Vice President, Seed

THE ORGANIZATION

The Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF) is a leading nonprofit venture philanthropy fund dedicated to identifying the nation’s best public charter schools, investing in their expansion, and helping to increase their impact. Our “portfolio” includes 200+ charter school networks that operate 1,700+ schools and serve more than 800,000 students. We are committed to expanding the impact of schools that are closing achievement and opportunity gaps. CSGF operates with the same strategies, discipline, and focus as a venture capital firm by awarding multi-year grants and loans to talented education entrepreneurs building networks of high-quality charter schools that enroll traditionally underserved students. Our goal is to serve 1,000,000 students by 2030 and 1.4 million by 2035.

This is an exciting time to join the Charter School Growth Fund. We are launching Fund V, our most ambitious fund yet, building on our 20-year track record of success. Fund V will add 250,000 new high-quality seats while helping our portfolio become durable, bedrock institutions in their communities for decades to come. We invest in the strongest charter leaders and networks in the country, and we partner closely with them to sustain excellent outcomes as they grow. Our portfolio continues to serve student populations of roughly 90% students of color and 75% students from low-income backgrounds, and we remain committed to being proximate to the lived experiences of the students and communities we serve.

THE ORGANIZATION

The Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF) is a leading nonprofit venture philanthropy fund dedicated to identifying the nation’s best public charter schools, investing in their expansion, and helping to increase their impact. Our “portfolio” includes 200+ charter school networks that operate 1,700+ schools and serve more than 725,000 students. We are committed to expanding the impact of schools that are closing achievement and opportunity gaps. CSGF operates with the same strategies, discipline, and focus as a venture capital firm by awarding multi-year grants and loans to talented education entrepreneurs building networks of high-quality charter schools that enroll traditionally underserved students. Our goal is to serve 1,000,000 students by 2030 and 1.4 million by 2035.

This is an exciting time to join the Charter School Growth Fund. We are launching Fund V, our most ambitious fund yet, building on our 20-year track record of success. Fund V will add 250,000 new high-quality seats while helping our portfolio become durable, bedrock institutions in their communities for decades to come. We invest in the strongest charter leaders and networks in the country, and we partner closely with them to sustain excellent outcomes as they grow. Our portfolio continues to serve student populations of roughly 90% students of color and 75% students from low-income backgrounds, and we remain committed to being proximate to the lived experiences of the students and communities we serve.

THE TEAM

The Seed Team at CSGF finds early-stage charter leaders and organizations across the country — with a unique focus on BIPOC leaders, underserved student populations, untapped geographies, and diverse models — and provides them with catalytic resources for growth as they expand their impact in the communities they serve. We do this by focusing on:

1. Smart sourcing that produces a diverse, high-quality pipeline of early-stage charter leaders and organizations
2. Impactful investments in early-stage charter organizations
3. Strategic supports for leaders and their teams
4. Streamlined operations and actionable data analysis
5. A strong team that brings unique gifts and expertise to the work

The Seed Team culture is built on a deep belief in the potential of leaders and students — especially our BIPOC communities across the country. We see people first. We strive for excellence, equity, and efficiency. We have fun. We don't take the work personally even though it's personal for all of us. We are "gifts-forward" thinkers who work to create opportunities for leaders and each other to radiate and shine.

THE OPPORTUNITY

We are looking for a high-capacity, entrepreneurial leader to join the Seed Team as Vice President at a pivotal point in the team’s evolution. This leader will participate across Seed’s early-stage investment work, from founder and first-school selection through replication, while holding particular responsibility for supporting organizations as they move from a strong first school or small network toward sustainable multi-school growth. The VP will help CSGF make rigorous investment decisions and support portfolio leaders in building the organizational capacity and judgement required for successful growth. 

This VP will bring strong investment judgement and organizational leadership: leading and participating in rigorous diligence across the Seed pipeline, developing and stewarding investments, and serving as a trusted strategic advisor to portfolio leaders. While the VP will contribute to founder and first-school selection, their portfolio work will focus primarily on organizations navigating replication and early multi-school growth. The VP will also help strengthen the frameworks, systems, and practices that enable the Seed Team to make consistent investment and portfolio decisions as the work scales. 

The ideal candidate has senior K-12 leadership experience and a strong understanding of what it takes for a strong school or small network to replicate successfully. Experience leading, growing, or advising a multi-school organization is strongly preferred. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Early-Stage Investment and Selection

• Lead and contribute to rigorous diligence across founder, first-school, replication, and early-growth investments and develop investment recommendations, synthesizing academic, financial, organizational, leadership and growth evidence. 
• Prepare and present investment memos to CSGF's senior management and board of directors
• Shape and continuously improve how Seed identifies, assesses, and selects organizations for investment, including strengthening the frameworks and judgment used across stages of growth. 

Portfolio Strategy and Leadership 

• Serve as a relationship manager and strategic advisor to a portfolio of Seed organizations, with primary responsibility for organizations navigating replication and early multi-school growth. Help leaders navigate consequential decisions related to organizational health, growth and sustainability. 
• Build trusted relationships with portfolio leaders that enable candid dialogue, sound judgment, and effective partnership at consequential moments. 
• Identify the organizational capabilities, risks, and decisions that will determine whether portfolio members are positioned to grow successfully, and help leaders act on those insights. 
• Help define and evolve Seed’s portfolio strategy across stages of organizational development, including where differentiated support is warranted, where CSGF should primarily monitor progress, and where additional investment is likely to create value.

Strategy, Systems and Learning 

• Translate Seed’s strategy into clear frameworks, decision processes, and operating mechanisms that enable consistent decision-making and execution across sourcing, investment, and portfolio management. 
• Help shape Seed’s annual strategy and priorities and identify where changes in portfolio evidence or organizational context require shifts in approach. 
• Synthesize learning across investments and the portfolio and translate those insights into better investment judgment, portfolio strategy and team practice. 
• Build alignment across Seed and other CSGF teams where shared decisions, handoffs, or collaboration are necessary for portfolio impact. 

Cross-Team and Organizational Leadership

• Lead cross-functional initiatives where Seed strategy, investment decisions, or portfolio needs require coordinated action across CSGF. 
• Represent CSGF externally with portfolio leaders, funders, sector partners, and other stakeholders relevant to Seed’s investment and portfolio strategy. 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Skills and Characteristics

• Deep commitment to CSGF's mission and to expanding opportunities for leaders and communities historically underserved by public education
• Senior leadership experience in K-12 charter schools; experience leading or supporting the growth of a multi-school organization is strongly preferred 
• Strong understanding of the needs of early-stage charter networks embarking on growth and expansion
• Demonstrated ability to assess organizational strength, identify the few issues that matter most, and make sound judgement under ambiguity
• Investment or diligence experience, or demonstrated ability to conduct rigorous organizational analysis
• Strong strategic thinking, analytical, and creative problem-solving skills
• Ability to move from complex information to clear judgment, priorities, and action while maintaining a high bar for execution. 
• Ability to design scalable approaches that improve decision quality, consistency, and team effectiveness 
• Ability to manage multiple complex projects concurrently
• Relationship builder who earns trust quickly and sustains it across a diverse set of internal and external stakeholders
• Capacity to work as part of a collaborative, entrepreneurial team
• Willingness to travel (~40%)

Educational Background and Work Experience

• Bachelor's degree required
• Ten or more years of work experience

COMPENSATION

Compensation is commensurate with experience and education. The target salary range for this role is $140,000-$160,000 annually. CSGF offers a very competitive package of benefits, including: health, life, disability, and dental insurance coverage; vacation/holidays and parental leave; and participation in CSGF’s 403(b) plan. Candidates must have permanent authorization to work in the US.

START DATE

CSGF is seeking candidates who can start as soon as possible; flexible for the ideal candidate.

WORKING AT CSGF 

We are focused on hiring and developing great people and believe that building diverse perspectives  across our team makes us more effective in expanding our impact. (This is reflected in Our Commitment Statement.) Our core values are:

Why you'll love working here:

• Join a team driven by purpose, collaboration, and a commitment to identifying and responding to the needs of the public charter schools that we support
• Access to professional development and learning opportunities

Our core values are:

Results

• We believe that student success is the ultimate measure of our performance.
• We work with urgency and intentionality for the portfolio and their schools. 
• We hold ourselves accountable to strong outcomes.
• We relentlessly prioritize our resources to drive positive, measurable, attributable impact for the charter leaders, their schools, and ultimately students.
• We believe strong results come from good decisions, and the best decisions are made when we use data - both quantitative and qualitative - and gather input from diverse perspectives, especially those most impacted by the work.  
• We celebrate our wins and learn from our losses.

Teamwork

• We value organization over team, and we value team over individual.
• We actively break down silos and collaborate across teams.
• We believe building strong, healthy relationships is critical to move our work forward.
• We seek to proactively communicate across teams to strengthen our outcomes and add value for the portfolio.

Integrity

• We believe that trust is our most important asset, and we must earn and maintain the trust of the portfolio member leaders, investors, and our team to achieve our goals.
• We are often entrusted with sensitive and confidential information about the portfolio - we do not ever violate these confidences.
• We show ownership for our successes and our failures. 
• We speak directly to the person, even when it's messy and hard, and get ahead of potential problems.
• We do the right thing, even when no one is watching.

Respect 

• We understand and acknowledge our place in the value chain – the students, teachers, principals, and other leaders at portfolio networks are doing the hardest, direct, and most impactful work in their schools each day.
• We prioritize humility and embrace getting better every day.
• We are curious and open-minded.
• We are aware of our own biases and how they might affect our judgment, and we take ownership to mitigate their impact.

Entrepreneurship

• We take calculated risks, looking for new ways to add value and improve how we work.
• We are problem solvers in all aspects of our work.
• We actively connect people and ideas in strategic ways to foster new ideas and learning. 
• We acknowledge not all investments will succeed and embrace failure as it facilitates deeper learning for our organization and the portfolio.

E-VERIFY STATEMENT

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you. Including terminating employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the I-9 form.

Charter School Growth Fund provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees.