Director of New Community Entry and Advocacy

Job Description

The Director of New Community Entry and Advocacy will be a member of the Advancement Team and will directly report to the Managing Director of Strategic Expansion. The Director of New Community Entry and Advocacy will be responsible for leading stakeholder mapping in new sites, community engagement and advocacy strategies and planning, outreach and other activities for new site launch.

Successful candidates for this role will be able to demonstrate ability to work in complex situations, experience bringing together stakeholders with differing opinions and finding a way forward. While strong people and project management skills are a necessity in this role, the successful candidate will also be a proven problem solver who can leverage impact and influence to find clarity in complex situations.

This position may be based out of the Austin, Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio offices. Some travel will be required.

• Communication & Team Champion: Champion and communicate consistently and with convection around the work of the Strategic Scaling Team and the importance of multiyear planning, growth, and strategic projects to allow the organization to scale effectively
• Internal Stakeholder Management: Key liaison to other teams that manage community engagement and advocacy in existing regions. Leads collaboration with these teams and investigation of new strategies and processes. Intentionally build buy-in and gather feedback on the project when appropriate. Build influence across KIPP Texas to ensure project success. Build trusting relationships with community leaders in new sites.
• External Stakeholder Management: Own stakeholder mapping for new sites and deeply understand the communities KIPP Texas is interested in creating a presence in; Build trusting relationships with community leaders in new sites;
• Strategic Thinking and Project Design: With support from other members of the Strategic Scaling Team, create a unified vision for how KIPP Texas growth fulfills our mission of working together with families and communities. Build strategy aligned to this newly created vision. Provide Expansion Research Analyst with perspective on community research;
• Project Design, Execution and Progress Monitoring: Monitor progress of model design; Elevate dependencies and risks to Managing Director of Strategic Expansion. Bring solutions to areas of concern; Proactively progress monitor and communicate deadlines with clarity.
• Synthesize Takeaways from Data and Lived Experience: Balance a data-driven, analytical, and rational problem solving skill set with the understanding that people and relationships matter. Utilize both qualitative and quantitative data synthesis to formulate recommended solutions on the right path forward. Demonstrate an adaptive mindset with an ability to concurrently see the big picture while focusing on the details (can see the forest for the trees).
• Team Culture: Contribute to team culture through authentic engagement and participation in meetings and retreats. Participate actively in development opportunities, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) sessions, and lead sessions for the team as asked and/or interested. Volunteer as interested to serve on the Advancement team’s Connection Committee. Give honest, constructive feedback via established feedback mechanisms (e.g., staff surveys) to ensure the continued improvement of the team and the organization. Seek to work by the values of the organization and to act in alignment with the Advancement Team’s agreements. Represent the Advancement Team responsibly to other stakeholders within and outside the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year university.
• Minimum of 5 years of work experience with scaling CMOs or with multi-site operations
• Experience leading cross-functional projects/initiatives; Operations, Talent and/or Finance experience preferred
• Demonstrated ability to have impact and influence across multiple functional areas (e.g., academics, talent, finance, operations, etc.).
• Experience fostering strong working relationships with C-level executive team members.
• Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Excellent listening and verbal communication skills.
• Strong stakeholder management and service-orientation.
• Self-directed and results-oriented, demonstrating initiative and follow-through.
• Experience with charter or charter-like schools, non-profit strategy, non-profit consulting, and/or with students in low-income urban environments is required.
• Ability to model KIPP’s values at all times.

Additional Information

In addition to a competitive salary scale, a part of KIPP Texas’ competitive benefits options, KIPP offers all employees an $0 HMO plan for the employee only. In addition to our $0 plan, KIPP provides a $600 employer contribution towards a Health Savings Account and a variety of other supplemental benefits such as Dental, Vision, Short and Long-Term Disability, Pet Insurance, Life, etc.