analytical rigor.
Comfort using data visualization or analysis tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, SQL, Python).
Ability to navigate procurement portals, collaboration platforms (e.g., SharePoint), and digital instructional tools.
Demonstrated project management strengths and ability to drive cross-functional timelines.
Ability to manage multiple complex projects under tight deadlines.
Ability to travel up to 20–30% for state meetings, vendor briefings, and cross-functional collaboration.

What We Offer

Competitive compensation: base salary, uncapped potential.
Health insurance with options for dental, vision, life insurance, and more.
Retirement savings plan with employer contribution.
Employer-paid STD and LTD policies.
Paid holidays.
Work/life balance as a company value.

We believe that traditional hiring policies can hurt the most marginalized people in society, including people of color, people from working-class backgrounds, women, and LGBTQ people. Because we believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities.

Wayside Publishing is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

When submitting your application, please include a concise cover letter that speaks to your experience and why this role is the next best step in your career.

NO PHONE CALLS OR RECRUITERS PLEASE.

Salary Description

$105,000 - $115,000

Original Job Description