Research and Policy Partner, Org Relationships
Job Description
Start Date: Immediate
Role Type: Full time
Location/ Travel: Flexible–with willingness to travel ~30% domestically, when safe to do so
Who We Are:
Transcend supports communities to create and spread extraordinary, equitable learning environments. We fulfill this mission by focusing on two key priorities:
- Supporting more communities to have far better designs: To scale up their work supporting design journeys of communities, so that more places are more successfully designing, building, and spreading extraordinary, equitable learning environments.
- Making systemic change that enables innovation: To engage key actors in the field to create broader ecosystem conditions that positively impact communities on design journeys, by growing actors’ proximity to insights, voices, and evidence from work with communities and by learning from their perspectives and experiences.
To learn more about our work, check out this recent podcast by our founders: http://bit.ly/TranscendMission
The Opportunity:
Now that Transcend is five years into its trajectory, we are strategizing on how we can spark a broader, more profound, and more systemic change well beyond the “walls” of our organization. We are so inspired by the possibilities of what we may be able to do in partnership with others — through thoughtful coordination and collaboration in the field — to meaningfully reach so many more learners and communities such that innovation can take root and thrive.
The Partner of Org Relationships will set the vision for, and lead the execution of, Transcend’s partnership strategy. This will include both big picture thinking and critical on-the-ground work to find, inspire, engage, and build an ecosystem of partnerships with organizations, school and system leaders, and the broader field in pursuit of our mission.
In this role, you will get to:
- Develop the strategy for Transcend’s partnership work — in coordination with Transcend’s overall mission and vision, by working closely with the Transcend leadership team and across multiple facets of the organization
- Leverage your extensive network of existing relationships in the education landscape to identify potential partnerships with key organizations, school, system, and funder leaders to help drive our priorities and impact
- Build, sustain, and nurture healthy relationships with these partnerships and alliances
- Develop and manage tracking systems and metrics you create for partner engagement, impact, and growth
- Stay informed of educational trends to make recommendations on new partnership opportunities
- Represent Transcend at education conferences and events to forge relationships, inspire others in this work, and spread knowledge of Transcend’s services within the field
- Closely collaborate with multiple teams internally, including the School Design Services team, FIELD team, Development, and Communications teams to support partner cultivation efforts
This role reports to Arielle Rittvo Kinder, Partner, Head of Partnerships.
Who You Are:
You are a senior leader with extensive experience in the education space, who is excited to bring your vast network, profound knowledge, and strategic thinking to bear on leading partnerships for Transcend.
You care deeply about K-12 education and love researching, understanding, and monitoring critical trends, key players, and opinions in the field! You are a masterful relationship builder with a strong network in the K-12 space. You have a track record of seeing opportunities across organizations, and forging powerful partnerships to accelerate collective impact. You have established and executed strategies, successfully cultivated partnerships with organizations, and have influenced others to take action. And you haven’t stopped there! You thoughtfully drove these partnerships forward by nurturing relationships, sparking and staying in dialogue, and continuously exploring possibilities. You are an entrepreneurial and strategic leader who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, and you are excited to build and lead Transcend’s partnership strategy.
And lastly, you love that your everyday work is in service to a mission that matters. You believe deeply in the power of education to change lives and elevate voices that have been marginalized for too long, and you can’t wait to contribute your love of strategy and partnerships to this cause.
To all of this, you bring:
- A commitment to Transcend’s mission of transforming education, with a passion for creating extraordinary and equitable learning environments
- A commitment to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion in your approach to partnerships development
- A willingness to travel up to ~30% of the time to represent Transcend at events and visit partners when it is safe to do so
- Eagerness to embrace and live into Transcend’s core values
Perks and Benefits
Transcend is committed to providing our colleagues with a competitive benefits package. Transcend offers medical, dental and vision coverage options, org-wide holidays, paid time off, paid parental leave, professional development opportunities, and fully remote work. We’re also proud of our values-grounded, equity-focused, and fun(!) work environment, incredible colleagues, and a dedication to our work and each other.
Join Us!
Transcend is an equal opportunity employer. We are building a diverse team that values diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we encourage candidates from historically underrepresented groups to apply.
