Managing Director, Alumni Strategy

Teach For America•Nashville, TN

10d

About The Position

The Managing Director, Alumni Strategy will create and lead a new approach to how Teach For America (TFA) Nashville-Chattanooga works with, partners with, and supports approximately 1,100 alumni in the region. The role will build the strategy with alumni and create a continuum of engagement and professional growth, from classroom teaching through school and systems leadership. The position connects the alumni community and boards, the two-year Aspiring School Leader Fellowship with Lipscomb University, and a new approach to senior alumni engagement. Its aim is to help alumni apply their leadership to advance third-grade reading and eighth-grade math in priority school clusters in Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville, supporting TFA’s broader vision for educational opportunity. The Managing Director will join TFA Nashville-Chattanooga’s regional team and report to Executive Director Stephen Santellan. They will work with alumni leaders, program, development, and communications colleagues, Lipscomb University, and other education and community partners. The role aligns alumni partnerships with regional priorities and TFA’s 2030 goals, measures impact, and adapts strategies as conditions and community needs change. The position is based in Nashville, Tennessee, and is full-time.

Requirements

At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in one or more of the following: strategic planning and execution, alumni or community engagement, leadership development, educator development, partnership management, nonprofit leadership, or education systems improvement.
Demonstrated success setting and executing multiyear strategies and translating an emerging vision into clear priorities, operating plans, and measurable outcomes.
Understanding of K–12 teaching and learning, including development needs across teacher career stages and competencies required for effective school leadership.
Experience designing, facilitating, or strengthening adult professional learning and leadership development, using feedback and evidence to improve program quality.
Ability to build trusted partnerships with senior executives, school and district leaders, university partners, and volunteer leaders, and turn shared interests into sustained action.
Familiarity with TFA’s mission, culture, and alumni experience, and ability to support alumni across identities, career stages, and professional settings.
Strong analytical and organizational skills, including setting meaningful measures, maintaining useful relationship and participation data, and using evidence to guide decisions.
Sound judgment and strong communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to lead through influence, manage shared commitments, and create structure in ambiguous work.
Commitment to educational equity and to working alongside alumni, students, families, and community partners with curiosity, respect, and shared accountability.

Nice To Haves

Teach For America alumni experience.
Experience in school or district leadership, teacher development, or coaching aspiring school leaders.
Knowledge of Tennessee’s education landscape and relationships in Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, or statewide education organizations.
Experience supporting alumni or affinity boards, executive peer networks, or university partnerships for leadership development.

Responsibilities

Partner with the regional Alumni Board, Collective Alumni Board, and Prism Alumni Board to set shared priorities and equip volunteer leaders.
Create experiences that build belonging, community, and joy; amplify alumni voices and TFA’s mission; and connect alumni to sustained opportunities to contribute.
Partner with Lipscomb University and regional colleagues to strengthen the two-year Aspiring School Leader Fellowship.
Shape professional learning, mentoring, and applied leadership experiences; assess participant growth; and connect fellows with school and district opportunities.
Cultivate relationships with alumni executives and leaders of education organizations, including those working at the state level.
Design a sequence of listening, shared planning, peer learning, and collaboration that informs regional strategy and provides value to alumni and their organizations.
Use alumni input and student, school, and community needs to connect support across career stages.
Set annual priorities, resource plans, and shared responsibilities with regional colleagues, aligning alumni partnerships with TFA’s 2030 goals and broader vision.
Maintain actionable alumni data and establish near-term milestones and long-term measures for engagement, fellowship completion and leadership progression, and partnership results.
Assess how alumni efforts contribute to reading and math priorities, communicate progress to stakeholders, and use evidence to improve programming and resource decisions.
Coordinate with regional colleagues to align work with teacher talent, Ignite tutoring, school leadership, and nonprofit partnerships.
Listen regularly, assess what is working, and adapt alumni support to changing education conditions and the needs of students, schools, and alumni.