Position Type: Internal-External
FLSA Classification: Exempt
Reports to: Jonathan Paul, Chief Regional Operations Officer
Start date: May 2023
Location: Houston, TX
Salary Range: $143,000-$150,000 is the hiring salary range (i.e. the range a candidate would be offered to start)
About OneGoal
A postsecondary education unlocks opportunities and economic mobility not only for students, but entire communities. Yet for millions of underserved students, it remains out of reach: only 22% of students in low-income communities earn a postsecondary degree compared to 67% of students from high-income communities. This is not for lack of ambition or talent, but for lack of opportunity and support. OneGoal’s model, honed over 15 years, delivers a culturally relevant experience that works: 82% of OneGoal high school graduates enroll in a postsecondary institution and 73% of those persist one year after high school graduation. We are looking for individuals to join us in our pursuit of equity.
The Person
The Executive Director (ED) of OneGoal Houston will articulate and execute a vision for closing the degree divide in OneGoal Houston and – in a few years – across the state of Texas. They will do this while ensuring strong programmatic outcomes, securing the financial resources to achieve our mission, and creating a rewarding and equitable staff experience. The ED will refine the OneGoal Houston 2025 Strategic Plan, our compelling vision for OneGoal’s work in Texas that will inspire internal and external stakeholders to engage with, invest in, and believe in what’s possible for young people.
You will do this by:
Partnerships, Outreach, and Brand-Building (50%): Manage Senior Director, External Affairs and their team to hit or exceed our goals through strategic partnership and execution
- Steward partners and other influencers to catalyze our impact and growth, including engaging with district and state leaders
- Cultivate individual and institutional donors and serve as primary solicitor for all major gifts
- Steward Advisory Board members and grow advisory board to at least 10 diverse, engaged individuals
- Present and speak at events (OneGoal events as well as others) to raise awareness and build champions
- Engage in Development planning and strategy as appropriate, including partnership with National Development and RegOps colleagues
- Partner with RVP to track and manage growth of our school and district partnerships and fee-for-service (FFS), and create a clear multi-year, comprehensive growth plan
- Develop and execute a plan for OneGoal Houston to become OneGoal Texas by December 2025
Team Leadership (30%): Lead the Houston regional team to hit or exceed target KPIs in program impact, partnership growth, staff engagement, and financial efficiency & health
- Provide timely management and coaching support to the Regional Vice President (RVP) and Head of External Affairs to ensure they are achieving strong results with their team, including our program impact goals and growth efforts at the district, city, and state level
- Effectively oversee the management of budget, including identifying opportunities and approving trade-offs connected to our overall priorities
- Foster a strong, trust-based team culture that increases trust and belief in the Houston region and broader organization, and coach People Managers to do the same
- Support the RVP in development of a team culture plan centered around our Core Values and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion
Executive Leadership of OneGoal (20%): Serve as a collaborator and partner to five other Executive Director, National teams, and Regional teams across the country
- Ensure alignment between regional activities and our organizational strategic direction
- Through input and influence, help ensure the success of the transition from OneGoal Houston to OneGoal Texas initiative organizationally
- Support the health of the organization specifically through National/Regional collaboration initiatives at the senior level, including cascading change management
- Create, share, and refine a comprehensive annual plan, incorporating strategic objectives, personnel, and budget
- Position OneGoal as a thought leader and go-to partner for postsecondary planning and success through advocacy and coalition work
- Liaise with state and district leaders to build brand awareness and harness ideas to inform our local and national strategy
The Executive Director, Houston is likely to see himself/herself/themselves in the following examples as they are designed to help you determine if this opportunity aligns with your own passion, purpose, skills, and experiences.
You believe deeply in the brilliance of all students and in their ability to earn a postsecondary degree.
- You believe that our Fellows face real systemic barriers to postsecondary completion and that empowering families, teachers, and students to own their unique path will help them to overcome those barriers.
- Your hope is coupled with a strong understanding of postsecondary readiness, access, and success research and the systemic barriers that first-generation, low-income, and students of color face in pursuit of their postsecondary goals.
You are a strategic visionary – who puts it into practice.
- You are driven by a bold vision of what’s possible, and can quickly and effectively build momentum around that vision across diverse constituencies.
- You have an exceptional ability to create and refine clear, compelling visions, especially visions that require a team or organization to stretch beyond the status quo. You are able to take an inherited, big-picture vision and break it apart to crystalize the critical steps necessary to actualize that vision (e.g. set benchmark goals and time-bound key actions).
- You can also break down a complex vision into clear, tangible, and measurable milestones for yourself and others. You see the big picture, but you thrive in the gradual pursuit.
