Director of College Partnerships – West

Job Description

Director, College Partnerships (West) | KIPP Foundation

The Tone:
This is a full-time role at KIPP Foundation, covering the Western US territory. The KIPP Foundation is significantly investing in resources to boost college graduation rates for KIPP alumni. This role is crucial for identifying, cultivating, and formalizing strategic college and university partnerships that enable KIPP alumni to enroll and persist in colleges aligned with their aspirations and needs. The person in this position will be the primary expert for college partnerships across the Western terrain, playing a key role in achieving ambitious goals.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Type: Full-time
• Location: Remote, Western US

• Team: Reports to the VP of College Partnerships on the College Advancement and Partnerships team.
• Mission: Identify, cultivate, and formalize college partnerships to increase college enrollment and completion for KIPP students and alumni.

What You’ll Actually Do
• Build and Manage: Identify, cultivate, and formalize a portfolio of university partnerships across the Western terrain, including national universities, regional institutions, HBCUs, and HSIs, to increase college enrollment and completion for KIPP students and alumni.
• Negotiate Agreements: Develop, negotiate, and finalize Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) that define clear commitments and measurable, symbiotic goals to support KIPP’s 2030 vision.
• Ensure Adherence: Maintain and revise existing MOUs and partnership agreements, fulfilling outlined agreements and adapting commitments as needed to align with evolving context, outcomes, and student needs.
• Collaborate Internally: Partner with national College Advancement and regional KIPP Forward teams to integrate partnerships into student advising and college match strategies.
• Drive Strategy: Contribute to the development of the College Partnerships strategy, including defining partnerships criteria, baseline MOU structure, goals, benchmarks, and accountability structures.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Bachelor’s Degree required; Director-level experience in developing and managing partnerships.
• Experience: 7 or more years building and managing a portfolio of partnerships, preferably with colleges/universities or charter schools across a multi-state territory, with at least 2 years building and maintaining MOUs or institutional agreements. Demonstrated experience using data to identify trends, inform decisions, and drive outcomes, alongside a strong record of success setting and reaching ambitious goals and working cross-functionally with diverse stakeholders.
• Skills: Partnership and Alliance Building; Stellar, Compelling Written & Oral Communication; Effective Collaboration and relationship building; Self-Management to Achieve Ambitious Goals; Data-informed Problem Solving.
• Bonus: Experience working with and supporting students navigating economic barriers and/or first-generation college students preferred.