Director, District & Community Partnerships at Bay Ed Fund

Bay Area, CA

Full Time

Experienced

LOCATION: San Francisco Bay Area (defined as Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties)

THE OPPORTUNITY

We're looking for a systems-minded leader who believes deeply in reimagining public education and eliminating systemic inequities. You thrive in complexity, bringing clarity to ambiguity, navigating diverse perspectives, and moving high-stakes work forward with purpose and precision. As a key member of our team, you will lead strategic, cross-functional projects across instruction, data, facilitation, and communication.
In this role, you will spend:

80% of your time facilitating a district and community partnership alongside a Bay Ed Fund Partner. You will help support the development and implementation of a district’s co-created strategic plan and the development of local leaders and coalitions in service of that plan.
20% of your time contributing to internal learning. You will help us refine and codify what works so we can best serve all of our partner communities and scale our impact.

This is a unique opportunity to help build what’s possible in public education by driving real change alongside committed educators, families, and community leaders.

ABOUT THE BAY ED FUND

The Bay Ed Fund, founded in 2022, is taking a new approach to closing the opportunity gap and ensuring all students are prepared to thrive in the Bay Area. We begin with the voices and aspirations of students, families, and communities to create a local vision for how graduates will be prepared to thrive as adults in the Bay Area. We then commit to supporting the district and community over ten years to realize that vision through collaborative, transformative work at both the district and school levels. The Bay Ed Fund provides community partners with the resources to be powerful partners with the district, and district partners with strategic facilitation support, meaningful philanthropic funding, and capacity building in the areas of talent, change management, instructional improvement, family engagement, and resource allocation.

Currently, we are working in South San Francisco, East Palo Alto, exploring a third community partnership with San Mateo - Foster City. We plan to expand our reach to other Bay Area communities in the near future.

ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES

You’ll have the opportunity to roll up your sleeves with education and community leaders in one of our partner communities to improve work and execute projects of high value for students. In our work with districts, we have often found opportunities to pilot a new way of working– communicating more effectively with families, bringing data forward in digestible ways, supporting aligning time/resources with priorities and values, and using new mediums that strengthen the change narrative in a district and community. By bringing capacity and resources to these projects, we can support district leaders in reimagining how their vision can come to life. We’re looking for an experienced leader with diverse experiences in schools and school systems to lead these transformational projects.
In this pivotal role, you will have three primary responsibilities that will shape the lives of thousands of students:

BRING THE COMMUNITY-DESIGNED VISION TO LIFE FOR DISTRICTS AND SCHOOLS

You’ll work closely with a Bay Ed Fund Partner to identify and lead critical projects that support stakeholder engagement, instructional improvement, and effective execution of the district’s strategic plan. These projects will vary based on district needs, but may include:

Synthesizing stakeholder feedback and surfacing clear, actionable insights
Redesigning internal meetings to make them more focused, productive, and engaging
Designing pilots and implementation plans to strengthen instructional strategy
Assessing hiring practices and recommending quick wins for improvement

Your work will help district leaders move from vision to action—and build trust, clarity, and momentum along the way.

COORDINATE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CAPACITY

In addition to directly leading projects with district partners, you’ll help ensure the right support shows up at the right time. This includes working across the Bay Ed Fund team—especially with domain experts in instruction, finance, data, and coalition-building—as well as with external partners who contribute critical capacity to local efforts. Your coordination will help maximize impact and reduce friction for our partners. This work may include:

Supporting external consultants to integrate their work into local efforts
Managing timelines and touchpoints to ensure all contributors are moving in sync
Capturing and sharing learning across teams to inform future work
Being the implementation lead for any direct supports from the Bay Ed Fund, with guidance from our internal domain experts

You’ll serve as a connector and integrator—ensuring all the moving parts work together to advance what’s possible for students.

BUILD AND SHARE KNOWLEDGE

You will help the Bay Ed Fund stay at the forefront of what works for students, schools, and systems. This includes tracking research, codifying insights from our partnerships, and connecting with others- internally and externally- to ensure we are consistently leading breakthrough work. Key responsibilities may include:

Identifying leading organizations and building relationships to learn from their work
Staying current on research and field trends through reading, events, and expert conversations
Surfacing bright spots from our communities and exploring ways to scale them, as appropriate
Developing tools and resources to share what we’re learning with others

Your work will ensure our team—and the broader field—continues to learn, improve, and aim higher for students.

