​ORGANIZATION
East Bay College Fund helps resilient public school students, particularly those who are under-represented in higher education, get access to resources and services necessary to succeed in college and expand their life opportunities. East Bay College Fund aspires to involve the whole community in providing college access services, scholarships, mentoring, and support networks to assist these young people in realizing their full potential. East Bay College Fund works with donors, volunteers and local program partners like the Oakland Unified School District and other school organizations, institutions of higher education, and Oakland Promise to support students to and through college. With a six year college completion rate of more than 75% for its scholars (compared with 20% of similar students nationally), East Bay College Fund has provided more than $14m in scholarships to 1,500 students since its founding. For more information about East Bay College Fund and its programs, please visit www.eastbaycollegefund.org.

O​PPORTUNITY
The past few years have been a period of rapid growth for the East Bay College Fund. The organization went from serving 40 students per year five years ago to 400 students per year in 2018, with a projection of serving a total of 2,000 students in Oakland by 2021. East Bay College Fund scholars are primarily students of color from low-income families and most are first generation college students. They receive scholarships of $1,000 to $2,500 annually for up to four years of undergraduate education. They also have access to one-on-one mentoring, program staff support services, peer advising and scholar retreats. Scholars who have participated in East Bay College Fund programs to date have year over year college persistence rates of more than 85%.

The successful Executive Director candidate will be: an experienced nonprofit professional; someone with a familiarity with the local community and Oakland’s public education landscape; a compelling communicator; a strong strategic planner and systems thinker; an experienced fundraiser; and a results-driven manager who has demonstrated success for the initiatives and organizations under their leadership. This is an ideal opportunity for an impassioned social justice advocate who wants to make a significant impact on Oakland’s youth by providing them with direct funding and wrap-around support services to make their dreams of college a reality.

R​ESPONSIBILITIES
The Executive Director’s key responsibilities include:

• Leading the vision and “on the ground” execution of East Bay College Fund’s vision for success, including ensuring that its programs, organizational culture, local partnerships, and community engagement are highly effective and tightly aligned to the organization’s mission and goals;
• Managing senior leaders and staff, remaining deeply committed to developing and bringing out the strengths of all of East Bay College Fund’s people while holding them accountable for their goals and the organization’s desired financial, programmatic, and compliance outcomes;
• Partnering with the Board of Directors and funders to secure and allocate the resources and supports necessary to maintain the health of East Bay College Fund and the programs it supports, remaining solutions-oriented while pushing the boundaries of what is possible to realize the highest levels of success for Oakland’s youth today and in the future;
• Inspiring the leadership team and staff to be their best selves every day, valuing diversity, equity, and inclusion for all of East Bay College Fund’s staff and scholars, and ensuring an unyielding focus at all times on what is best for our community’s students and their families.

P​RIORITIES
A successful first year in this role for the new Executive Director will look like:

• Supporting the board and development team in securing $900k in additional funding to ensure East Bay College Fund’s programs can continue to provide robust services to their students;
• Strengthening systems in all areas - finance, development, HR, technology, performance management, program evaluation - so the organization can run smoothly and its people can maximize their effectiveness in serving a growing number of scholars;
• Building strong relationships with East Bay College Fund’s program partners, funders, board members, and advocates so they can feel confident in the organization for the long-term;
• Ensuring East Bay College Fund can uphold its commitment to serve 400 students per year, with a total of 2,000 scholars in the East Bay College Fund network by 2021 and plans for growing the number of scholars served...

Q​UALIFICATIONS
In order to fulfill these responsibilities, the ideal Executive Director candidate will be:

• An accomplished leader with a track record of success in the youth development and/or education sectors who is dedicated to East Bay College Fund’s mission and has a deep commitment to ensuring that all students can access the opportunities they deserve.
• Inspiring in his or her management style; one who sees the possibility in all adults and is willing to devote time to coach and develop them while holding them accountable to measurable results.
• Culturally competent and a self-reflective leader who understands the effects of race, class, ethnicity, income, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and other issues of difference in society and is able to lead direct conversations about them.
• Skilled in strategic planning, project management, and data analysis; able to focus on big picture priorities while not losing sight of the details.
• Systems thinker who is comfortable with numbers, successful in budgeting and financial planning, likes solving thorny problems, and gets excited by the challenge of bringing order to internal operations.
• Experienced in raising funds for their organization, including a track record of building successful business and program partnerships and/or major gifts fundraising.
• A builder of authentic relationships with scholars, community members and supporters, engaging with a variety of individuals and speaking in a clear and compelling manner about the organization’s goals and priorities.
• Strong partnership builder with a diverse range of community leaders and institutions.

T​O APPLY
Please submit a resume and thoughtful cover letter addressed to Susan Stutzman, Board Chair online at​ https://goo.gl/N4qnGT​. For additional questions about this position or to speak with someone about your interest, please contact Serena Moy at smoy@edgilityconsulting.com or at 510.575.9635.

East Bay College Fund is an equal opportunity employer and an organization that values diversity. Recruiting staff to create an inclusive organization is a priority, and we encourage applicants from all backgrounds. Candidates are evaluated solely on their qualifications to perform the work required.