Vice President, Policy and Advocacy

THE ORGANIZATION

The Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF) is a leading nonprofit venture philanthropy fund dedicated to identifying the nation’s best public charter schools, investing in their expansion, and helping to increase their impact. Our “portfolio” includes 200+ charter school networks that operate 1,700+ schools and serve more than 800,000 students. We are committed to expanding the impact of schools that are closing achievement and opportunity gaps. CSGF operates with the same strategies, discipline, and focus as a venture capital firm by awarding multi-year grants and loans to talented education entrepreneurs building networks of high-quality charter schools that enroll traditionally underserved students. Our goal is to serve 1,000,000 students by 2030 and 1.4 million by 2035.

This is an exciting time to join the Charter School Growth Fund. We are launching Fund V, our most ambitious fund yet, building on our 20-year track record of success. Fund V will add 250,000 new high-quality seats while helping our portfolio become durable, bedrock institutions in their communities for decades to come. We invest in the strongest charter leaders and networks in the country, and we partner closely with them to sustain excellent outcomes as they grow. Our portfolio continues to serve student populations of roughly 90% students of color and 75% students from low-income backgrounds, and we remain committed to being proximate to the lived experiences of the students and communities we serve.

THE OPPORTUNITY

CSGF is seeking a Vice President, Policy & Advocacy to join our Policy, Communications and Advocacy (PCA) team. Reporting to the Managing Director, PCA, the Vice President, Policy & Advocacy sets the vision for and drives CSGF’s portfolio advocacy strategy across a region of 15+ states. As an embedded expert on a Partner-led regional team, this Vice President serves as the primary advocacy and policy thought partner to portfolio members, regional Relationship Managers, and the Impact team — building durable advocacy capacity in portfolio networks and driving high-impact grassroots, coalition, and policy strategies that advance the charter sector.

This is a Vice President-level individual contributor role with no direct reports. The ideal candidate brings demonstrated expertise in advocacy, policy, and issues-based campaigns, with a proven ability to set a vision and strategy, secure buy-in from others, own outcomes, and influence senior leaders and diverse stakeholders — internal and external — across complex, multi-stakeholder environments. They are actively sought out for their expertise by portfolio members, state and local advocacy partners, and CSGF leadership, and are skilled at translating advocacy strategy into practical capacity-building support for charter school leaders.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Set and Drive Regional Advocacy Strategy (approximately 40%)

• Set the vision for CSGF’s advocacy and policy strategy across a region of 15+ states, secure buy-in from regional and organizational leadership, and drive that strategy while owning outcomes and ensuring alignment with CSGF’s organizational goals and Fund V priorities.
• Lead investment recommendations for advocacy grants and contracts, bringing the analysis and strategic rationale for Managing Director approval and setting clear, ambitious outcome expectations for each investment.
• Set and lead the Policy and Advocacy Community of Practice learning agenda; develop, curate, and disseminate policy and advocacy resources to portfolio members through CSGF’s Seminar platform.
• Identify complex advocacy threats and opportunities across the region before they arise; develop solutions, bring recommendations to the Managing Director and regional Partner, and proactively tackle issues that extend across the broader CSGF portfolio and organization.
• Own the alignment of state-level policy and advocacy efforts with CSGF’s organizational goals, partner engagement strategies, and regional team priorities, and manage upward to ensure the regional team meets ambitious outcomes.

Serve as Advocacy Thought Partner to Regional Teams and Portfolio Members (approximately 40%)

• Act as a primary advocacy and policy subject matter expert on the Partner-led regional team, providing strategic counsel to Partners, Relationship Managers, and the Impact team as they support portfolio members.
• Serve as a trusted thought partner to portfolio member leaders on advocacy strategy, grassroots organizing, and coalition-building — building their capacity to lead effective advocacy efforts independently over time.
• Identify and assess portfolio members’ evolving advocacy needs; maintain strong relationships with portfolio members that position CSGF as an actively sought-out resource at the state and local level.
• Design and implement advocacy training and technical assistance for portfolio members; develop frameworks, tools, and resources that raise the floor of advocacy capability across the regional portfolio.
•  Design and lead grassroots and coalition-based advocacy strategies that mobilize portfolio leaders toward meaningful, measurable advocacy action.

Represent CSGF and Build the Regional Advocacy Ecosystem (approximately 20%)

• Build and maintain strong relationships with state and local advocacy partners, coalitions, and policy stakeholders that advance CSGF’s regional strategy.
• Represent CSGF externally in key state and local advocacy settings and with broader key stakeholders; grow CSGF’s credibility and influence with advocacy partners and policymakers in the region and begin to influence external parties to take action.
• Identify, engage, and manage external consultants and advocacy partners as needed; set clear expectations and hold vendors accountable to quality and strategic alignment.
• Contribute to CSGF’s broader PCA team strategy by sharing regional insights, synthesizing lessons learned, and informing organization-wide advocacy approaches; share working knowledge of advocacy and policy with colleagues across CSGF.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Skills and Characteristics

