Catalyst:Ed - Vice President, Growth

Who we are

Catalyst:Ed is a national nonprofit that catalyzes equity, innovation, and improvement by connecting leaders and teams to critical expertise, hands-on support, and resources.

We are on a mission to improve outcomes for America’s children and youth by strengthening the schools and nonprofits that serve them. Ultimately, our vision is to help transform the capacity of the nation’s education and social sector ecosystem, to help unlock the potential of every child.

We help school systems, education agencies, postsecondary institutions, nonprofits, and philanthropies tap into the expertise of our network of leaders and technical assistance providers in order to spur change and power organizational learning and capacity. Our pioneering model leverages technology, networks, and data to rapidly and effectively match education organizations to the capacity-building support they need to become more effective, innovative, and equitable. 

We are now poised for our next big growth spurt, including an expansion beyond education to support place-based partnerships. This is an exciting time for our team, and we’re looking for a growth leader who can lead the development and execution of a growth strategy and adapt for-profit go-to-market growth practices to help scale our footprint and impact.

Our Team & Your Role

The team at Catalyst:Ed

We’re a team of entrepreneurial, visionary educators, researchers, and storytellers committed to our mission and guided by our core values to: seek truth, center humanity, be intentional, and stay curious.

How you’ll help expand our scale and impact as the VP, Growth at Catalyst:Ed:

Catalyst:Ed has evolved how it works and who it works with, and its growth systems, processes, and people need to evolve in step.

Who you are and what you’ll bring to the team

As our first VP, Growth you’ll bring your vision, strategy, and ability to get things down, to work directly with the CEO and executive leadership to establish an effective, efficient, and ever-evolving growth practice.

Responsibilities:

This will include a focus on the following core functions:

Market Growth and Business Development (60%)

• Develop a deep understanding of people, organizations, and external factors in the education, social, and public sectors.
• Grow the volume of organizations engaging for one-time projects and convert them to ongoing memberships (our goal is to scale our user base for our platform and service to 2,500 organizations per year in five years). 
• Establish and nurture outreach and engagement programs to leverage referrals and word-of-mouth growth.
• Train the team on sales strategies and develop a sales playbook.
• Build and refine growth systems and processes to measure and optimize the pipeline of funders, organizations, providers, and projects.
• Work with teams to improve measurement and optimization processes for consistent growth. (KPIs)
• Lead market research and competitive analysis to inform growth strategies

Marketing and Brand Positioning (20%)

• Utilize multiple channels and tactics to maintain top-of-mind awareness among stakeholders.
• Strengthen and clarify brand positioning, ensuring consistent voice across channels.
• Own content, events, and outbound marketing strategies to create compelling touchpoints with stakeholders.

Product Development Support (20%) 

• Work cross-functionally with product, programmatic, and network support teams to ensure a seamless experience for organizations and providers.
• Work with Vice President of Product and Tech to improve product features 
• Test and refine fee-for-service models and pricing structures.

Senior Leadership & Team Management 

• Effectively communicate the business development vision, strategy, and progress to the executive team, board of directors, and other stakeholders.
• Continuously identify opportunities to drive the organization’s mission and vision forward
• Build and grow a strategic team that leverages both internal talent and external resources
• Lead, mentor, and develop internal staff while fostering a collaborative team culture and environment that embodies our core values

Our world is constantly changing. What else can you imagine for us? We can’t wait to hear your ideas.

Requirements

• At least 15+ years of experience in product growth roles with progressive levels of leadership responsibility
• Experience working in education, place-based partnerships, or in public or social sectors (e.g., housing, economic development, public health, etc.) is ideal but not required.
• National or international nonprofit leadership experience is a plus, but not required.
• Deep understanding of for-profit go-to-market motions, and how they can be applied to our nonprofit sector, including: brand building, inside sales, outbound marketing, content marketing, referral growth strategies, event marketing, and channel partnerships. You have a track record of growing users and revenues. 
• Ability to balance a big vision in a 10,000-foot view against the granularity required to execute well on that vision, as well as balance extensive expertise with a beginner’s mind. You can craft a strategy and roll-up your sleeves when needed to execute against it.
• Exceptionally effective communicator, in any context — whether working across teams, representing the organization publicly, or working closely with executive leadership. You are a storyteller and can craft compelling narratives about people and projects. 
• Demonstrated experience crafting strong brand identities. Experience in product marketing is a strong plus.
• Experience hiring, coaching, and managing top talent, as well as effectively managing external partnerships with agencies or consultants. Adept at building lean, high-impact teams and maximizing output with limited resources.
• Ability to work well in both independent and collaborative work settings, and are able to galvanize a team around new ideas.
• A bias for action, with proven experience bringing projects from concept to completion, while  persevering in the face of challenges and doing everything possible to ensure project success. 
• Comfort with complexity and ambiguity and have experience working in a start-up environment. You thrive in these situations and can support others through it as well.

Good to Know:

Application Deadline: If this sounds like the right role and the right mission for you, please complete the application by July 19, 2024.

Learn More: Watch our CEO, Leona Cristy quick overview video to learn more about this role and our FAQ document 

Catalyst:Ed has a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply, particularly folks who identify as people of color, first-generation, low-income, or LGBTQIA+.

Benefits

• Salary range: $180,000 - $220,000 Compensation is commensurate with experience.
• Full benefits inclusive of medical and dental insurance coverage, 403(b) with up to 5% match on base salary, and a generous leave policy
• Preferred start date: Sept 2024
• Location: We are a remote, national team, with an office in New Orleans. Team members can work from a location of their choosing. 
• Travel Requirements: 20% travel (once a month) is required for attendance at in-person team meetings and professional conferences.