Associate Director of External Affairs

BES is a national non-profit organization that identifies and prepares excellent leaders to transform education in their communities. From school founders and executive directors, to operations leaders, deans of students, and directors of curriculum and instruction, BES trains leaders to build schools, to ensure their schools excel, and to sustain their results over time. Since 1993, BES has prepared leaders to found more than 215 schools in 54 cities across 21 states and Washington, DC, educating more than 71,000 students each year. 82% of these students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and 94% identify as students of color. In all, BES has trained nearly 3,000 leaders to found, lead, and grow schools that reflect and respond to the needs of their communities.

The Associate Director of External Affairs is an integral member of the six-person External Affairs Team. This person will conduct research and ensure smooth operational systems, robust knowledge, and relationship management within and across teams so that BES can accurately measure our impact and properly steward and collaborate with key stakeholders to expand our reach. The Associate Director of External Affairs reports to the Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships. 

Headline Responsibilities:

The Associate Director of External Affairs is responsible for:

• Researching:
• Conduct prospect research to identify new local and national funders and partners to ensure BES meets our annual fundraising and partnership goals. 
• Conduct research for new regions for the BES Fellowship, and select BES programs, and assess their viability in terms of need, authorization, talent, and strategic partners with guidance from the Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships and Senior Director of External Affairs and Philanthropy.
• Manage and update the Funder Resource Playbook, Authorizer Playbook, External Affairs Handbook, and BES Fellow School Model Summaries.
• Track and disseminate national and regional news to inform new and current approaches to BES’ development and partnership strategy.   
• Track federal and state policy and legislative developments that impact or may impact BES strategy or lead to new opportunities for BES.

• Managing Relationships and Producing Materials:
• Support senior-level team members by creating pre-and post-meeting strategic notes for external meetings, drafting outreach and follow-up emails  for these meetings, and drafting custom proposals to work towards securing new partnerships for BES.
• Support the Senior Director of External Affairs and Philanthropy in the execution of the stewardship strategy, including drafting and sending donor appeal and acknowledgment letters as well as drafting letters of intent or responses to request for proposals (RFP) issued by charitable entities.
• Support the recruitment and selection of BES Fellowship candidates for regional partners by creating prospective Fellow candidate portfolios for partner interviews, scheduling partner interviews, and facilitating follow through as needed in collaboration with the Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships.
• Manage a subset of external relationships with support from the Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships that will grow over time once acclimated to the role.

• Managing Information:
• Responsible for overall knowledge management and database systems (including our CRM (Zoho) and Google Drive) for External Affairs
• Depending on availability of funding each year, manage BES startup funding process for all BES Fellows and the BES team, including reviewing applications submitted, coordinating deliberations with the Startup Committee, monitoring the pool of funding, completing all award notification responsibilities, and improving processes each year.
• Manage grant deliverables spreadsheet and support Senior Director of External Relations and Philanthropy and Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships to engage program leads in a timely manner as needed to track progress and inform future grant applications.
• Coordinate with the BES Operations Team to source, analyze, and share key information maintained by the Operations team such as the BES roster of schools
• Lead special projects, as needed, to collect, organize and analyze information regarding BES programs and leaders (such as job transitions of BES alumni) in collaboration with the Operations to drive development and partnership strategy.
• Monitor the External Affairs Team’s progress toward goals as part of the BES Strategic Plan to ensure we stay on track to meet our targets.

• Continuously Improving:
• Continuously improve BES’ development, strategy, and partnerships research, operations, and knowledge management functions, in alignment with BES beliefs, the BES strategic plan, and our values of continuous growth and learning, intentional results, valuing all voices and identities, integrity and respect, and clear and candid communication.

 

Required Skills, Experience, and Competencies:

The ideal candidate for the Associate Director of External Affairs has had at least three years of relevant experience.

• Organizational Skills: Organized and detail-oriented, has an ability to simultaneously handle a variety of projects and complex tasks, and has disciplined systems to manage information.
• Proven Independent Leader: Has a track record of meeting deadlines and prioritizing work and has the patience and tenacity to complete online research consistently. Knows how to successfully manage up and across an organization to get relevant information and drive strategies. History of teamwork and willingness to roll up sleeves to get the work done.
• Demonstrated Commitment to DEI: Has a track record of making commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion in practical, tangible, and result-oriented ways. Demonstrates a willingness to learn about research-based tools and strategies to further BES’s commitment to equitable and antiracist practices.
• Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication skills and a demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with a variety of internal and external stakeholders in diverse settings.

 

Preferred Skills, Experience, and Competencies:

• K-12 Education Experience: Experience working or volunteering directly in K-12 education or a K-12 education nonprofit.
• Database Management Experience: Experience using a customer relationship management system, and ideally, Zoho.
• Technology: Experience using Google Suite, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, Canva, online meeting platforms (Zoom), donor prospecting software (such as iWave, DonorSearch or a similar platform).

 

Other Requirements:

• Travel for bi-annual team convenings or occasional conference or in-person meeting attendance for the External Affairs Team
• Can be based anywhere in the United States

 

Compensation:

• BES offers a competitive salary and benefits package, which includes medical and dental coverage, a 401(k) contribution match, paid time off, paid parental leave, and the ability to work remotely. 
•  The 2024-2025 salary range for the Associate Director position at BES is: $85,005-$102,988

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