Grace Community School - Associate Head of School for Advancement

Next-Ed•Tyler, TX

51d•Onsite

About The Position

Grace Community School is seeking a strategic, mission-driven Associate Head of School for Advancement to unify and lead the school's enrollment, fundraising, and brand efforts under a single, coordinated vision. This role reports directly to the Head of School and serves as a member of the Senior Leadership Team, providing direct oversight of the Admissions, Development, and Marketing & Communications departments. The goal is to align inquiry generation, donor engagement, and storytelling into one integrated Advancement function. The leader will be responsible for improving on an already-healthy, high-performing Advancement division that grows enrollment, deepens philanthropic investment, and protects and elevates the Grace brand of "Teaching Jesus–Living Grace" in service of the school's Christ-centered mission. Grace has a history of strong fundraising and is preparing for a large-scale campaign to unify its K–12 operations on one property.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required
Proven experience supervising, coaching, and developing director-level staff and managing a multi-department budget
Comfortable representing the school to donors, prospective families, the Board, and the broader community, including public presentations and direct solicitation
A cohesive understanding of brand management, enrollment funnels, and donor cultivation, with an eye for high-quality execution across all three
Familiarity with CRM/database systems and AI tools, and their application to admissions and development workflows
A growing, mature Christian faith and wholehearted commitment to the mission and doctrinal statement of Grace Community School

Nice To Haves

Master's degree preferred, in a relevant field such as nonprofit management, business, marketing, or education
Preferred progressive leadership experience across admissions, development/advancement, or marketing — preferably in independent or Christian schools, higher education, or mission-driven nonprofits
Preferred demonstrated success in setting and achieving enrollment and/or fundraising goals as a senior leader, not solely as an individual contributor

Responsibilities

Serve as the unifying leader for Admissions, Development, and Marketing & Communications, ensuring the three functions operate from a shared enrollment and revenue strategy, with shared goals, dashboards, and a common calendar rather than in silos.
Directly supervise, coach, and evaluate the Directors of Admissions, the Chief Development Officer, and the Director of Marketing & Communications, and manage an integrated Advancement budget across all three functions.
Represent Advancement on the Senior Leadership Team and serve as a key advisor to the Head of School on enrollment and philanthropic strategy.
Partner with the Chief Development Officer to set and reach Annual Fund, capital, and major gift goals, building a sustainable culture of giving and overseeing the school's major capital campaign initiatives alongside the Head of School.
Cultivate and steward relationships with key donors, board members, and volunteers, participating directly in cultivation and solicitation, and ensure donor communications and stewardship remain consistent with the Grace brand and mission.
Provide the Board and Development Committee with regular, accurate reporting on fundraising progress toward goals.
Partner with the Directors of Admissions to set and achieve enrollment, retention, and yield goals aligned with the strategic plan, overseeing the family journey from inquiry through enrollment and retention with a consistent, mission-aligned experience.
Use enrollment data and market analysis to guide tuition strategy, financial aid deployment, and recruitment priorities in collaboration with the Business Office, ensuring Admissions and Marketing share one inquiry-to-enrollment funnel.
Ensure marketing and communications strategy serves enrollment and fundraising goals, protecting a consistent Grace brand voice and visual identity across all school-wide communications.
Oversee the translation of the Grace mission into compelling storytelling — featuring students, families, alumni, and donors — and maintain the Advancement division's "sources of truth" (mission, vision, key messaging, brand standards).
Establish shared CRM and data practices across Admissions and Development for a single, accurate view of each family and donor relationship, including unified marketing analytics and attribution reporting tied to enrollment outcomes.
Leverage AI and emerging tools to increase efficiency and build institutional memory that outlasts any one staff member, without replacing human relationship-building, and monitor market and giving trends to identify growth opportunities and risks.