Chief of Growth and Strategic Partnerships

About the Position:

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer and working closely with the Board and Executive Leadership Team, the Chief of Growth and Strategic Partnerships (CGSP) will help lead Learning Ally’s national fundraising and partnership strategy to help the organization scale its impact and serve more students through ground-breaking initiatives. They will identify and develop funding sources for new initiatives to support the organization's growth to new markets, as well as lead all strategy and operations in support of the organization reaching its revenue goals. The CGSP will also serve as a thought partner to Learning Ally’s leadership and foundation teams to ensure success in raising funds for strategic initiatives.  In this truly unique position, the CGSP will not only raise revenue for Learning Ally initiatives, but also raise money for key academic partners and identify new potential partnerships that will drive Learning Ally’s mission and to help students thrive.

Primary Position Objectives

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Develop a Learning Ally Investor Fund and business plan that attracts philanthropic investors and measures returns through the double bottom-line of financial and impact returns. Effectively parses current Learning Ally solutions, future Learning Ally solutions, and third party investments in developing fundraising and investor plans.  
• Maintain and steward a current portfolio of $3-4M, deepening and growing the quality of those relationships, while scaling and growing annual philanthropic investments from new partners
• Pursue and close high potential philanthropic partnerships with new and existing individual and institutional investors, effectively building a business case for support that attracts their interest and aligns with their investment priorities.
• In partnership with the CEO, Leadership Team and Board, develop and execute a partnership and investor strategy that will allow Learning Ally to dramatically scale its solutions to serve more youth.  
• Partner with Leadership Team to source, structure, and execute mutually beneficial partnerships companies and foundations.
• In partnership with the CMO, build and execute an overall communication strategy to support donors/investors.
• Produce and oversee production of grant proposals, grant reports, and other development presentations and materials to ensure the highest quality and best representation of Learning Ally’s impact.
• Manage, develop, and grow a team of three fundraising professionals to support Learning Ally’s business plan. Expand the team as needed to support the implementation of the business plan.

Candidate Requirements:

The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications:

• Must demonstrate a passion for Learning Ally’s mission
• Bachelor's degree (preferably Education, Finance, or Marketing) required; Master’s or MBA preferred. Education experience from the classroom, administration, or solution development highly preferred. 
• A strong leader and developer of talent; desire to help others succeed, with a history of building and leading high-performing teams.
• A deep understanding and ability to articulate the challenges and opportunities of philanthropy required, experience driving and leading revenue in the private sector highly preferred.
• Understanding of how to build investor relations programs grounded in equity, inclusion, and respect.
• Experience cultivating and closing six and seven figure gifts from individuals, foundations, and corporations and ability to advise on strategy and best practices.
• The drive to develop new and innovative education solutions – must be able to provide and enable out-of-the-box thinking based on user needs and not be constrained by “what exists today.”
• Great interpersonal skills, exemplary writing skills, along with a creative mind for deal structuring. 
• A self-starter who has demonstrated experience juggling many projects/deals simultaneously.
• A talented strategist that has experience developing and implementing strategies and related plans, tools and processes in fund development
• Must be highly effective in creating business plans and supporting cases for support-investment.
• Must thrive on relationship building with both foundations and individuals and be very comfortable having both high level strategic and in depth program conversations. High level of business acumen is a must.
• Effectively report and reflect business development activities to ensure accurate forecast reporting.

Learning Ally Benefits:

• Medical Insurance Benefits (Cigna)
• Dental & Vision benefits
• Short-term and Long-term disabilities benefits
• Health Flexible Spending Account
• Life Insurance Benefits
• 401k Plan – With Organizational Matching program
• Generous PTO Policies per calendar year