Vice President, Strategy and Innovation

ABOUT ALLIANCE COLLEGE-READY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Alliance College-Ready Public Schools is one of the largest and most successful nonprofit public charter school networks in the nation, operating 26 high-performing, middle and high schools that educate nearly 13,000 scholars who make up the heart of Los Angeles’ Latinx, Black, and recent immigrant communities. Alliance schools have been recognized as among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, the U.S. Department of Education, and the California Department of Education. Since opening our first school in 2004, 95% of Alliance scholars have graduated from high school. We strive to uplift our scholars and their communities by fostering unparalleled educational opportunities that encourage scholarly thought, resilient learning, powerful communication, mind-body wellness, and community advocacy. To learn more, visit www.LAalliance.org.

ROLE SUMMARY

ROLE SUMMARY

Reporting to the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, the Vice President, Strategy and Innovation will lead Alliance’s marketing, communication, advocacy, and community engagement work, as well as support long-term strategic planning and innovative pilots. The Vice President, Strategy and Innovation will promote Alliance to all internal and external stakeholders including employees, scholars, families, community groups, external partners, elected officials, and media outlets, fostering a culture of innovation and excellence. In addition, they will work with Alliance leadership to contribute to the continued growth, evolution, and development of the OneAlliance identity, ensuring the work of the team consistently articulates Alliance's mission, and preserves and builds our reputation at all times.  

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Project Management

• Develop and lead strategic visioning and planning for the Strategy and Innovation division, including goal setting and alignment on KPIs.

• Collaborate with the Strategy and Innovation leadership team to manage the team’s budget and develop staffing plans.

• Support the development of Alliance’s long-term, organizational strategic planning and innovations across school-sites, as well as network-wide.

• Provide strategy and oversight of large scale projects across teams focusing on developing advocacy, community engagement, marketing, creative, and communication efforts for the Alliance network.

• Lead design ideations to align work across team functions to strengthen project management and execution.

Strategy and Innovation

• Support the implementation of strategic planning within cross-functional teams across the network.

• Collaborate with Strategy and Innovation leadership team on research, design, proposals, roll-out, and strategic plans for innovations both at school-sites and network-wide. 

• Lead partnership efforts with external stakeholders aimed at finding innovative programs that advance Alliance’s vision and mission.

• In partnership with the Alliance Foundation, support with grant-writing to fund innovative pilots.

Marketing and Creative

• Provide creative direction and big picture thinking to all functional team verticals, ensuring the work across communication, marketing, and advocacy are as integrated as possible.

• Manage and support the Director, Marketing and Creative with overseeing Alliance’s marketing and brand efforts, including general brand awareness, scholar enrollment, and teacher recruitment inclusive of overseeing the strategy and creation of collateral and design materials for various campaigns.

Communication

• Manage and support the Director, Communication with strategizing around, and writing for, internal and external audiences inclusive of network-wide messaging, press releases, CEO communication.

• Establish strong relationships and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders to advance team goals and outcomes.

• As needed, serve as Alliance’s communication spokesperson when the Director, Communication is unavailable.

Advocacy and Community Engagement

• Manage and support the Director, Advocacy and Community Engagement with Alliance’s strategic engagement framework with elected officials, to improve relationships with their offices and other stakeholders, and co-lead the parent and community engagement efforts across the network.

• Establish strong partnerships with community organizations, including other charter networks and local and statewide advocacy organizations, to collaborate on strategic initiatives. 

• Serve as Alliance’s advocacy spokesperson when the Director, Advocacy and Community Engagement is unavailable. 

Data Analysis

• Directly analyze and lead the review of data to make informed and strategic decisions across a number of projects and deliverables, inclusive of process improvement.

Team Engagement

• Supervise and support the directors who support the following functions: Advocacy and Community Engagement, Communication, and Marketing and Creative. 

• As needed, manage consultants that support various efforts.

• Collaborate with the Director, Strategic Initiatives and other Strategy & Innovation team members on projects.

• Collaborate with Employee Engagement, CEO Support, Scholar Enrollment, Talent, and other teams across Home Office, as needed. 

• Collaborate with school leaders and staff to plan and implement communication and advocacy strategies.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATES WILL HAVE

Work Values

• Commitment to Alliance’s vision, mission, and core values. 

• Willingness to go above and beyond to contribute to the success of the team. 

• Commitment to professional development, including participating in industry conferences to inform our strategies, work, and practices.

Strategy and Innovation

• Research and evaluation experience, including the development of surveys.

• Designing and implementing strategic planning processes, including the development of reports.

• Experience jumpstarting new enterprises and running pilots.

Education, Media, and Advocacy Experience

• School-based experience, either in the K-12 or higher education space. 

• Knowledge of urban school systems, school environments, and school culture.

• Awareness of the latest trends in teaching, learning, communication, marketing, and advocacy.

• Awareness of executive branch and legislative structures and policies impacting charter networks and the education sector in Los Angeles and California.

• Extensive marketing background encompassing high-level strategy and hands-on execution across all digital marketing channels, including email, content, social media, advertising, SEO, and website management.

• Experience organizing briefing sessions with elected officials, presenting at committee meetings, and speaking in public settings.

Communication, Analytical, and Management Skills 

• Ability to convey information in writing and verbally to a variety of audiences (e.g., large groups, staff meetings, executive briefings, public board meetings, memos, etc.).

• Strategic thinking and problem-solving skills and experience managing complex projects with competing priorities and multiple deadlines. 

• Ability to form collaborations and partnership within a multi-layered organization and across external stakeholder groups. 

Technology Skills

• Experience with the following technology tools:

  • Office: Google Suite, Asana (other project management software)

  • Communication: MailChimp, Cision 

  • Design: Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, and Figma

  • Marketing and Analytics: Google Analytics, Meta Ads, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and Instagram 

  • Organizing: Murmuration or similar organizing platforms

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• A bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university in education, public administration, public relations, or related field (master’s degree preferred). 

• At least five years managing direct reports and teams and leading large, organization-wide systems change work. 

• At least six years of progressive professional work experience in communication, media relations, marketing, or community organizing.

WORK LOCATION

This position is a hybrid role that will include working from home, our network office, and travel to school sites. The successful candidate will be given a $400 work-from-home set-up allowance and receive a monthly stipend of $100.

BENEFITS

In alignment with our commitment to equity for our scholars, Alliance is committed to equity and transparency for our team and offers competitive salaries commensurate with experience as well as generous retirement and health benefits. This position is exempt.

• Relocation: Individuals residing outside of the Greater Los Angeles area are eligible for a relocation bonus of $5,000 for individuals and $7,500 for new staff with families/partners. 

• Health Insurance: Medical, dental, and vision plan options that are covered at 100% of monthly premiums for individual employees and at least $1,000 per month towards medical family plan premiums. Please click HERE for more information on health insurance.

• Retirement: Alliance Home Office employees are eligible for a retirement allowance equal to 7.5% of their regular yearly earnings. Please click HERE for more information on retirement.

• Paid Leave: Regular full-time 12-month employees receive 8.5 weeks of vacation and paid time off. Full-time employees accrue 3 weeks of flexible paid time off per year and receive 27 other paid holidays as part of our network calendar.

• Professional Development: At Alliance, we believe in supporting staff growth and development. Home Office staff are allocated $500 per year for professional development expenses.

COMPENSATION

APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested candidates should submit an application. Please note that only candidates who are selected for an interview will be contacted.

** PLEASE NOTE: Alliance College-Ready Public Schools requires that all team members be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 for the safety of our students, family, and staff. Team members may apply to seek a medical exemption. Regardless of your current vaccination status, our team can advise you on how to fulfill this important requirement so that you can start the position in a timely way. **

Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the requirements, women and other underrepresented people tend to only apply when they match every criterion. If you think you meet some of the qualifications, but don't necessarily check every box in the job description, we encourage you to still apply. If you have questions contact the Staffing Team at JoinUs@laalliance.org.

Alliance College-Ready Public Schools are tuition-free public charter schools that do not discriminate against any scholar, parent, community member, or staff member based on actual or perceived ancestry, age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.