Vice President, KIPP Executive Director Accelerator

KIPP • New York, NY

1d • Remote

About The Position

The Vice President, KEDA, will serve as the program lead responsible for founding KIPP’s first-ever Executive Director leadership program. The KIPP Executive Director Accelerator (KEDA) is scheduled to launch in School Year 2026–2027. This leader will design, build, and continuously refine three core programmatic components — ED identification and selection, the ED Fellowship, and the New ED Program — ensuring they function as a cohesive, high-impact leadership development pipeline. This role is fundamentally focused on building and executing a best-in-class leadership program that produces a robust and sustainable pipeline of ED-ready candidates prepared to lead one of KIPP’s 28 regions nationwide. The Vice President of KEDA will translate KEDA’s vision into concrete programming, curriculum, learning experiences, and operational structures. They will build and manage the fellowship model; design learning experiences aligned to KIPP’s leadership expectations; coordinate selection processes; cultivate facilitators, coaches, and partners; and establish the systems and rhythms necessary to run KEDA effectively at launch and beyond. As KIPP works toward its 2030 goals, KEDA is focused on preparing a specific kind of leader: an Executive Director who leads with conviction, centers students and community in every decision, and has the vision, drive, and cultural competency to deliver breakthrough outcomes across regional leadership. This role will design and deliver programming that develops a diverse cohort of leaders who excel across the five domains critical to leading a KIPP region in this era — Driving Performance, Leadership Mindset, Vision and Strategic Direction, Talent and Culture Cultivation, and Communication, Influence, and Leading Change — while remaining deeply grounded in who KIPP is and why we exist.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree or advanced certification preferred
• 10+ years of leadership experience in education, public charter systems, or non-profits with at least 5 years in a leadership role, with a proven record of success in leading complex organizations or networks
• Strong gravitas and alignment with KIPP’s values and beliefs
• Experience in talent development and performance management
• Experience leading complex systems to achieve goals in partnership with diverse stakeholders
• Strong track record of results in leading complex change management efforts
• Demonstrated success in driving academic, operational, and cultural excellence through others
• Results-Driven: Proven track record of setting and achieving ambitious goals, particularly in challenging or high-growth environments
• Relationship Building: Exceptional ability to build trust with stakeholders, including students, parents, community partners and leaders, donors, and staff.

Responsibilities

• Act as a talent magnet, cultivating current and future Executive Director (ED) prospects:
• Strategically identify and cultivate a bench of the most talented and successful education leaders with track records of extraordinary results.
• Cultivate results-driven pipeline sources over time while building KIPP’s brand as the home for top executive level talent and development
• In partnership with the KIPP Foundation Talent Team, co-design and implement executive-level recruitment strategies, inclusive selection practices, and succession planning systems aligned to network-wide talent strategy.
• Partner with Regional Superintendents to ensure that 75% of candidates who complete the ED Residency are certified “ED Ready,” and 100% of ED ready candidates successfully matriculate into an Executive Director role within two years.
• Establish annual and long-term targets based on ED attrition data and collaboration with Regional Superintendents on talent landscape and needs to meet our goals of 85% retention of high performing EDs and 100% of regions with an ED vacancy fill the role with a best-in-class successor:
• Collaborate with the Talent Team to identify a search firm partner for national searches
• Set goals, establish expectations, and monitor efforts of the partner search firm
• Tap into personal networks and cultivate relationships leading to ED referrals and candidates
• Create and maintain ED identification and selection practices in partnership with Regional Superintendents and local Board Chairs:
• Partner with Regional Superintendents and the Talent Team to operationalize toolkits and resources for existing national expectations set by the CEO including decision rights and processes related to ED selection
• Engage consistently with Regional Superintendents to gather feedback, share updates, and communicate status of each ED Fellow
• Prepare explanatory materials for local Boards and regional leadership teams
• Build resources and toolkits related to ED searches for local Board use
• Support Regional Superintendents in material creation and professional development of local boards in ED searches
• Develop selection criteria for successful completion of ED Fellowship
• Drive programming for ED Residency and New ED Cohort to support the vision of KEDA:
• Collaborate with Talent Team to define certification standards, performance metrics, and longitudinal tracking of ED Fellows and New ED participants.
• Develop case studies, codify best practices, and gather exemplar resources for ED Residency and New ED Cohort
• Collaborate with Regional Superintendent Team to scope monthly New ED virtual sessions for planning purposes
• Lead process for identifying and contracting with external faculty, identifying and preparing internal faculty
• Ensure a seamless participant experience through facilitator expectation setting, training, and norming
• In partnership with KIPP Foundation Chiefs and Regional Superintendents, create targeted development goals, scope and sequences, and participant resources in alignment with KEDA’s vision
• Drive strong operations and learning visit experiences in partnership with KIPP Foundation’s Event Design and Operations Team:
• Plan learning visits and in-person cohort development aligned to KEDA goals
• Partner with regional hosts and mentors to ensure a strong experience for both participants and hosts
• Coordinate scheduling and operations alongside the EDO team for all virtual and in person events
• Develop and manage an executive talent strategy in alignment with the vision for KEDA
• Analyze ED attrition and performance data in partnership with the KIPP Foundation leadership team
• Establish clear, data-driven benchmarks for ED readiness, certification, and placement

Benefits

• 25 holidays for + 18 days additional flexible PTO days (flexible PTO increases to 23 days for years 3 and 4 and to 28 days for years 5+).
• 100% paid parental leave
• 100% coverage of the premium for employee and 75% for employee + family’s medical/dental/vision plans.
• Wellness benefits such as fitness reimbursements, discounted tickets to theme parks/attractions, backup care support for children and adults/elders, and our employee assistance program
• Finance Security benefits include such as a 401K retirement plan with 4% match, employer-sponsored legal plans, life/disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive