School Network Staff Program Officer, Talent
Job Description
About our foundation
The Chamberlin Education Foundation (CEF) is a nonprofit family foundation that advances student success in West Contra Costa, CA. The foundation’s grants and programs are designed to generate improved academic outcomes and long-term educational success for K-12 public school students — particularly Black, Latinx, and other historically under-resourced groups — across West Contra Costa’s public schools.
At CEF, we believe that improved student academic success depends in part on the talent, expertise, and dedication of the educators and leaders in local public schools. Our schools currently face an unprecedented educator shortage that inhibits their ability to provide students with the rigorous, culturally responsive learning experiences that will propel their academic growth. To fulfill its broader mission, CEF intends to increase its support for partners working to improve the recruitment, retention, and continuing professional learning of educators and leaders in West Contra Costa public schools.
The opportunity
Our team seeks a Program Officer, Talent to build relationships with key stakeholders and grow a portfolio of grants aimed to recruit and retain effective and diverse educators and leaders in West Contra Costa public schools.
Reporting to the VP of Academics, the Program Officer, Talent will create and implement a multi-year strategy to support grantees working to attract and retain top-notch teachers, principals, and systems leaders to public schools in West Contra Costa. The Program Officer, Talent will support all four of CEF’s strategic priorities: equity-focused leadership, high-quality curriculum and instruction, restorative student interventions, and collaborative educational ecosystem.
Candidate profile
Candidates with 7-10 years experience in the field of K-12 education are encouraged to apply. The ideal candidate is an experienced educator and leader, adept at strategically evaluating and navigating partnership opportunities and converting complex goals into concrete, actionable steps that will advance CEF’s work in this key focus area. Grantmaking or other related nonprofit leadership experience is preferred but not required.
Core responsibilities
The Program Officer, Talent, will:
Directly manage and grow a portfolio of grants aimed to recruit and retain effective and diverse educators and leaders
- Collect and analyze data to understand the educator recruitment and retention landscape, including bright spots and challenges
- Steward a portfolio of existing grantees, including building trusting and authentic relationships with grantees, redefining goals and priority areas with partners, and presenting renewal opportunities to CEF’s Board of Directors
- Source and perform due diligence to identify new grantee opportunities that will improve educator and leader pipelines
- Be responsible for all aspects of CEF’s teacher Gratitude Grants program
- Utilize an equity lens to evaluate and improve grant selection process
Build relationships with key stakeholders who share a similar vision to strengthen educator pipelines
- Strengthen relationships with school leaders, administrators, and systems leaders to address gaps in human capital practices and build teacher and leader capacity
- Create opportunities to convene key stakeholders to learn about innovative ideas for talent recruitment and retention
- Co-design promising solutions alongside school partners and support the implementation, refinement, and measurement of the progress made of these interventions
- Develop collaborative relationships with community-based organization leaders, Human Resources professionals, and others to learn about current efforts in this space, inform CEF strategy, and identify strategic opportunities for aligned action
Explore innovative ideas for talent recruitment
- Collaborate with other Bay Area and national funders to bring innovative initiatives to West Contra Costa, including teacher residencies and Grow-Your-Own programs
- Serve as CEF’s resident expert on successful initiatives to improve educator and leader pipelines
- Research and identify promising innovations in other districts across the country and other industries for implementation in West Contra Costa
Embody the values and principles that align with CEF’s organizational identity and mission
- Represent the foundation in public settings and with key partners and stakeholders
- Champion the foundation’s core beliefs, strategic approach, and overall commitment to student success
- Encourage and generate positive experiences with CEF’s programs, partners and practices
- Gather, organize, analyze, and report on outcomes of grantmaking
- Generate reports and progress updates about CEF’s work for internal and external audiences
Candidate skills and attributes
This position is for you if you are:
- Driven to improve educational outcomes for all students with a particular focus on historically marginalized student populations
- Passionate about making West Contra Costa a magnet for talent at all levels of the educational system
- Excited about building a network of connected educators, education researchers, and community-based organizations grounded in the importance of talent acquisition, retention, and capacity building
- Strong operator who is able to plan and manage complex projects that include multiple internal and external stakeholders
- A highly relational professional with the capacity to build strong, trusting relationships with both staff, students and community stakeholders
- A strategist who is able to pursue the right research to arrive at an evidence based approach to making investments and supporting grantees
- Equally effective working independently and as part of a highly collaborative team that values flexibility, candor, humor, inclusivity, and open-mindedness
- Enthusiastic to deploy existing and emerging innovations in service of CEF’s partnership, collaboration, and impact goals
Candidate additional qualifications
- B.A./B.S. degree from an accredited university, Masters degree preferred but not required
- Minimum of 7 years experience working in K-12 education as an educator, nonprofit program manager, philanthropic professional or related work experience
- Demonstrated familiarity or commitment to West Contra Costa (preferred)
- Spanish communication skills (preferred)
- Working proficiency with Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, Asana, and / or CRM platforms (eg. Hubspot, Salesforce, etc.) or demonstrated desire to quickly learn
What CEF offers
- Competitive salary of $100,000-$130,000 based on experience
- Generous benefits package including, medical, vision, dental, life, and long term disability insurance, and 401(k)matching
- Flexibility to work remotely up to two days per week
- The room and resources to innovate and execute in partnership with a small, agile and supportive team
- An entrepreneurial environment with mission-driven colleagues who are as passionate and committed as you are
- Continued opportunities for professional growth and development
- The chance to make a difference