- You can see connections across lines of work and you maximize those connections by opening lines of communication and forming strong collaborative partnerships.
- You like to explore and build innovative approaches and have designed new ways of doing things. You make connections, determine fits, and build plans that are responsive to interlocking and evolving challenges and opportunities.
- You understand and can connect today’s strategic choices to the long-term financial viability.
You have a remarkable ability to compel and inspire and it is rooted in your beliefs.
- You have tremendous ability to adapt messages to different audiences in order to inspire stakeholders and build champions.
- You believe your impact can be greater when you empower others. You believe that all individuals have the ability to be great, and that even great executors can achieve more with additional resources and support. You build relationships quickly, consistently, and authentically.
- You are driven by the belief that we cannot move the needle on the postsecondary completion movement without talented individuals from diverse backgrounds working together inclusively.
- You are able to influence, cultivate, and inspire action due to an exemplary ability to build coalitions, lead from a position of inquiry, and be empathetic and flexible to the needs of others.
- You take an equity-centered approach to your work and actively work to uproot the barriers and mindsets that impede opportunity for our Fellows and our work.
- You are committed to influencing others to gain and act on an understanding of the barriers our Fellows face and become champions of addressing that injustice.
You are highly effective at building authentic, long-lasting relationships and coalitions.
- Your relationships with key stakeholders are authentic and grounded in honesty, integrity, and trust.
- You are persistent and understand that building relationships across Houston and Texas school and district leaders will take time. You will put in the work and strategize with team members to help more Fellows have access to OneGoal.
- You are energized by uncovering and understanding the unique interests and needs/motivations and barriers that others possess and leverage your understanding of those unique needs, interests, and differences of others in order to drive progress towards increasing our fundraising efforts and effectively managing and engaging our regional board.
- You enjoy collaborating with others to leverage their knowledge and are eager to work across functional teams and internal and external audiences to ensure external partners are invested in what is happening in the Houston region.
Qualifications:
- Lived experience of the Fellows we serve (Preferred)
- Ability to travel up to 20% annually
- Experience leading and managing teams
- Experience in Houston education and/or the postsecondary landscape
- Experience in board management
- Experience in fundraising experience (Houston/Texas-specific experience preferred)
This position requires that the employee be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 on or before the start date. Consistent with applicable laws, OneGoal will provide reasonable accommodations for otherwise qualified employees and prospective employees with a disability (as defined by applicable law) or sincerely-held religious beliefs, provided that such accommodation would not result in an undue hardship on OneGoal.
Thinking Of Applying?
Research shows that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. If you are excited about the role and see connection with what we are looking for, but don’t meet every single requirement, we’d encourage you to apply anyway.
Please click “Apply For This Job Now” at the bottom of the page to start your application, which includes attaching an updated resume and cover letter explaining your passion and alignment to this position.
Our Team
Guided by a clear set of core values and beliefs, you will join an impressive group of more than 190 OneGoal staff across the country who believe in the untapped potential within students. The OneGoal team challenges themselves and others to regularly ask, “Is there a better way?” You believe in an inclusive and culturally competent society and the essence of our commitment to diversity and inclusion. We believe that in order to create the change we seek, each person we hire brings a remarkable and diverse set of experiences, skills and characteristics that individually and collectively, will contribute to the radical change needed to move us towards a more equitable and just nation.
The Tangible Good
OneGoal offers competitive compensation based on the market for nonprofits our size. Our benefits package* includes: over eight weeks of paid time off (or 43 business days), between vacation days, wellness time, and holidays; paid medical or parental leaves should you have need; medical, dental, vision, short-term and long-term disability, and life insurance; as well as a 401(k) with a 3% match.
We believe in compensating staff members fairly in relation to each other, their qualifications, and their impact on behalf of the organization, and take internal and external equity seriously. Given our commitment to equity, OneGoal does not negotiate salary offers; instead each salary offer is determined carefully using external and internal benchmarking. You will have an opportunity to discuss salary in more detail after you begin the hiring process.
*OneGoal reserves the right to change benefits at anytime according to business need.
If you require a reasonable accommodation to submit an application or to participate in the application or interview process, please reach out to our Human Assets Team to request an accommodation. Our Human Assets Team can be contacted at 773-321-2630 or HumanAssets@onegoalgraduation.org.
OneGoal is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of actual or perceived sex, race, color, ancestry, citizenship, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, disability (mental or physical), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, pregnancy, breastfeeding or related medical condition, parenthood, genetic characteristic or information, military or veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or local law.