• Deep commitment to CSGF’s mission and passion for K–12 education reform and charter sector advocacy
• Demonstrated ability to set a vision and establish and drive advocacy strategy independently, securing buy-in from others and owning outcomes across complex, multi-stakeholder environments
• Proven track record of building and maintaining strong relationships with diverse stakeholder groups — including elected officials, coalition partners, and charter school leaders — and of being sought out by them as a trusted resource and influencing them toward shared goals
• Skilled at serving as a trusted thought partner to senior leaders and comfortable raising difficult issues with them; brings calm, strategic counsel that is actively sought out by those they advise
• Exceptional interpersonal and written/verbal communication skills; effectively motivates and influences peers, senior leadership, and external stakeholders to take action in service of shared goals
• Outstanding project management skills; demonstrated ability to see the strategic picture while managing execution details across multiple simultaneous workstreams and setting clear expectations for others, including senior leaders
• Strong problem-solving and critical thinking skills; identifies complex issues before they arise, develops solutions, and proactively tackles issues that reach beyond their own function
• Demonstrated ability to navigate politically complex environments with sophistication and nonpartisan credibility across the political spectrum
• Demonstrated comfort making difficult decisions and working with ambiguity in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, including leading through changing circumstances
• Ability to collaborate as an integral member of cross-functional regional teams; understands role as a specialist advisor and contributes proactively without overstepping relationship boundaries owned by Relationship Managers
• Ability to travel up to 50% to support portfolio advocacy work, convenings, all-team gatherings, and in-person team and partner meetings

Educational Background and Work Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required
• 12+ years of progressive experience in advocacy, policy, electoral campaigns, or issues-based organizing, with a demonstrated portfolio of measurable impact — including setting and driving multi-state or multi-market advocacy strategies independently
• Direct experience engaging executive and legislative branches of government at the state level; demonstrated ability to drive outcomes in complex political environment
• Demonstrated experience building advocacy capacity in organizations, coalitions, or communities — not just executing campaigns, but leaving organizations stronger
• Experience managing external consultants and advocacy partners; sets clear expectations and holds vendors accountable to quality and strategic alignment
• Knowledge of charter school sector dynamics and education policy landscape strongly preferred; recognized as an expert in advocacy and policy beyond one's own organization
• Direct knowledge and experience with state legislative processes required

COMPENSATION

Compensation is commensurate with experience and education. The target salary range for this role is $130,000-$160,000 annually. CSGF offers a very competitive package of benefits, including: health, life, disability, and dental insurance coverage; vacation/holidays and parental leave; and participation in CSGF’s 403(b) plan. Candidates must have permanent authorization to work in the US.

START DATE

CSGF is seeking candidates who can start as soon as possible; flexible for the ideal candidate.

WORKING AT CSGF 

We are focused on hiring and developing great people and believe that building diverse perspectives  across our team makes us more effective in expanding our impact. (This is reflected in Our Commitment Statement.) Our core values are:

Why you'll love working here:

• Join a team driven by purpose, collaboration, and a commitment to identifying and responding to the needs of the public charter schools that we support
• Access to professional development and learning opportunities

Our core values are:

Results

• We believe that student success is the ultimate measure of our performance.
• We work with urgency and intentionality for the portfolio and their schools. 
• We hold ourselves accountable to strong outcomes.
• We relentlessly prioritize our resources to drive positive, measurable, attributable impact for the charter leaders, their schools, and ultimately students.
• We believe strong results come from good decisions, and the best decisions are made when we use data - both quantitative and qualitative - and gather input from diverse perspectives, especially those most impacted by the work.  
• We celebrate our wins and learn from our losses.

Teamwork

• We value organization over team, and we value team over individual.
• We actively break down silos and collaborate across teams.
• We believe building strong, healthy relationships is critical to move our work forward.
• We seek to proactively communicate across teams to strengthen our outcomes and add value for the portfolio.

Integrity

• We believe that trust is our most important asset, and we must earn and maintain the trust of the portfolio member leaders, investors, and our team to achieve our goals.
• We are often entrusted with sensitive and confidential information about the portfolio - we do not ever violate these confidences.
• We show ownership for our successes and our failures. 
• We speak directly to the person, even when it's messy and hard, and get ahead of potential problems.
• We do the right thing, even when no one is watching.

Respect 

• We understand and acknowledge our place in the value chain – the students, teachers, principals, and other leaders at portfolio networks are doing the hardest, direct, and most impactful work in their schools each day.
• We prioritize humility and embrace getting better every day.
• We are curious and open-minded.
• We are aware of our own biases and how they might affect our judgment, and we take ownership to mitigate their impact.

Entrepreneurship

• We take calculated risks, looking for new ways to add value and improve how we work.
• We are problem solvers in all aspects of our work.
• We actively connect people and ideas in strategic ways to foster new ideas and learning. 
• We acknowledge not all investments will succeed and embrace failure as it facilitates deeper learning for our organization and the portfolio.

E-VERIFY STATEMENT

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you. Including terminating employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the I-9 form.

Charter School Growth Fund provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees.