Director, College Advancement (South)

About the Organization 

KIPP Public Schools is a national network of tuition-free public charter schools that prepares students with the skills and confidence to create the future they want for themselves, their communities, and us all. We are a network of 279 schools, nearly 16,500 educators, and nearly 210,000 students and alumni.

Our mission: Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose—college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world. 

Our vision: Every child grows up free to create the future they want for themselves and their communities. 

The KIPP Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports KIPP public charter schools across the country. The KIPP Foundation helps to develop outstanding educators to lead KIPP schools; provides tools and resources for excellent teaching and learning; promotes innovation; and facilitates the exchange of insights and ideas across KIPP and other public schools and organizations. 

About Our Values: 

Excellent Results for Students: We value results over effort and know that our work is not finished until all students thrive. We maintain high expectations for self, team, and students. We drive outcomes by operating with agility, removing barriers, differentiating support, and prioritizing student-centered solutions—especially for those at the margins. 

Collective Impact: We are one team. We win together. We embody a one-team mindset by working collaboratively across teams, aligning goals, and leveraging the strengths of all teammates. We build trust-based relationships and ensure inclusive decision-making by engaging those closest to the work. We provide clarity through simple, repeatable systems and goals that enable transformational outcomes. 

Courageous Action: Our belief in what we can achieve is unwavering, fueling our optimism and commitment to overcome any challenge. We demonstrate an unwavering belief in students' potential and a commitment to addressing systemic inequities. We approach challenges with resilience, a solutions-focused mindset, and adaptability. We foster a psychologically safe environment centered on trust and accountability where feedback is encouraged. We leverage data to reflect on progress, own setbacks, celebrate successes, and continuously improve to maximize impact. 

About The Position 

The College Advancement and Partnerships team at the KIPP Foundation is charged with building a national vanguard of college access, persistence, and completion—uniting schools, regions, states, and partners to help ensure that more KIPPsters graduate from college than students in the nation’s top economic quartile.  We provide students the developmental and differentiated supports necessary to apply, get in, matriculate, and enroll in college at scale. ​ Where prudent, we also support students in adjacent, valuable pathways, empowering them with choice on the back end, because they got into college on the front end.  ​   

This team is seeking a Director of College Advancement to lead and support our South regions to become regional experts in college access, persistence, and completion strategies. The Director will drive year-over-year increases in BA/BS enrollment, all pathways enrollment, and estimated college completion rates by leading and coaching both students and school-based leaders. This Director will oversee a portfolio of 2 regions, 15-17 high schools, and approximately 1,500–1,800 seniors, as well as KIPP networkwide campaigns that drive college enrollment such as our fall college enrollment verification campaign. This position reports directly to Vice President of College Advancement.   

Responsibilities 

Your goal will be to drive YOY increases in BA/BS enrollment, all pathways enrollment, and estimated college completion rates for specific targets in your portfolio through the following workstreams. 

Regional College and Career Program Leadership 

• Implement and continuously improve the performance of College and Career Readiness and Access across a portfolio of high schools and regions. 

• Lead integration of college and career planning, including college and career exposure, applications and personal statements, or various postsecondary pathways. 

• Ensure high-quality delivery of college and career seminars, supporting school teams to meet student outcomes in Match, Counseling, and Enrollment. 

Coaching and Professional Development 

• Coach and mentor Regional Directors and High School Directors to improve counseling practices, implementation of One KIPP Match Program Practices, and student outcomes. 

• Provide targeted, data-informed feedback to schools and regions to support continuous improvement. 

• Facilitate professional development for regional staff.  

Student and Portfolio Outcomes 

• Monitor regional data on enrollment, matriculation, and estimated college completion to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities. 

• Drive improvements in senior outcomes, including best-fit college placement, Early Decision participation, and successful enrollment to postsecondary pathways. 

• Support differentiated interventions for regions, schools and students to ensure equity in access, persistence, and college completion. 

Program and Resource Management 

• Develop, maintain, and disseminate regional-, high school-, student-, and family-facing tools, resources, and guidance for effective college and career preparation. 

