Associate Chief of Equity

About Achievement First

Achievement First (AF) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization supporting 39 public charter schools across New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. For more than 25 years, AF has been recognized as one of the top tuition-free public charter school networks in the country. We are committed to creating schools of academic excellence within nurturing environments — schools that prepare students to be college-ready and to pursue and succeed in whatever paths they choose in life.

The majority of AF students are Black and Latinx children from low-income families, many of whom will be the first in their families to graduate from college. Across our network, we employ more than 2,200 staff members — 64% of whom identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color — who collectively educate nearly 15,000 students in Brooklyn and Queens, NY; New Haven, Bridgeport, and Hartford, CT; and Providence and Cranston, RI.

Our mission is to prepare every student to excel in college, career, and life; deepen their understanding of self and community; and lead lives of purpose. We believe in the limitless potential within our students and their power to shape a more just society. That belief drives our deep commitment to student achievement: we aim to set a high bar for learning and create warm, demanding classrooms where rigorous instruction is paired with the care, encouragement, and consistency every student deserves.

We are looking for a strategic and dynamic Associate Chief of Equity to join our Talent team.

Your Impact

Reporting to the Chief People Officer, this position will help build and drive the next chapter of AF's equity work  both inside and outside our schools. The Associate Chief of Equity will develop programs, toolkits, standards, and systems that don't yet fully exist. The qualified candidate brings initiative and the ability to move from vision to action. They are equally comfortable shaping strategy and executing on it.

The two main priorities that will be managed by this position are:

• Employee Belonging: Ensuring that equity is embedded in AF's internal processes, practices, and culture so that every staff member feels seen, valued, and supported.
• Student-Facing Equity: Building the frameworks, toolkits, and standards our schools need to help students understand and navigate the world they live in including how to process and respond to injustice as young Black and Brown people.

Internal Equity and Employee Belonging 

• Lead the design and implementation of AF's internal equity strategy, with a focus on embedding belonging and inclusion into daily practices, processes, and organizational culture.
• Develop clear frameworks, standards, and toolkits that enable school and network leaders to apply an equity lens to people decisions, including hiring, onboarding, performance management, and development.
• Build and facilitate professional development and training opportunities for staff that promote equity awareness, culturally responsive practice, and a shared understanding of AF's equity commitments.

Student Facing Equity 

• Develop the resources, standards, and toolkits our schools need to support students, particularly Black and Brown students, in understanding and responding to racial injustice and real-world challenges they will face.
• Partner with school leaders and instructional teams to ensure culturally responsive and equity-centered approaches are embedded in the student experience.
• Identify gaps in existing equity programming and design solutions that are practical, school-ready, and grounded in the realities our students navigate.
• Serve as a thought partner to school leadership on how to address difficult moments, including community trauma, current events, and systemic injustice, with students and families

Strategy Planning & Execution

• Translate equity vision into concrete annual plans with clear goals, milestones, and metrics  and hold yourself and others accountable to them.
• Build and maintain metrics that measure progress on both internal belonging and student-facing equity outcomes; use data to identify spikes and gaps.
• Manage cross-functional projects and initiatives, ensuring clear ownership, timelines, and communication across stakeholders.
• Proactively identify issues before they become crises; bring solutions to leadership.

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement 

• Develop internal communication strategies that foster transparency and shared accountability around equity goals.
• Partner with NLC on change management as equity practices and expectations evolve across the organization.
• Build trusting relationships with school leaders, regional teams, staff, families, and community stakeholders.
• Collaborate with Marketing & Communications to externally communicate AF's equity commitments, progress, and learnings.
• Advising on team work structure and job design, with a lens of continuous improvement

Skills You’ll Have

All candidates for this position will support AF core values, lead innovation, and manage projects to ensure our team, like our schools, are setting a high bar in all areas and pursuing it relentlessly. 

An ideal candidate will have the following experience and qualification:

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred in Education, Public Policy, Organizational Leadership, Social Justice, or a related field
• Diversity certification(s) (CDP, CDEP, CDE-M, etc), highly desirable.
• Experience working in or alongside K–12 schools required; deep understanding of the realities facing Black and Latinx students
• Minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in equity, organizational development, education, or a related field
• Demonstrated ability to build programs and systems from the ground up
• Proven track record of setting goals, using data, and driving toward measurable outcomes
• Knowledge of federal, state and local employment laws and regulations (focus in CT, NY & RI)
• Previous experience with Microsoft Office (MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint)
• Comfort in managing data analysis and reporting
• Demonstrated project management skills 

In addition, the following characteristics are required to be successful on this team:

• Results-oriented individual – a determined leader willing to do “whatever it takes.” 
• Detail-oriented individual – one who sweats the small stuff in planning and execution 
• Skill and experience in financial operations and procedures, formulating and enforcing processes, and developing and implementing new tools and processes as the team evolves 
• Excellent oral and written communication skills 
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships 
• Ability to work independently and as a member of a broader team in a fast- paced environment
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to prioritize effectively 
• Belief in the Achievement First mission and educational model 
• Maturity, humility, strong work ethic, sense of humor, and “roll-up-my-sleeves” attitude 
• Strong ethics and ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality 
• Confident in interacting with and influencing individuals at all levels within the organization 

Travel Expectations 

This is a hybrid role. The expectation is that the person in the role would be able to come into the Network Support office (NYC, CT, or RI) at least 3 days a week.  There may be additional travel to regions outside of your own on a monthly or as needed basis.. 

Compensation

Achievement First sets salaries are set through a lens of equity, and based on the requisite skills, education, and experience relevant to the role.  The salary for this position is $170,258. In order to uphold our commitment to equity, Achievement First does not negotiate pay.  Additionally, Achievement First offers to all regular, full-time employees a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid time off, medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, a 403(b) retirement benefit package with match, and paid Family Leave.