Position: Regional Director, Alameda County

Reports to: Managing Regional Director, San Francisco Bay Area

Location: Bay Area, California

Job Description: The Regional Director, as part of the Regional Advocacy team, leads charter school policy and supports member schools’ interests across Alameda County in the areas of school authorization, growth, renewals, funding equity and facilities. This position works closely with charter school operators, community organizations, and local elected officials to maximize the positive impact of charter schools in the region and to ensure that students and families have access to high quality school options.

Overview of Responsibilities: The Bay Area Regional Advocacy team supports over 250 charter schools across Northwestern California, including 55 in Alameda County. This position works directly with the Bay Area Managing Regional Director to support charter members on CCSA’s policy campaigns and address policy issues specifically in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), where 37 charters are located. The work will focus on building relationships with key elected officials in OUSD and at the county level to lay the foundation for new areas of charter growth in the region and remove barriers to operation and success.

Essential Duties

Policy Making and Advocacy: Manage policy matters at the Alameda County Board of Education, OUSD and several other key school districts (e.g., Alameda Unified, Hayward Unified, etc.).
Build and manage relationships with the charter school community to inform and advocate on behalf of CCSA’s policy positions
Organize and mobilize charter school leaders toward common policy outcomes at the county and district level
Participate in taskforces on policy issues
Strategic Planning: Support and actively engage in the development, promotion, and adoption of the team’s strategic priorities to ensure they are aligned with CCSA’s broader priorities and are reflective of the charter community’s needs.
Create project plans to manage key policy initiatives, regularly tracking progress to goal
Use exceptional judgment to determine how limited resources should be spent to achieve maximum impact
Relationship Building: Cultivate relationships with key elected and appointed officials at the county and district level and build and manage relationships with charter leaders in support of the team’s advocacy agenda.
Focus strategically on policy initiatives to create supportive legislative and policy environments and leverage our members’ collective advocacy power, in collaboration with CCSA’s parent organizing efforts
Work strategically with charter schools in their authorization/renewal campaigns and provide resources to support our members in developing and operating high-quality charter schools
Political Engagement: Engage in non-partisan and partisan electoral work including strategic planning and implementation under the umbrella of CCSA Advocates, our electoral arm.
Engage charter leaders on electoral issues including district, county and statewide races and ballot measures
Actively identify potential candidates and refer them to training resources and materials
Work closely with the Parent Organizer in the region to develop outreach and mobilization strategies with parents
Cross Team Collaboration: Partner with internal CCSA teams to align resources and maximize advocacy work and outcomes
Cultivate relationships with teams to establish clear channels for effective communication and project planning
Identify shared goals and a vision for accountability to achieve these goals
Team Support
Systems Management. Develop and manage systems to ensure the Bay Area Regional Advocacy team is tracking key information around its policy campaigns, monitoring the successes and challenges its members are facing, and developing and distributing relevant charter related policy/advocacy information to elected officials and community organizations
Regional Meetings. Develop and drive project plans and logistics for the execution of regional member meetings in Oakland

What Success Looks Like

To achieve success in this role, qualified candidates will be able to consistently meet and exceed these goals:

Establish healthy policy environment for high quality charter schools to grow; whereby members have equitable access to resources (e.g. facilities, funding, and technology) and authorizers and schools work in partnership to provide high quality options for all public school students
Facilitate strong charter leader networks across the county and lead members to engage in collective actions that move the policy needle forward
Actively demonstrate these core work values: passion, impact, judgment and communication

Preferred Capabilities

At least 7 years of professional work experience
Demonstrated passion for education reform and understanding of local and statewide education reform climate
Experience working to motivate a variety of constituents
Exceptional leadership and relationship-building skills
Exceptional strategic thinking and planning skills
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Experience working with Excel and database management systems
Master’s degree preferred
Exceptional organizational skills and a self-starter
Spanish speaking preferred

How to apply
Please send the following to Kimberly Gray, kgray@calcharters.org. Subject line should read (exactly as written): Regional Director, Alameda County Job Opening

Cover letter answering the following questions:
What is it about our mission that resonates with your experience and/or interests?
What makes you an exceptional candidate for this position in particular? Please highlight any previous experience with education organizations in Oakland, if applicable.
Where did you learn about this opportunity?
Resume
References (will only contact after notifying you)

Position will be open until filled.