• Lead or manage strategic initiatives that improve student engagement, application completion, and college readiness. 

• Coordinate logistics, communications, and operations for regional events, professional development, and network convenings. 

Cross-Team Collaboration and Strategy 

• Partner with K-8 and high school teams to align regional college and career strategies with the broader KIPP network. 

• Contribute to the refinement and evolution of the and implementation of College Advancement strategy across your region. 

• Collaborate with network teams on strategic projects to enhance counseling, match, and college access initiatives. 

Skills and Mindsets 

• Mission and Student Focus: Demonstrates passion and commitment to KIPP’s mission and possesses the desire and ability to uphold KIPP’s core values (Focus on Excellent Results, Collective Impact, and Courageous Action)  

• Self-Management: Demonstrated record of setting ambitious goals and achieving them with consistency. Invests in developing teammates’ skills and mindsets to address gaps in achieving team growth; determines what quantitative and qualitative data are most relevant to their goals and supports the team in creating and monitoring systems for collecting, reviewing, and acting upon data to drive outcomes; able to monitor progress, communicating status to the right stakeholders and adjusting plans and use of time to ensure systems are yielding desired outcomes.  

• Effective Work Management: Sets a clear vision for new or complex bodies of work.  Develops and implements agile project plans, navigating difficult situations or conflicts while maintaining effective relationships with all stakeholders; creates and ensures systems are in place for knowledge management.  

• Strategic Decision Making & Problem Solving: Efficiently defines the right metrics to evaluate work and ensures critical team actions, decisions, and recommendations are driven by data; effectively works with team to resolve issues around data to ensure sound data-informed decisions. Effectively identifies and addresses root causes to the most important problem.  

• Collaboration: Has the interpersonal, diplomatic, relationship building, and communications skills needed to develop successful working relationships with diverse constituents to deliver results. Evolves and adapts plans and approach with diverse stakeholders to drive results. Possesses excellent communication skills with aptitude for translating complex information into a clear and persuasive narratives that convince others by identifying benefits for all. 

Experience and Qualifications 

Required:  

• 7+ years of experience in college access, college counseling, postsecondary advising, or a related field, ideally in a K–12 or nonprofit education network context. 

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree in Education, Counseling, Higher Education, or a related field preferred. 

• Demonstrated experience leading, coaching, or managing adult professionals (e.g., counselors, educators, program managers). 

• Proven record of driving measurable student outcomes, particularly in college enrollment, matriculation, or persistence. 

• Experience designing and implementing curriculum, interventions, or programs that support postsecondary success. 

• Track record of managing multi-site programs or portfolios, including data-informed decision making and resource allocation. 

• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams and external partners at scale. 

Preferred: 

• Experience with networked or multi-school educational organizations, ideally with experience in KIPP, charter school networks, or similar contexts. 

• Experience working college readiness and college access campaigns in Texas and/or Oklahoma. 

Work Conditions 

• Travel requirements: Up to 30% travel to partner institutions, KIPP regions, or staff convenings 

• This role will oversee work in our southern regions, currently consisting of Texas and Oklahoma.  

• Job Type:  Full Time, Exempt 

Location 

This role has the option of working from a remote office full-time or a KIPP Foundation office. KIPP Foundation offices are located in NYC and Chicago. 

Compensation and Benefits 

In compliance with local law, we are disclosing the compensation, or a range thereof, for roles in locations where legally required. Actual salaries will vary based on several factors, including but not limited to external market data, internal equity, and relevant experience. The salary range for this position is $124,800 - $150,000. In addition, KIPP Foundation provides a variety of benefits to employees, including:  

• 25 holidays for + 18 days additional flexible PTO days (flexible PTO increases to 23 days for years 3 and 4 and to 28 days for years 5+). 

• 100% paid parental leave 

• 100% coverage of the premium for employee and 75% for employee + family’s medical/dental/vision plans. 

• Wellness benefits such as fitness reimbursements, discounted tickets to theme parks/attractions, backup care support for children and adults/elders, and our employee assistance program 

• Finance Security benefits include such as a 401K retirement plan with 4% match, employer-sponsored legal plans, life/disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts