Finance Investment Manager, Scale Team
Job Description
THE ORGANIZATION
The Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF) is a leading nonprofit venture philanthropy fund dedicated to identifying the nation’s best public charter schools, investing in their expansion, and helping to increase their impact. Our “portfolio” includes 140+ charter school networks that operate 1,100+ schools and serve more than 500,000 students. We are committed to expanding the impact of schools that are closing achievement and opportunity gaps. CSGF operates with the same strategies, discipline, and focus as a venture capital firm by awarding multi-year grants and loans to talented education entrepreneurs building networks of high-quality charter schools that enroll traditionally underserved students. Ultimately, we think the portfolio can grow to serve ~1,000,000 students within a decade.
This is an exciting time to join the Charter School Growth Fund. We are launching our next philanthropic fund in 2022, building on our 15-year track record of success. CSGF’s new five-year “Fund IV” will be larger in size and scope than previous funds, with a goal to continue to fuel charter sector growth, accelerate innovation, and strengthen long-term outcomes for students, particularly students of color and those from low-income backgrounds. Our new fund will continue to prioritize investments in leaders of color as our current portfolio is led by more than 50% leaders of color and more than 50% female leaders. We believe it is vital for the networks we support to be proximate to the lived experiences of the students and communities they serve.
THE OPPORTUNITY
CSGF is seeking a new cohort of three Investment Managers to join our Scale Portfolio team as we launch Fund IV and look to invest in the next generation of high performing charter management organizations throughout the country. The Scale Portfolio Team focuses on organizations who are looking to grow three or more new schools in the next 5-6 years. We invest in and support organizations ranging from 2 or 3 schools to those serving students in over 100 campuses. The Manager will collaborate with CSGF’s Partners and investment candidates to conduct deep due diligence and continue to build CSGF’s portfolio of high-quality charter schools. We are seeking a candidate with a strong results orientation and demonstrated project management, communication, and analytical skills. The ideal candidate will possess an ability to manage complex projects, think strategically, and communicate effectively with diverse groups of stakeholders. While prior professional educational experience is not a requirement, we are looking for candidates who are passionate about and committed to K-12 education reform. Previous investment manager alumni have leveraged their experience at CSGF to pursue careers in CMO networks, ed reform non-profits, and have attended high profile business and graduate schools.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Below is a general outline of responsibilities. CSGF is a fast-moving organization, roles and responsibilities may change to meet the needs of the organization and the charter networks we support.
- Conduct intensive due diligence on high-performing charter school operators, including analysis of business plans, achievement data, leadership teams and market conditions
- Prepare investment proposals and recommendations for CSGF’s partners and board of directors
- Work closely with CSGF Partners on investments, research, and analytic projects
- Conduct diligence and prepare investment proposals for capacity and market-related investments in targeted geographies
- Provide support to charter school operators who are undertaking a strategic planning process, including assisting with comparable data and business plan development
- Lead sourcing efforts in specific geographic regions to identify potential investment candidates
- Manage portfolio member data for use in annual reviews, investment decisions and industry benchmarking
- Collaborate with other CSGF teams to continuously improve internal processes and workflow
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Skills and Characteristics
- Deep commitment to CSGF’s mission and our Commitment to Diversity
- Strong strategic thinking, analytical, and creative problem-solving skills
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, particularly the ability to build strong relationships with diverse groups of stakeholders
- Strong project management experience that drives efficiency and excellence in all aspects of work
- Ability to work seamlessly between high-level strategy and detail-oriented work
- Demonstrated proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint
- Willingness to travel
Educational Background and Work Experience
- Bachelor’s degree required
- Two to four years of work experience, preferably including management consulting, a charter management organization, investment banking, venture capital, corporate strategy, or similar experience
- Experience in education/non-profit field is a plus
WORKING AT CSGF
We are focused on hiring and developing great people and believe that building diverse perspectives across our team make us more effective in expanding our impact. (This is reflected in Our Commitment to Diversity Statement.) Our core values are:
- We work relentlessly to create efficient, measurable, and sustainable results. We strive for excellence and pursue our mission tenaciously. Ideally, you thrive working in a self-directed manner in a fluid environment where flexibility and tenacity are required.
- We embrace calculated risks and new approaches. We have an entrepreneurial spirit that welcomes innovation, diversity of ideas, and risk. We rely on you to question conventional wisdom and think independently.
- We are truthful, fair, and trustworthy in all aspects of our work. We hold ourselves and our partners to the highest ethical standards. We trust you will too.
- We appreciate the challenges faced by education entrepreneurs and recognize the limits of our own knowledge. We understand that our ultimate success depends on that of our partners. Your humility will be key to building trusted and authentic relationships.
- We value each of our team members as individuals but believe that we achieve the best results by working together. We willingly sacrifice individual interests and recognition for greater collective impact. We hope having fun at work is important to you and that you are a team player.
COMPENSATION
Compensation is commensurate with experience and education. The target salary range for this role is $80,000 – $85,000 annually. CSGF offers a very competitive compensation package.
START DATE
CSGF is seeking candidates who can start as soon as possible.
Charter School Growth Fund provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees.
