Executive Director - Rising Generation

Position Summary

Teach For All is incubating a new organization, called for now “Rising Generation,” whose mission will be to foster collective action to create an environment and norm-shift that inspires and enables the leaders in the next generation of university graduates to make early career choices that put them on a trajectory to tackle the world’s greatest challenges. This effort will both (a) foster global learning and community around this pursuit and (b) foster experimentation and action towards this end in the U.S.  Ultimately, we envision that we might foster a network of similar efforts in other countries that are all learning together.

Even as the world's challenges—from climate change to global conflict to inequity to polarization—have become more visible, and despite evidence that many in the next generation are deeply committed to diversity, equity, and justice, we’re not seeing more of the leaders in the rising generation of university graduates making early career choices that put them in close  proximity with these issues.  Early decisions to make an immediate impact against society’s challenges and build relationships with marginalized communities are formative in shaping mindsets, beliefs, and priorities and often result in long-term efforts to address systemic inequity and injustice.  We need more of the most creative and committed young people making these choices, and thus putting themselves on a trajectory to make a meaningful, long-term difference against systemic inequity and injustice.   

While Teach For All’s network continues to tackle the challenges involved in recruiting the next generation into tackling the inequities facing children,  we want to incubate this organization that will foster the collective action necessary to create an environment that enables and inspires many more recent graduates to make values-based, intentional early career choices, thus benefiting our own efforts and many other efforts to tackle major societal issues.

We are looking for a U.S.-based leader who brings passion and insight about the importance of this issue,  significant experience in recruiting the next generation into early careers that tackle injustice, has networks at the university level in the U.S., and a deep commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

This role offers a unique opportunity for someone with outstanding leadership, strategic, and interpersonal skills to address this significant and thus far neglected issue. The Executive Director will report directly to Teach For All’s CEO & Co-founder, Wendy Kopp, who will provide overall direction and thought leadership for this initiative, and  will collaborate closely with Jeet Patel, Teach For All’s Global Lead for Recruitment, Selection, and Matriculation, and with other colleagues across the Teach For All network.  The Executive Director will manage a part-time associate who will provide support.  

Responsibilities

The Executive Director will build out the organization’s vision, develop and execute on its plans, measure impact, build a Board of Advisers, and help determine the organization’s future.  We’ve secured financial support for the initial three years, and the Executive Director will be responsible for developing the plans and resources for the future.  

Specific responsibilities will include:

• Cultivate a growing global learning community, the Rising Generation Collective, to engage current and former university presidents, youth-serving non-profits, thought leaders, and others from the U.S. and globally to continue to share information, learning, and opportunities for further collaboration on this topic.
• Foster experimentation and action in the U.S., in particular through:
• Encouraging institutions of higher education to foster intentional, values-based early career choices among their graduates, including through creating rituals that foster reflection on values and their implications for job choices; providing students with many more opportunities to explore early jobs that align with their values, and so forth.
• Contributing to and fostering student-led movements that challenge institutions and college students to shift prevailing norms around early career decisions.
• Develop and execute on a plan to contribute to the public discussion on this issue, through:
• Building out the fact base about the importance of the issue and the extent of the challenge
• Supporting communications efforts to build understanding among the rising generation that careers dedicated to making the world a better place are fulfilling both personally and professionally, and to foster intentionality about their early career choices
• Enlisting the partnership of media and other influencers who can be helpful in this pursuit
• Build a Board of Advisers to guide the development of the organization
• Develop a means to measure the success of the initiative
• Cultivate the organization’s supporters and prospective supporters
• Build out the organization’s foundations and future plans

Requirements

• Entrepreneurial skills and ability to envision new possibilities, develop strategy, and access resources
• Ability to build strong relationships and communicate effectively
• Strong project management and execution skills
• Experience working with and/or recruiting outstanding graduates at the university level
• Experience having managed a team to ambitious outcomes
• Minimum of 7 years of professional and leadership experience
• Extensive skills mobilizing diverse groups of stakeholders across race, age, socioeconomic status, and other diverse lived experiences
• Exemplifies Teach For All’s core values 

Travel and Hours

Travel expected, approximately 30%, mostly within the United States.

Compensation

Salary for this position is competitive and depends on prior experience and includes a comprehensive benefits package.

Work Authorization

All candidates must possess permanent work authorization in the United States in order to be considered. 

Posting Date: January 22, 2025

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Candidates are encouraged to apply at their earliest convenience.

Apply now

Please submit your resume and a one-page cover letter directly online.  

About Teach For All

Teach For All is a global network of over 60 independent, locally led and governed partner organizations and a global organization committed to developing collective leadership to ensure all children fulfill their potential. Each network partner recruits and develops promising future leaders to teach in their nations’ under-resourced schools and communities and, with this foundation, to work with others, inside and outside of education, to ensure all children are able to fulfill their potential. Teach For All’s global organization works to increase the network’s impact by capturing and spreading learning, facilitating connections among partners, accessing global resources, and fostering the leadership development of partner staff, teachers, and alumni.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusiveness

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization that inspires individuals of all backgrounds – across nationalities, races, ethnicity, religions, political views, economic backgrounds, sexual orientations, physical disabilities, languages, ages, genders and prior experiences – to bring their full selves to the work of ensuring educational opportunity for all.

In order to maximize our effectiveness in fulfilling Teach For All’s mission, we also feel it is important to focus on increasing representation and inclusiveness with respect to two dimensions in particular: we prioritize diversity of geography because this can help us quickly understand and connect with the diverse cultures and geographies of the world. We also prioritize increasing the representation and inclusiveness of team members who themselves have experienced the inequities we’re working to address by nature of sharing the background (e.g. economic, racial and ethnic, religious) of the most disadvantaged groups in their countries.