Nationally recognized nonprofit venture philanthropy seeks an Associate Partner to lead the Innovative Schools investment area.
ORGANIZATION
NewSchools Venture Fund is a national nonprofit that looks for the people with the ideas that are going to change education and open doors for all children. The call has never been more urgent to innovate — to bring new approaches and new organizations that will give every child a great chance in life. Each and every child has a fundamental right to a real education — one that leaves her ready to create a fulfilling life, make positive change, and help build an equitable future for everyone. Yet, too many children — especially in Black, Latino and low-income neighborhoods — don’t have access to the learning opportunities they need.
We believe the genius to create an equitable education system already exists in our nation, in our communities, and that new ideas must have the support they need to grow. That’s why NewSchools offers not just funding, but partnership and support, to innovators who seek to build strong schools and organizations dedicated to a more just future in education. To get there, we support entrepreneurs in four investment areas: Innovative Public Schools, Learning Solutions, Diverse Leaders and Racial Equity.
INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS INVESTMENT AREA
We support teams of educators with bold visions for new schools that will change the odds for students in communities across America. Our definition of an innovative school is broad, and we know the schools each community needs won’t look the same. We fund the design of new public schools – both district and charter. These schools help students develop a strong academic foundation along with the other mindsets, habits and skills they’ll need for success in life. To learn more about our work, please visit:
Responsibilities
The Innovative Schools team seeks an Associate Partner to join a fun, passionate and dedicated group of people focused on new school development. In this role, you will lead on aspects of our management assistance approach to support our ventures, ensuring they experience our supports as cohesive and well-integrated as they develop their plans to launch and expand innovative public schools. You will also provide direct coaching support to up to 12 ventures. As a member of a small team, you will have the ability to contribute to our selection and diligence, thought leadership and strategy efforts. In this role, you will report to Mia Howard, Senior Partner, and Innovative Schools team lead. You will work remotely from anywhere in the U.S., though if you are based in the Bay Area, you will be able to work from our office in Oakland, CA when it is safe to do so.
Your legacy at NewSchools will include:
- Designing and leading aspects of management assistance for our ventures as they develop their schools and plans for impact: In this role, you will…
- Develop a vision for communities of practice, which are curated opportunities to bring our ventures together throughout the year for shared learning around a focused set of topics, grounded in lessons learned across the NewSchools team
- Oversee all aspects of planning and execution for the communities of practices, including communication and logistics. Partner with other NewSchools staff members to support implementation
- Develop new components of the management assistance approach and refine existing ones, such as Social-emotional Learning (SEL) supports, and supporting integration with other components of our Expanded Definition of Student Success (EDSS)
- Partner with external experts to enhance our management assistance approaches
- Serve as a primary relationship manager for up to 12 venture leaders seeking to build strong, trusting relationships over time. Provide coaching to school founders on a range of topics, such as student recruitment, building and executing school vision, model coherence; diversity, equity, and inclusion; continuous improvement; and impact measurement
- Identify themes across our portfolio related to where school teams need support. Leverage these insights to inform our approach to management assistance, investing and thought leadership efforts
- Develop thought leadership ideas based on lessons learned from our portfolio. Draft content and engage with internal and external stakeholders as appropriate
- Participating in the Investment Process: We are committed to building a diverse pipeline of educators with bold visions for innovative schools and ensuring they have a positive, seamless experience from the beginning to the end of our process. In that spirit you will…
- Contribute to the investment process work streams by supporting potential applicants, reviewing applications, conducting due diligence and participating in selection meetings
- Support team in creating thorough, well-written investment memos for leadership and board approval, when needed
- Review interim and final reports from our ventures and capture critical lessons learned to inform our work
- Contributing to our team’s annual goals. You’ll have an opportunity to:
- Contribute insights and perspective on the Innovative Schools strategy, and provide input into how the strategy and logic model should evolve over time
- Support team operations. Tasks might include but are not limited to preparing funder materials, and contributing to team-building activities
Skills And Qualifications
- Passion for innovation, equity, and excellence in public education
- Experience designing and facilitating highly impactful adult learning experiences
- Working directly in schools or deep experience supporting school teams; preference for direct experience and content knowledge of social-emotional learning (SEL)
- Demonstrated focus on learning and continuous improvement
- Ability to manage multiple priorities amid ambiguity and to leverage creative thinking and resourcefulness
- Ability to collaborate across lines of difference and roles
- Capacity to develop strong relationships with all staff, based on trust, respect, effective communication, and common goals
- Entrepreneurial mindset with a commitment to preserving a bold, can-do culture that sustains the organization’s values
- Demonstrated track record working and collaborating in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment
- Ability to coach and support entrepreneurial educators to find greater success in their work
- Working style suited to a small organization with limited support staff, where teamwork and resourcefulness are highly valued
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Airtable or Excel, and Google Suite with the ability to produce high quality work products in each program
- Ability to travel up to 25% for all-team meetings and retreats, team meetings, venture visits, convenings and conferences when we are able to travel again
Education And Experience
- Minimum 8 years of experience with progressive levels of leadership and responsibility
- Significant experience using content and practices that build social and emotional skills and promote equitable and supportive learning environments
Compensation
A competitive compensation package including base salary, performance bonus and complete benefits is available. The starting range for this Associate Partner position is currently 120,000 to 140,000 and an annual bonus of up to 10%. Final salary will be determined based on experience level and qualifications.
If interested, please apply here.
