Director of Partnerships
Ignite Reading
Ignite Reading teaches kids to read.
Today, 67% of students and 82% of low-income students can’t read at grade level by the end of third grade. That’s when you are supposed to go from learning to read to reading to learn. It’s America’s number one education crisis and we know how to fix it.
Ignite teaches kids to read by providing 15 minutes a day of 1:1 virtual reading instruction. We focus on the reading fundamentals (letters, phonics, and sight words) kids need to master so they can decode a sentence. Our program accelerates reading progress 2.4x and we are disrupting how schools think about reading instruction.
Ignite launched our first school implementation in the fall of 2021. Sixteen months later, we will have grown our number of schools and students 35x.
Ignite Reading is a mission-driven public benefit corporation. We believe we can do well for our team members and shareholders while we solve one of the nation’s biggest challenges. We believe we will be more successful with a diverse team and are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Your Role
The Director of Partnerships reports to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and is responsible for identifying, engaging, and securing new district partnerships in service of our goal of teaching at least a million students a day to read. You will work with an incredible team of educators to scale Ignite Reading in your assigned region, achieving quarterly and annual growth targets in service of scaling our mission.
- In partnership with the CEO, develop and own a strategic growth plan for your regional territory to drive awareness of our program and secure new district partnerships
- Manage and develop district pilots, including critical steps in service of successfully launching a new district partner and supporting them through expansions and renewals
- Liaise with key stakeholders within the assigned territory to identify new partnership opportunities; scale our program by developing relationships, networking, and fact finding to drive the achievement of targets and objectives
- Collaborate closely with Customer Success Managers and Literacy Specialists to support partnership onboarding and ongoing nurturing of relationships to ensure program implementation success
- Maintain accuracy in organization records such as ensuring all partnership activity is meticulously logged in Hubspot and all partnership pipeline reporting is accurate
- Assist with developing regional and local marketing plans on a monthly basis
- Organize and attend site visits with prospective partners
- Manage the partnership cycle to achieve company and individual goals in assigned territory
- Respond to pertinent Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and manage all components of the RFP cycle
Competencies
We are seeking Science of Reading enthusiasts with exceptional relationship management skills who are ready for an opportunity to provide kids with the highest quality reading instruction. The ideal candidate is a mission-driven self-starter with an energetic passion for transformation and equity within education, a strong early literacy background, and superb organizational and emotional intelligence skills.
- Professional network of contacts at schools and districts is highly desirable
- In-depth knowledge of the Ed Tech market, including emerging trends, competitor landscape, and funding opportunities within the education sector
- Demonstrated success in working with urban school districts and understanding their unique challenges and needs
- Proficiency in using CRM systems, such as HubSpot, to manage and track partnerships and sales activities
- Ability to build strong, authentic partnerships with district leaders, grounded in a passion around literacy equity and a keen understanding of the realities and opportunities within the system; ability to navigate the system in order to enable a successful implementation of the Ignite Reading program
- Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills
- Ability to manage multiple tasks and prioritize appropriately in a fast-paced, startup environment
- Proven organizational skills, high attention to detail, and superior time management
- Ability to work independently in a remote environment
- Strong emotional intelligence and ability to work effectively with all types of people
- Strong presentation skills
- Command of Google Suite and other technology applications, including presentation software
- Willingness to travel at least 50% to build strong relationships and support district partnerships
- Bonus: Experience as a teacher is nice to have, although not required
At Ignite Reading, we believe in building and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace environment. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer where all applicants are considered for employment without attention to color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. Research shows that candidates from underrepresented backgrounds often don't apply for roles if they don't meet all the criteria – unlike majority candidates meeting significantly fewer requirements. We strongly encourage you to apply if you’re interested!
We are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are a virtual organization with headquarters in the California Bay Area.