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Search Success: Alia Peera Joins Aim High as Director of Partnerships!

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Aim High and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are proud to announce the appointment of Alia Peera to the position of Director of Partnerships. Alia joined the organization on July 17, 2023.

Alia will be a great addition to the team, advancing Aim High’s mission and vision forward with energy and passion. Alia’s background includes building deep relationships with partners and donors, working with educational partners and school districts, expanding nonprofits into new regions, and project management.

Most recently, Alia served as the Regional Partner for Northern California at Wildflower Foundation and previously as the Managing Director of System Partnerships at The Achievement Network. She is currently a member of the Nexus Fellowship Cohort with The Equity Lab.

Alia lives in the Bay Area and is a graduate of the University of Southern California. She will be based in the Aim High’s San Francisco office.

About Aim High: Aim High embraces the raw beauty of early adolescence by focusing on middle school (ages of 11 to 14), a vital stage of maturation. It is also critical to educational trajectories: improving the college and career readiness skills students possess by eighth grade has the largest impact on high school graduates’ ultimate level of college and career readiness – even more than any single high school-level enhancement. Summer programs are particularly effective in mitigating the inequity caused by systemic barriers in education. Despite its importance, just 1.1% of the 5.5 million middle school students from low-income communities nationwide have access to free summer enrichment programs. Aim High’s multi-year, five-week summer program combines pedagogical rigor with emotional depth to ignite the boundless potential within young people navigating systemic barriers. They envision every middle school student having access to joyful summer learning, inspired and innovative teachers, and the support they need to succeed in school and life. Aim High was founded on the belief that every student has the right to a quality education. In 1986 they launched at one site in San Francisco with just 50 students. Over the last 35 years, they have expanded across the Bay Area in every direction, as far as Napa and Tahoe-Truckee. Along the way, their transformative summer enrichment program has empowered thousands of middle schoolers from low-income neighborhoods, igniting their love of learning and yielding real results – 98% of Aim High alumni graduate and go on to college. Learn more at https://aimhigh.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and the boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. Pillar’s founder, Cindy Joyce, is a Certified Diversity Recruiter. For more information about Pillar, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

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New Search: Director of Partnerships With Aim High

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Introduction

Pillar Search & HR Consulting is honored to partner with Aim High on their search for the Director of Partnerships. This is a hybrid role located in San Francisco, CA. Qualified candidates are encouraged to email their cover letter and resume to Cindy Joyce, Pillar’s Founder/Executive Search Consultant, at cindy@pillarsearch.com.

About Aim High

Aim High embraces the raw beauty of early adolescence by focusing on middle school (ages of 11 to 14), a vital stage of maturation. It is also critical to educational trajectories: improving the college and career readiness skills students possess by eighth grade has the largest impact on high school graduates’ ultimate level of college and career readiness – even more than any single high school-level enhancement. Summer programs are particularly effective in mitigating the inequity caused by systemic barriers in education. Despite its importance, just 1.1% of the 5.5 million middle school students from low-income communities nationwide have access to free summer enrichment programs. Aim High’s multi-year, five-week summer program combines pedagogical rigor with emotional depth to ignite the boundless potential within young people navigating systemic barriers.

They envision every middle school student having access to joyful summer learning, inspired and innovative teachers, and the support they need to succeed in school and life.

Aim High was founded on the belief that every student has the right to a quality education. In 1986 they launched at one site in San Francisco with just 50 students. Over the last 35 years, they have expanded across the Bay Area in every direction, as far as Napa and Tahoe-Truckee. Along the way, their transformative summer enrichment program has empowered thousands of middle schoolers from low-income neighborhoods, igniting their love of learning and yielding real results – 98% of Aim High alumni graduate and go on to college.

Learn more at www.aimhigh.org.

The Opportunity

Aim High is seeking an experienced and collaborative leader to serve as its Director of Partnerships. Reporting to VP of Philanthropy and Marketing and in partnership with the CEO, this dynamic role will support the organization’s long-term vision of increasing the number of students who have access to the Aim High program by forming strong earned-revenue partnerships with schools, districts, and community-based organizations. This includes creating and driving a strategic approach to growing our earned revenue strategy in a sustainable way. This role is highly collaborative and requires strategic thinking that can set up the organization for ambitious and sustainable growth. This position works closely with its CEO, Board of Trustees, and members of the Aim High staff.

