Brooklyn Urban Garden School, Executive Director

Edgility Search•New York, NY

4h•$207,000 - $233,000

About The Position

This is an exciting moment for a collaborative, mission-aligned leader to guide Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School into its next chapter. As Executive Director, you will steward a school that sits at the intersection of academic rigor, sustainability education, and community connection. You will provide direct supervision and strategic leadership to a talented Principal, partnering closely to advance instructional excellence and operational effectiveness. In collaboration with a committed Board of Trustees and a passionate staff, you will strengthen what makes BUGS distinctive while ensuring the systems, resources, and relationships are in place for long-term success. BUGS is a strong, values-driven organization that is ready for what comes next including—deepening and expanding the program to potentially add grade levels, exploring a new or permanent facility, sharing BUGS’s sustainability-centered curriculum and practices with other schools or organizations, or pursuing new partnerships that extend the school’s impact beyond its walls. The Executive Director will help the community imagine and shape these possibilities, ensuring that any growth or evolution remains grounded in BUGS’s mission, culture, and commitment to students. This role is ideal for a leader who believes schools can be joyful, values-driven spaces that have an ethical responsibility to equip ALL students with the skills and dispositions necessary to create a greener and fairer future; who is energized by shared leadership; and who brings both strategic clarity and human warmth to complex work. If you are inspired by community-centered education, motivated by sustainability and equity, and ready to build alongside others with humility, care, and purpose, this role offers the opportunity to make a lasting impact on students, families, and educators.

Requirements

A mission-aligned, values-driven leader with a deep commitment to BUGS’s sustainability-centered educational model and belief in joyful, equitable, community-rooted schooling.
An experienced organizational leader with a track record of guiding schools, nonprofits, or mission-driven organizations through moments of transition, growth, or evolution—bringing both strategic clarity and steadiness in the face of possibility.
Experienced in building and executing fundraising strategies (grants, donors, partnerships) that materially improved program quality or organizational stability.
An organization-wide operations leader in a nonprofit or school setting with multiple stakeholders and a high pace of decision-making.
Steady, reliable, and have the ability to “get things done” while building a healthy culture.
A collaborative nonprofit leader skilled in working across functions—partnering with various leaders to ensure strategy, systems, and resources are aligned to advance mission-driven outcomes.
A systems thinker and operator with experience overseeing finance, operations, compliance, and governance, and the ability to design and strengthen structures that allow an organization to adapt and grow responsibly.
A leader committed to “parallel process” where administrative decisions and projects, like those of our students, consider the environmental, social and economic systems at play and acknowledge BUGS role in modelling and creating the path to a sustainable future in all it does.
A trusted relationship-builder and community ambassador who communicates with warmth, transparency, and credibility; builds authentic partnerships with families, staff, boards, funders, and external stakeholders; and represents the organization with integrity.
An equity-centered, culturally responsive leader who understands how race, class, ability, and other identities shape communities and is committed to inclusive practices that support students, families, and staff to thrive.
Experienced in financial stewardship and sustainability, including budgeting, long-term planning, and fundraising or development work that supports mission-aligned impact.
Demonstrated leadership experience within a New York City charter school setting

Nice To Haves

A master’s degree in Education, Public Administration, Business, or a related field is preferred, along with familiarity with New York State charter school governance and accountability.

Responsibilities

Champion and embody the BUGS mission and sustainability-centered vision across all aspects of the organization.
Partner with the Board and school leadership to steward the school through its next chapter—helping the community imagine, assess, and pursue future possibilities (such as program growth, facilities transitions, or expanded impact) while ensuring all decisions remain grounded in BUGS values, charter commitments, and student needs.
Supervise and serve as a close thought partner to the Principal, who leads teaching, learning, and school culture.
Ensure that organizational strategy, resources, and systems are aligned to instructional priorities, creating the conditions for joyful, rigorous, and equitable academic outcomes.
Support the Principal through collaboration, clear role alignment, and shared problem-solving.
Oversee day-to-day and long-term operations, ensuring strong systems across facilities, compliance, staffing, and administration.
Lead operational planning that balances stability with adaptability, positioning BUGS to respond thoughtfully to opportunities such as expansion, relocation, or new partnerships.
Oversee the effective management, evolution, and evaluation of academic and operational systems to ensure they meet the needs of students, staff, families and strategicchool goalsoutcomes.
Support inclusive programming and instructional design that effectively serves students with IEPs, English Language Learners, and economically disadvantaged students.
Sustain a positive, mission-aligned adult culture rooted in trust, collaboration, accountability, and sustainability.
Lead human resources strategy including hiring, evaluation, professional learning, and staff support, ensuring that BUGS attracts, develops, and retains talented educators and leaders as the organization evolves.
Steward the school’s financial sustainability through responsible budgeting, long-term planning, and transparent fiscal management.
Cultivate philanthropic support and external partnerships that strengthen BUGS’s impact—whether through fundraising, grants, community collaboration, or sharing the school’s sustainability-centered practices with others.
Develop and execute a diversified fundraising and partnership strategy that sustains and fuels priorities such as enrichment and facilities growth.
Serve as a warm, inspiring, and credible ambassador to families, funders, authorizers, and community partners.
Serve as a trusted partner to the Board of Trustees—strengthening governance practices, surfacing risks proactively, and maintaining clear boundaries between governance and management.
Inspire, and explore with, the local community and broader educational sector around what it means to Educate for Sustainability.
Serve as a warm, credible ambassador who builds durable relationships with families, students, staff, co-located schools, authorizers, funders, and community partners.
Engage stakeholders in meaningful dialogue about BUGS’s future, cultivating shared ownership and collective vision.
Expand community partnerships that strengthen enrollment diversity, extend BUGS’s reach, and deepen its impact within Brooklyn and beyond.