TEAM: California Capital Valley

REPORTS TO: Jill Baldemor

LOCATION: Sacramento, California

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Since 2012, Teach For America has been relentlessly fighting for educational equity in the California Capital Valley. With over 500 alumni, many of whom began their journey with Teach For America in a different region, the California Capital Valley took a bold step in 2020 to become one of TFA’s first regions to work exclusively with alumni. This means we paused our efforts to recruit and place new teachers and have designed a new regional paradigm with a focus on investing in the collective leadership of our local alumni and working with partners to advance systems change.

Our alumni network includes people working in rural and urban settings, as teachers and school leaders, leaders of nonprofits, elected officials, and social entrepreneurs. Over 50% of our alumni identify as people of color, over 60% continue to work in education, and nearly 70% identify their work as contributing to education reform across many different issues and communities.

In the California Capital Valley, we work to continually strengthen relationships with local schools and districts, community partners, donors, elected officials, and the Teach For America network to build a broad and diverse coalition committed to significantly changing education and life outcomes for students. The next phase of this work will require a visionary leader, and that’s where you fit in.

WHAT YOU’LL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR

TFA is seeking its next Executive Director to lead the California Capital Valley region to achieve the local 2030 impact goal. This leader will work shoulder-to-shoulder with existing champions and enlist new advocates – including our alumni, community leaders, donors, and elected officials – as partners in the success of all children. The next Executive Director’s mission is to evolve and hone the role that Teach for America must play to accelerate educational opportunity for all. The Executive Director will work nimbly to leverage the capabilities of teams across the enterprise and will also be responsible for a regional fundraising goal and ensuring the sustainability of our work.

Specific duties and responsibilities include:

Leadership and Impact

• Provide leadership, in partnership and coalition with local organizations, in pursuit of advancing systems change
• Form, execute and iterate an inspiring vision and strategic direction for reaching our local 2030 goal, including through education policy and innovative solutions.
• Navigate complex environments and act with integrity, transparency, and courage in the best interest of students.
• Acknowledge race and power dynamics that play out within the organization, school systems, and community and continuously interrupt those inequities.

Relationships and Coalition Building

• Build relationships to inspire and galvanize action across the broader education, civic, and philanthropic communities.
• Maintain visibility and presence in the organization and greater community, using your voice to change public opinion and influence others to take action in the face of political tension, conflict, or controversy.
• Lead efforts to generate philanthropic investment, including building relationships with individual, foundation, and corporate supporters with an emphasis on developing new partnerships aligned to emerging strategic efforts.
• Convene. contribute to, and catalyze a community-grounded coalition of champions and stakeholders to cultivate the conditions required for students to thrive in the California Capital Valley.

Team and Organizational Leadership

• Manage strong relationships and partnerships with the Board, particularly the Chair, maintaining regular and ongoing communication with the entire Board, and providing support and guidance to members to support effective governance of the organization.
• Drive team collaboration and leverage the resources across our enterprise to drive impact across California and in the local community.
• Coach and develop team members to be effective in their roles and in the management of their functions.
• Engage as an enterprise leader, actively shaping and influencing organizational strategy and learning.

YOUR EXPERIENCE

The ideal candidate will demonstrate the following:

Education And Other Experience

• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience, with a track record of success in each of the areas of responsibility described above, including setting vision and direction, community and coalition building, fundraising and resource stewardship, team and and organizational leadership.

• Experience, curiosity, and understanding of the complexity of the local educational and political context in the California Capital Valley and a curiosity to learn more about other communities in California where TFA works.

• Deep belief in the power and potential of kids and families across California.
• Passion, commitment and alignment with the mission and values of Teach for America.

• Understanding of the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and racial equity that are necessary for leading an organization that serves communities of color across California.

• Ability to navigate uncertainty and ambiguity, and to prioritize work efforts to execute overall strategy.
• Orientation to building authentic relationships through active listening
• Demonstrated experience building consensus, leading successful campaigns, and mobilizing others to champion the efforts of an organization.
• Exceptional written, oral, and visual communications skills and a desire to develop and maintain deep relationships with a variety of diverse constituents.
• Knowledge of best practices and research on relevant workstreams, including but not limited to education advocacy and organizing and school system leadership.
• Local proximity and an understanding of the educational landscape within the California Capital Valley.
• Ability to travel efficiently and frequently across the state of California and occasionally to other states.

YOUR COMPENSATION

Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of job-related factors, which may include education, training, experience, location, business needs, or market demands. The expected salary range for this role are set forth below and assumes a work location within the California Capital Valley. These ranges may be modified in the future: $176,400 – $227,400