STRENGTHEN BAY ED FUND

Beyond your core community and district-serving work, you’ll play an active role in shaping our team and strengthening the organization. We believe the way we work together is just as important as what we do. Your leadership will help build a resilient, values-driven team that can sustain transformational change over time. This may include:

Contributing to a strong, inclusive team culture and supporting internal team operations
Supporting organizational communications and storytelling across our work
Building and sustaining relationships with sector leaders, funders, and mission-aligned partners
Taking on internal initiatives that support our long-term growth and effectiveness

Your contributions will help ensure the Bay Ed Fund remains a bold, effective, and enduring force for public education.

QUALIFICATIONS

We recognize that qualifications extend beyond a checklist, and we encourage candidates who believe they could be a good fit to apply, even if they do not meet every qualification. We value diversity, inclusivity, and belonging, and we invite all to join us in driving transformative change in education.

Diverse Set of Education Leadership Experiences: With seven-plus years of professional experience, you’ve had exposure to educational systems at multiple levels and can bring nuanced perspectives on various challenges, from communication to data to instruction. You can leverage your experiences to create exceptional teams, products, and experiences. You’ve been able to build a variety of skills, including storytelling, analysis, and facilitation.
Expert Change Management: You understand the barriers to doing things differently and can use a variety of approaches to cultivate stakeholder buy-in, build momentum, and ensure lasting results. You’ve successfully overseen a significant change within a large organization and know how to weave change management throughout a process.
Efficient Project Management: You have experience managing complex projects with several partners. You manage ownership and expectations, delivering value while also leveraging others’ skills and experiences. You anticipate risks to the effective execution of projects and seek to mitigate those risks.
Strong Interpersonal Skills: Your interpersonal skills are well-rounded, enabling you to build strong relationships with various stakeholders, from elected officials and district leaders to students and families. You effortlessly collaborate with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds and skillfully facilitate joint problem-solving with partner organizations, communities, and districts.
Orientation to Action & Impact: You have a demonstrated ability to translate ideas and recommendations into action. Your well-developed influence skills allow you to facilitate change, build capacity, and achieve desired outcomes through collaboration.
Self-motivated and Entrepreneurial: You possess a highly self-motivated work style and eagerly embrace leadership roles within our organization. Your proactive nature and initiative are catalysts for progress and growth within our organization and partner communities.
Compelling Verbal & Written Communication Skills: You can communicate to create a shared understanding. Your verbal and written communication skills convey complex ideas simply and compellingly to diverse audiences. You have a track record of quality communication deliverables for internal and external audiences.
Based Locally: We have found there is no substitute for in-person meetings to build the relationships needed for this work. Therefore, we require the person in this role to live in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, or Santa Clara county. Additionally, we have a preference for a candidate with experience and positive relationships working directly in our partner communities (i.e., South San Francisco, East Palo Alto, San Mateo/Foster City).
(Preferred but not required) Adept at communicating in Spanish: You are able to engage a diverse range of community members, including many who are Spanish-speaking.

HOW WE WILL WORK TOGETHER

This is a unique opportunity to lead and make a lasting difference in the lives of students, schools, and communities. If you are ready to inspire change, challenge the status quo, and build a better future through education, we invite you to join us on this remarkable journey.

Our culture and collaborative approach are key pillars of our organization. As a strong candidate, you will thrive in an environment that embraces:

Transformative education for ALL students: We believe in the transformative power of education and are committed to ensuring that every student receives an exceptional learning experience. We challenge the status quo and strive to create new, innovative approaches to education that break down barriers and uplift all students.
Learning and unlearning in pursuit of our vision and outcomes: We recognize that growth is a continuous journey in pursuit of our vision and outcomes. We value feedback and actively invest in our personal and professional development. By fostering a culture of learning, we empower ourselves to constantly improve and deliver an even greater impact.
Relationship building: Trust is the foundation of our success. We understand that authentic connections and strong relationships are vital for effective collaboration, both within our team and with external partners. Taking the time to truly know one another is not a luxury but an essential part of our work.
Simple solutions: We relish the process of problem-solving and seek elegant solutions that simplify complex challenges. Our focus is on empowering communities and directing our resources toward impactful investments in education. We strive for practical, efficient, and effective solutions that maximize student outcomes, experiences, and community agency.
Humble leadership: We prioritize the mission above individual egos or politics. No task is too small or beneath anyone on our team. We approach our work with humility, recognizing that the best solutions for students and communities are the ones that prioritize their needs above all else.

Additional Details & How to Apply

In this role, you would be joining a small and growing team. Bay Ed Fund currently has 10 staff members and plans to expand to 12 staff members in the next few months.
This role has a salary range of $140K-$180K based on experience. Bay Ed Fund offers a generous benefits package, including holiday and vacation time; health, vision, and dental insurance; and 401K matching.

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