Aim High is in the midst of creating the next strategic plan, and this position will take the lead in building an earned revenue strategy that increases revenue growth on an annual basis. FY23, the target is $500,000 and subsequent years will have increased targets. If this sounds like an ideal role for you, you will have the opportunity to…

Drive partnerships strategy:

  • Working closely with the CEO, VP of Philanthropy and Marketing, VP of Program Design and Impact, and VP of Program Operations to build and execute the organization’s earned revenue strategy, including owning the development of a pipeline of prospects capable of entering a fee-for-service relationship with Aim High. Lead the execution of the annual business development strategy and forecast to meet revenue growth targets.
  • Lead the development and management of the organization’s selection criteria and MOU execution process for new sites and regional expansions. Serve as the organization’s primary earned revenue sales lead, including the creation of sales proposals and presentations to articulate partnership opportunities. Work closely with regional program teams and senior management to finalize partnerships.
  • Build and close a sales pipeline that enables the organization to meet its goals for growth and scale
  • Collaborate with Finance to understand cost of services to determine pricing tactics and lead revenue conversations that support financially-sustainable, long-term growth plans
  • Identify data, metrics, and methodology to estimate KPIs, and track, measure, and report new monthly/quarterly data cross partnerships for each relationship leader

Provide organizational leadership:

  • Partner with the CEO and VPPM in shaping organizational and revenue generation strategies that drive the growth of the organization.
  • Act as a strategic advisor on the organization’s strategy, vision, and overall performance. Provide thought partnership on the organization’s strategic planning.
  • Partner with the CEO, Board, and Senior Management Team to create a long-term sustainability plan for the organization.
  • Work closely with members of the program team to build and maintain processes for greenlighting new site expansion
  • Effectively communicate and present critical matters to the senior management team and the Board of Trustees.
  • Build and maintain strong relationships across the organization, including the CEO and Board. Serve as a trusted advisor.
  • Assist in building a strong and productive sense of community and team. Be a culture carrier committed to Aim High’s ADEI (Anti-Racist, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) values.

Other duties as needed.

Qualifications

You will be successful in this role if you:

  • Possess a deep commitment to the mission of Aim High.
  • Enjoy building a persuasive case for social impact and relish the opportunity to invite people to join in a meaningful mission.
  • Are motivated by big challenges that can deliver critical impact to communities.
  • Have previous experience leading in the nonprofit education space and have demonstrated a consistent ability to meet aggressive growth targets.
  • Are driven by an ambitious sales pipeline and thrive when charged with building new opportunities for growth.
  • Maintain confidentiality of sensitive information
  • Are a strong communicator with an attention to detail and sensitivity to the recipient of your communication.
  • Have a strategic mindset paired with the execution skills that allow you to lead and manage projects, groups, or organizations to achieve goals/ objectives.
  • Demonstrate significant experience working with diverse audiences and/or communicating with an equity lens.
  • Proficiency using computers and software such as Microsoft Office and Google Suite applications
  • Outstanding problem solver with the ability to make quick, sound decisions and the ability to juggle multiple projects and priorities simultaneously
  • Positive, can-do attitude with a solutions-oriented mindset
  • Attention to detail and the ability to operate with considerable independence to effectively establish priorities and work accurately under time constraints.
  • Commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as a high level of cultural competence

Job Details

  • Reports To: VP of Philanthropy and Marketing
  • Location: Bay Area, CA
  • Pay range is $135,000 – $150,000 DOE
  • Classification: Full-time (40 hours per week); exempt from overtime
  • Benefits: 100% employer-paid health insurance (medical/dental/vision) for employees, retirement match, and generous paid time off including a winter closure.

Aim High recognizes that striving to be a truly anti-racist, diverse, equitable, and inclusive (A.D.E.I.) organization requires deep and long-term commitment. They know that they will make mistakes, and they are dedicated to learning from them. They ask their broader Aim High team – including staff, educators, board members, and supporters – to encourage, challenge, and join them in living out their commitment to A.D.E.I.

Aim High is an equal opportunity employer. Aim High seeks diversity in its community and affords equal employment and advancement opportunities to all qualified individuals without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, citizenship status, medical condition, or any other legally protected status.

Vaccination Policy

Aim High requires that the holder of this position be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as defined by the CDC. Aim High will review and consider requests for reasonable accommodation to this requirement.

To Apply

Aim High has partnered with Cindy Joyce of Pillar Search & HR Consulting for the Director of Partnerships search. Please submit your materials (cover letter and resume) to Cindy at cindy@pillarsearch.com.