Executive Vice President

Reports to: Executive Director

Location: Jacksonville, FL or Virtual Office

About School Boards for Academic Excellence

School Boards for Academic Excellence (SBAE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the American education system by training and supporting school board members leading the charge to restore academic excellence.

SBAE’s growing nationwide network includes 55 state-based partner organizations, operating in 42 states, and approximately 5,600 school board members who oversee the education of more than 13 million students. With SBAE’s support, these school board members are driving a tidal wave of reforms that are restoring excellence as the hallmark of our nation’s education system. 

And we are just getting started. With 83,000 school board members nationwide, overseeing a system that serves 49 million students, and $1 trillion in annual tax revenue, SBAE is primed for substantial growth. 

We are looking for an entrepreneurial self-starter with experience in education policy and policy reform to lead our programs team. This new position will design and execute SBAE’s plans for growth, operational excellence, and increased engagement with our network of partner organizations and school board members.


About the Opportunity

SBAE’s new Executive Vice President (EVP) will work closely with the Executive Director to lead SBAE’s growing team of staff and contractors, defining and achieving an ambitious set of programmatic goals.

The right candidate will be eager to take on the challenge of scaling up and managing a new national organization and a network with enormous potential for continued growth. It is essential to be passionately dedicated to academic excellence and to the strategic and moral importance of the American education system. The EVP will be a skilled administrator and manager, with a demonstrated ability to build and lead teams, create standard operating procedures, define key performance indicators, and enact systems for their fulfillment. The right candidate will be ready to assume an executive leadership role at a growing organization with ambitious plans for expansion.

SBAE is currently a virtual organization, considering opening a physical office in Jacksonville, Florida in the future. The EVP must be able to travel as needed to continue building and managing SBAE’s growing team. Candidates willing to work from Jacksonville in the future are preferred. The position will report to the Executive Director.


Key Responsibilities

  • Strategic Planning: The EVP will work closely with the Executive Director to identify new programming and partnership opportunities to achieve SBAE’s mission of revolutionizing the American education system to restore academic achievement. This role will include meeting with other organizations that work in education reform and connecting them with the SBAE network. He or she will create new programs to meet the needs of public school districts and the challenges school board members face.
  • Translating Strategy into Action: The EVP will create and refine standard operating procedures, workflows, job duties, and key performance indicators for SBAE’s programs. These programs foster the growth of the SBAE network and projects to support and broaden the impact of every partner in every state. They also support school board members directly, including the creation and distribution of new resources to help them spearhead reform, as well as managing training events and representing SBAE at external events and conferences.
  • Managing the SBAE Programs Team: The EVP will oversee the day-to-day management of SBAE’s growing team of staff and contractors. He or she will hold staff accountable to performance metrics and high quality work product, ensuring that all SBAE staff have clear and measurable objectives, receive regular constructive feedback, and have the support needed to succeed. This position also will identify, hire, and onboard new staff and contractors as needed. 


Key Competencies & Characteristics

  • Demonstrated commitment to education reform, in line with SBAE’s mission and theory of change.
  • 10+ years of professional experience and 5+ years of experience in operations and personnel management, preferred.
  • Proven experience creating and executing strategic plans and ensuring alignment between programs and organizational goals.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects, teams, and partnerships with an unyielding commitment to operational excellence.
  • Experience with and knowledge of the innerworkings of school districts.
  • Experience leading successful public policy reform projects.
  • Strong working knowledge of MS Office suite and experience with or ability to learn a cloud-based CRM (Salesforce) for reporting and workflow automation.
  • A strong bias for action, able to quickly translate ideas into concrete plans and inspire others to excel.
  • Exceptional communication skills (written and verbal) and an engaging personality.
  • A self-starter who is comfortable putting in the hours to complete large, complex projects and work independently to manage and deliver consistently high quality work product, as part of a virtual team.
  • Adaptability and willingness to tackle the day-to-day challenges of a start-up organization with enthusiasm.
  • Willingness to travel (approximately 20%).
  • Bachelor’s degree required.


Application Instructions

Qualified candidates should submit the following application materials (in order) in one PDF document:

  • A cover letter detailing your interest in the position and SBAE’s mission, an explanation of why you would be the best candidate for this position, evidence of relevant past success, and your salary requirements.
  • Your resume.
  • Links to at least two examples of your communications skills. This can be written publications, interviews, audio, or video.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, and the search will remain open until the position is filled. PDFs can be emailed to Caroline Presnell: caroline@sbaenetwork.org.