CEO (Chief Executive Officer)

About UP Partnership:

Bexar County is home to 568,000 children and youth between the ages of 5 and 24, of which 478,000 (84%) are people of color. San Antonio population and business growth continues to provide new opportunities for the city and its citizens. It is a large city with education and economic gaps in its workforce that have existed historically. As in many cities across the country, the COVID pandemic highlighted existing disparities, further revealing the need for all youth to have adequate social, emotional and educational support. Since 2020, UP Partnership has worked closely with more than 90 community partners to advance an equitable recovery from the COVID pandemic. In 2022, the 'Future Ready Bexar County Plan'was developed with commitments across the Corporate, Early Childhood, Local Government, Philanthropy, Postsecondary Education, PreK-12, Youth Development and Nonprofit sectors. In this next stage, UP Partnership will coordinate $114 million in private capital toward strategies that will help reach the North Star goal of increasing the percentage of Bexar County High School graduates enrolling in a postsecondary degree or credential program to 70% by 2030.

Up Partnership furthers its impact through its Networks (Excel Beyond the Bell, My Brother's Keeper, Diploms) and Collaboratives (Restorative Practice Academy,Excel Academy, Equitable Enrollment Collaborative).

For more information visit https://uppartnership.org/.

About the Chief Executive Officer Role:

The Chief Executive Officer will advance UP Partnership by aligning staff, Board Directors, and institutional partners to accelerate Bexar County's progress toward equitable results for young people. The Chief Executive Officer will guide all sustainability, growth, and social impact dimensions of the organization, including oversight at both the strategy and implementation levels. This position reports to the Board of Directors.

Specific Job Responsibilities

Internal Leadership and Organizational Management

• Build credibility with organizational personnel fostering transparency, accountability, and trust across all levels of the organization.
• Provide oversight of all personnel, senior leadership, and contractors, ensuring alignment with top-level organizational priorities.
• Lead the impact portfolio, sustainability efforts, and strategic communications, ensuring operational efficiency, financial growth, and stakeholder engagement.
• Guide the Senior Leadership Team in integrating the Future Ready Plan, systems change networks, and internal systems for organizational cohesion.
• Support grant writing, sustainability planning, and communications strategy while fostering a positive organizational culture and reinforcing core values.

• Provide strategic vision, leadership, and oversight to ensure the continuous improvement, effectiveness, and scalability of program delivery across all of UP Partnership's initiatives, fostering innovation and alignment with organizational goals.

Relationship Building and Stewardship

• Serve as the external face of the organization, enhancing UP Partnership's visibility, recognition, and credibility by building and maintaining relationships, especially those in government, education, corporate, nonprofit organizations, and foundations; in particular, work to deepen and further define Up Partnership's Act as a thought leader and advocate for accelerating Up Partnership's influence in San Antonio and beyond.
• Represent UP Partnership in press interviews, written communications, and high-profile internal and external events.
• Ensure the organization's long term ability to activate and engage key stakeholders in the city of San Antonio and nationwide.
• Ensure high-powered, high-integrity engagement across the partnership structure with representation across Bexar County's K-12, higher education, youth development, justice, and adjacent sectors. Build reliable bridges between these sectors and K-12 schools.

Championing and Continuous Improvement

• Engage with and learn from national networks such as STRIVE and Blue Meridian, applying insights to the local context in San Antonio.
• Demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning, actively seeking and contextualizing best practices to support community initiatives.
• Foster a culture of knowledge-sharing, openly exchanging lessons learned with peer organizations and partners.
• Leverage a diverse professional network to expand opportunities, resources, and collaborations that benefit San Antonio.

Financial Performance and Viability

• Fundraise and develop strategies to sustain and grow UP Partnership's impact:
• Lead the organization through a strategic exploration of other recurring revenue sources to ensure organizational sustainability and growth, considering the potential balance between foundational support, individual support, strategic corporate partnerships, and earned income.
• Source, connect with, and inspire potential funders, employees, and partners including those who are not as aware of UP Partnership's presence in San Antonio.
• Manage resource spending and allocation, operating within the approved budget, ensuring maximum resource utilization, and maintaining a positive financial position.

Board Governance

• Collaborate with the current Board to build out and mature the Board and, as needed, to recruit additional organizational advisors
• Act as primary liaison to the Board of Directors, engaging Board members in the current and future needs of the organization
• Communicate effectively with the Board and provide, in a timely and accurate manner, all information necessary for the Board to function properly and to make informed decisions
• Lead the coordination of Board Directors and relevant partner executives to maximize mission impact and ensure citywide progress on the Future Ready Plan.

Requirements

Professional Qualifications

• Executive leadership - A track record of scaling organizations with an intentional focus on organizational health and empowering the mission, with a minimum of 7 years of significant leadership experience and a minimum of 15 years of overall experience
• Ambition for impact - A leader who holds a bold and expansive vision of UP Partnership's ability to create change in the K-12 sector in the service of better outcomes, and who can lead the organization to effect that change at scale; brings humility and curiosity to their work, and an excitement to learn from and with the team, the organization's partners, and others about what creates lasting change
• Strategic thinking - Demonstrated success developing a compelling strategic vision for improving outcomes and leveraging collaborative action to achieve that vision
• Strategic Leadership - Ability to communicate our strategy internally and externally to partners, funders, and the public in high-stakes environments, with the ability to visibly demonstrate leadership and represent UP Partnership with various stakeholder communities
• Demonstrated ability to achieve through influence and relationship building - Ability to balance listening and learning with leading - with both internal and external audiences; ability to activate stakeholders, partners, and individuals both inside and outside of UP Partnership towards mission goals
• Values-Driven - Alignment with organizational values and operating principles; demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and the ability to serve as an exemplar for an organization's values and foster an inclusive, high-trust, and respectful workplace
• Management Track Record - Proven experience building and managing highly-skilled, highly-diverse teams
• Track record of leading a performance-based culture that motivates employees to excellence and promotes accountability; capable of recruiting, mentoring, and training experienced leaders new to civic technology
• Ability to evolve the organization's culture, with demonstrated success in creating and supporting an inclusive workplace
• Collaborative approach to creating processes and standards that support UP Partnership 's mission and programs

Benefits

The expected base salary range for this position is $180K - 210K commensurate with experience and skills.

Up Partnership is happy to offer a robust array of benefits.

UP Partnership, formerly the P16Plus Council of Greater Bexar County, is a collective impact partnership that leverages data and coordinates leaders to drive fair youth outcomes across San Antonio. For more information about our organization, visit our website at uppartnership.org.

UP Partnership is an equal opportunity employer. We value a workplace where everyone feels respected, supported, and empowered to contribute their best.