We are looking for a Chief Operating Officer to execute Teach For America’s next strategic plan in Chicago-Northwest Indiana. This role will oversee every critical function of our regional team – our programmatic work, external affairs, and internal operations – and will share ultimate responsibility with our Executive Director for our organization’s impact on our students and communities in our region.
You are a values-driven, impact-oriented leader who is ready to work with the Chicago-Northwest Indiana community to ensure Teach For America maximizes its impact student opportunity. You will build, inspire and partner with broad and diverse coalitions made up of our staff, corps members, alumni, funders, and partners to advance the work of educational excellence and equity. You will ensure the long-term sustainability of the region by holding a bold vision for impact, delivering on strong programmatic results, ensuring financial sustainability, and positioning the institution as critical contributors to local, state, and national education change efforts. You will display humility, curiosity, and courage in pursuit of One Day.
In this role, you will directly manage the leaders of our programmatic, external affairs, and internal operations work who oversee a team of 42 staff. You will report to our Executive Director.
Strategy and Direction
- Facilitate an iterative, inclusive process to inform the regional vision and strategic plan and in partnership with the Executive Director, anchor in an analysis of regional progress, assets, and opportunities and drawing on diverse perspectives, including those most directly impacted by educational equity
- Manage the regional team on execution toward our strategic plan goals, monitoring progress and adjusting course as needed
Financial Stability
- Ensure that the region responsibly stewards its financial resources over a multi-year horizon through rigorous, strategically aligned management of its fundraising, budget, grants, and reserves
- Set the vision and strategy for investing and retaining long-standing and diverse philanthropic championship, including the regional advisory board, to ensure the regional and national organization have the financial resources to deliver our strategy. Set up the Executive Director to be the face of our organization and executor of our fundraising strategy with our philanthropic community
Programmatic Excellence
- Ensure our programmatic model is rooted in our organization’s mission, theory of change and values, maximizes individual and collective impact of our members as lifelong leaders for educational equity, and equips members to achieve evidence-based impact with students
Team Leadership and Talent Development
- Hire, manage and lead a diverse, high-performing team toward ambitious outcomes, enabled by a culture rooted in our commitment to our organization’s Core Values and Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness
- Develop and empower a highly effective regional senior leadership team to manage through layers toward our regional vision
Public Affairs
- Set the vision and direction for our overall public affairs strategy and for how the Executive Director and regional team will advocate proactively, publicly, and compellingly for TFA, its vision, mission, approach, and Core Values, elevating its visibility, credibility, and relevance in the region
- You have 10 years of experience and results managing high performing teams toward ambitious programmatic, financial, cultural, and public affairs outcomes. You’ve built systems to monitor, manage and hold your team accountable to progress toward goals
- You are a cultural leader and operate as the standard-bearer for your organization’s values. You actively and productively engage in dialogue to further your commitment and your organization’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusiveness. You are a transparent and inclusive decision-maker, viewing every step you take as a leader as an opportunity to build trust and community.
- You are a systems-thinker and influencer. You have a sharp political acumen and educational landscape of Chicago-Northwest Indiana and have a demonstrated ability to situate an organization’s strategy within the broader context. You are a relationship builder and influencer and can point to individual and institutional relationships you’ve built, rebuilt and strengthened toward advancing shared goals across your career.