Director Of Partnerships & Community Engagement

ORGANIZATION SUMMARY

For more than two decades, LA Promise Fund has uplifted schools, students and families in South LA to ensure more Black and Latinx students are prepared for success in college, career, and life. Today, we accomplish this goal as an education management organization that runs two South LA charter schools and coordinates high impact educational enrichment programming to ensure students are college and career bound.  Russell Westbrook Why Not? Middle and High Schools advance a college-prep culture and integrated digital media arts-themed education, with significant parent engagement, socio-emotional support, and leadership development. 

Simultaneously, LA Promise Fund works with schools County-wide to offer a portfolio of programs that foster motivated, engaged, and directed students poised for academic, professional, and personal success. Currently, these regional programs include a focus on female empowerment, STEM, media arts, college readiness, career exposure and work-based-learning, school improvement design, and parent engagement. We work alongside a network of essential partners, students, parents, teachers, and school leaders to build strong schools that increase educational equity within South LA and beyond.  To learn more about LA Promise Fund visit www.lapromisefund.org.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Partnerships & Community Engagement is responsible for the cultivation, management and stewardship of partners, including public, corporate, school district liaisons, higher education institutions, non-profit organizations, current and potential volunteers. The successful candidate will be able to oversee a portfolio of relationships that will increase engagement of Black College Success (BCS) that will provide resources for the organization’s programming.  In addition to increasing outside collaboration and amplifying organizational support, the Director of Partnership and Community Engagement will foster increased parent and family engagement among program participants and aspiring program enrollees across BCS partner high schools. This role entails identifying and developing strategic partners that align with BCS mission, values, program development and service delivery goals. Much of the focus will include, but not limited to, community outreach, partner discovery, delivery and event engagement to achieve support for improved program participant outcomes.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

The Director of Partnership and Community Engagement will: 

• Serve as an additional liaison between BCS and partner high schools and LAUSD
• Manages an ongoing communications master plan, to provide district liaisons with organizational information, upcoming events, etc.
• Build relationships and partnerships with higher education institutions (i.e. MOUs)
• Develop funded and volunteer relationships to meet revenue and programmatic goals
• Manages ongoing communications with the colleges/universities.
• Engages with multiple non-profit organizations that complement the work of BCS; hosts informational sessions for partners, builds strategies for joint partnership and executes agreements for shared resources
• Oversees a Community Engagement strategy for organizational success
• Communicates regularly with all partners to provide updates on BCS programming and leverages additional ways to support the growth of the program
• Communications and coordinates with internal staff seeking access to community resources
• Oversees the volunteer management platform, working with the BCS staff to build volunteer opportunities for programming and special events
• Maintains and updates BCS volunteer handbook and works HR on background check process
• Lead the establishment of BCS College Access Network (CAN)
• Establish introductory meetings, identify opportunities for a mutually beneficial partnership, creatively evaluate partnership scope, draft proposals and concept briefs, and develop partnership agreements or MOUs as necessary 
• Relationship Management - Personally manage and leverage existing partnership
• Identify opportunities for new partnership models and new sector outreach to drive positive outcome goals of the BCS access and success teams
• Work with the Executive Director to define an annual strategic plan for partnership development and recommend and implement resulting actions/develop appropriate resulting strategies
• Provide strategic guidance, oversight, goal-setting and performance measurement, as appropriate
• Identify and lead execution of cross-departmental projects related to key partnerships
• Lead cross-functional planning meetings, create project plans, execute flawlessly, and measure and report on results
• Other duties as assigned

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field required
• Master’s degree in a relevant field desirable
• Experience counseling/advising in an urban school district with students of diverse backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses preferred
• Five years of work experience in educational environments
• College counseling, counseling, school experience and training desired

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrate strong presentation skills, excellent verbal communication, an understanding of education equity issues, creative and bold thinking, exceptional critical thinking skills, and a passion for driving social change
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to spark, cultivate, and grow relationships
• Adept at working effectively independently and in a collaborative team environment
• Must have a creative approach to problem solving, a "roll up your sleeves and get it done"/can-do attitude, and ability to multi-task and thrive in a fast-paced environment
• Strong knowledge of college entrance requirements
• Strong working knowledge and literacy around college access data
• Proven ability to develop and execute strategies focused on underrepresented student groups
• Strong organizational, administrative, and project management skills
• Persistent self-starter with a knack for problem-solving, networking, creating new relationships and opportunities
• A strong collaborator, good listener and strategist; comfortable receiving input from many sources, and able to analyze and formulate disparate information into a sound, well-organized plan
• Fluent computer skills including database, word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, and online communications (e.g., Microsoft Office, Google Suite, Zoom)
• Commitment to LA Promise Fund mission and Core Values of Integrity, Accountability, Collaboration, Professionalism, Excellence, Diversity and Equity  
• Must clear a LiveScan criminal background check 
• Must clear a TB Risk Assessment 
• Must complete Mandated Reporter training
• COVID-19 Vaccination (recommended)