Description ABOUT SCHOOLKIT We are a team of experienced educators who train and support schools, districts, and states to help all students meet college and career-ready standards. We believe that excellent teaching is the foundation of equitable schools. Working in partnership with local educators, we help improve instruction and leadership through content and curriculum-specific training. Together, we build schools and systems that help all students succeed. We train and coach teachers and leaders on standards-aligned instructional practices in literacy and math and specialize in professional learning using high-quality, openly available curricula. More information about our current and past work is available at .
THE ROLE The Director of Partnerships reports to the Chief Operating Officer. This role is vital for growing SchoolKit’s work. The Director will lead our business development strategy, design creative and strategic approaches for building relationships with new school systems and current clients, and help us communicate about our work. This position requires exceptional interpersonal and communications skills as well as strong organizational skills. A successful candidate has the ability to understand what types of services school systems are seeking over multi-year periods, what factors drive their decision-making about these services, how to build, maintain, and deepen strong relationships, and how to market our services. Our contracts typically range in value from $50,000 - $250,000, but we also take on large projects with states or districts that are $500,000 - $1 million+. The Director of Partnerships will be responsible for generating between $1.5 million - $2 million in revenue.
This position can be based from a home office anywhere in the U.S. Depending on location, expected travel time is 15-25% for onsite client meetings, conferences, company or team retreats, and other events.
RESPONSIBILITIES Relationship Management (50%)
Create and execute a strategic approach to partner cultivation and lead business development efforts with both new and existing partners Build strong, long-lasting relationships with partners and maintain a robust influential network of both potential partners as well as current partner organizational and individuals Leverage our existing relationships to build our network for future work Engage and leverage our internal team, including SchoolKit’s President, to develop maintain, and deepen robust relationships with potential and existing clients Business Development and Proposal Management (30%)
Identify market opportunities that are well suited to Schoolkit’s existing service offerings and research trends to inform areas for SchoolKit to innovate in order to meet market demand Generate leads and build client and partner relationships by visiting clients, attending conferences and industry events, and discussing our services with potential clients Lead pre-contract collection of context information and collaborative planning with current and potential partners Project manage the completion of basic proposals for school, district, and state-level projects, including facilitating proposal planning sessions, with support from our Operations team Contribute to the authorship of large proposals in response to district and state-level RFPs Manage and maintain detailed tracking of client relationships using a CRM to document interactions and monitor relationships Collaborate with teammates to refine and develop pricing and service models for SchoolKit’s services Marketing and Strategic Communications (20%)
Galvanize support for SchoolKit through storytelling about our impact and showcasing our work on our website, social media channels, and marketing collateral Coordinate and manage our marketing efforts, including our presence at national conferences and sponsored events as well as our marketing calendar Directly manage or contribute to the development of presentations and collateral that articulate our services and approach
Requirements
EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
5+ years of experience building and maintaining strong partnerships and client relationships in the K-12 education sector, ideally with school district leaders
A superb writer and communicator
Experience developing proposals and presentations for K-12 education sector projects
Experience managing multiple projects and the ability to handle competing deadlines
Experience working across multiple teams and influencing stakeholders
A natural at reading people/the room and adjusting your approach and communication to meet the needs of others
Ability to adapt and respond quickly to changing landscapes and work well under pressure
Attention to detail
An “all hands-on deck” colleague who is willing to dig into the details
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the third-largest school district in the United States, serving over 360,000 students in 600+ schools and employing nearly 36,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.
