Director, School Partnerships

Eat.Learn.Play.•Oakland, CA

12d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, School Partnerships is a new role on the Foundation’s Impact team, reporting to the VP of Impact. This role leads new school site investments in collaboration with the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), focusing on elementary schools to transform the school experience and student outcomes. The position requires educational expertise, strong school and district relationship management, and project management skills to translate the organization's Theory of Change into measurable school-level plans. The Director will work with the VP, Impact, and CEO to integrate various investments, such as nutritious food, transformed schoolyards, literacy tutoring, and teacher professional development, to create a synergistic effect. This role is ideal for a senior education leader who can balance strategy and execution, build trust with diverse stakeholders, and is passionate about the organization's mission. The role emphasizes being a collaborative partner to principals and teachers, not just a funder.

Requirements

Substantial, progressively responsible experience in K-12 education, education nonprofits, philanthropy, or district partnerships, including direct experience in schools or districts.
Proven experience implementing school- or district-level initiatives in partnership with principals, educators, and central office leaders.
Leadership experience in school improvement, partnership management, or education strategy.
Track record managing complex initiatives with multiple partners, workstreams, timelines, and strategic tradeoffs.
Experience managing a multimillion-dollar program budget and overseeing contractors, consultants, or vendors to achieve results within it.
Strong facilitation, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to build credibility with educators, district leaders, community partners, and executives.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office and relevant data or project management tools.
Discretion with sensitive information.
Reliable personal transportation, a valid driver's license, and ability to be covered under Eat.Learn.Play.'s auto insurance.

Nice To Haves

Enthusiasm for ELP’s mission.

Responsibilities

Translate ELP’s Whole Child, Whole School approach into a practical model for investing in OUSD elementary schools, including selection criteria, plan development, and execution.
Integrate ELP’s programmatic investments into a coherent plan at each school, ensuring components reinforce each other.
Iterate on the model based on implementation learnings, codifying successful approaches for scalability.
Define the characteristics of a strong ELP–OUSD school partnership, including enabling conditions, literacy strategies, and whole-child supports.
Collaborate with other Impact team members to align school partnership work with broader impact and advocacy strategies.
Build school-level plans with clear goals, activities, milestones, and owners in collaboration with school leaders.
Partner with OUSD Data team and ELP’s Director, Impact Investments to define success metrics and develop measurement approaches and feedback loops.
Drive multiple workstreams and external partners towards shared milestones, ensuring clarity on timelines, decisions, and accountabilities.
Manage a program budget exceeding $4 million.
Select and manage implementation partners, contractors, and consultants, setting scopes, expectations, and holding them accountable for results.
Develop plans that account for the realities of school operations, such as bell schedules and staffing changes.
Navigate ambiguity in a fast-paced program and maintain focus on key priorities for students.
Build trust with principals, educators, community school managers, central office leaders, families, and partners through consistent engagement and follow-through.
Support partners beyond funding, acting as a convener, implementer, and thought partner.
Represent ELP’s Impact work to funders, partners, community stakeholders, and others.