Director of Movement Partnerships

Communities for Just Schools Fund; United States; Remote; USD 95,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Communities for Just Schools Fund is seeking a Director of Movement Partnerships to lead grantmaking strategy and strengthen partnerships with education justice organizers. You will steward relationships with grantee partners and help design capacity-building initiatives while coordinating with staff and donors.

The role emphasizes coalition-building, accountability to movement priorities, and shaping narrative power across partner networks.

Qualifications

• A demonstrated commitment to advancing intersectional racial justice and equity in movement spaces.
• Deep understanding of community organizing praxis and theories of change.
• Knowledgeable about youth, educator, and caregiver of color-led organizations.
• Knowledge of education-justice issues including school climate, discipline, safety, and restorative justice.
• Understanding harms of exclusionary discipline and the education justice movement's remedies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong planning, administrative, and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead visioning, development, and refinement of CJSF's grantmaking systems and processes across partner cohorts.
• Develop trust-based relationships with partners and coordinate connections within the network.
• Identify programmatic and operational support needs and contribute to capacity-building efforts.
• Educate donor members and partners about CJSF’s work and education justice priorities.

Skills

Racial justice

Community organizing

Strategic planning

Communication skills

Relationship building

Project management

Job description

The Director of Movement Partnerships will lead Communities for Just Schools Fund’s (CJSF) grantmaking strategy development and implementation and take primary responsibility for building and nurturing healthy partnerships with education justice movement organizers — our community partners and others. The Director of Movement Partnerships will manage CJSF’s grantmaking and facilitate network-building efforts with and for our community partners and other movement actors. The Director of Movement Partnerships will work in coordination with other staff to recommend and take action to resource capacity-building efforts for partners, ensure partners’ needs and perspectives are considered and uplifted in network partner spaces, convene learning exchanges responsive to partners’ interests and needs, and build narrative power.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES & TASKS

The Director of Movement Partnerships will steward CJSF’s relationships with, resourcing of, and collaboration with our community partners (grantee partners):

Grantmaking Strategy and Implementation

• Lead visioning, development, implementation, and refinement of CJSF's grantmaking systems, processes, and practices across all partner cohorts — general support, place-based, connectivity, corollary, and rapid response.
• Identify potential new partners and recommend grantmaking priorities in line with CJSF’s grantmaking and fundraising goals.
• Conduct and manage due diligence, ensuring that grant-making procedures comply with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations while thoughtfully maintaining CJSF’s commitment to streamlined grant application and reporting processes for partners.
• Work with CJSF staff to implement and continuously refine grant-making strategies and connections to technical assistance and capacity-building support.
• Prepare and present written summaries, analysis documents, articles, and presentations to track and communicate CJSF’s grantmaking efforts to internal and external audiences.

Partner Connections and Support

• Develop strong, trust-based working relationships with partners to ensure CJSF's actions and investments are supportive of their priorities, demands, and needs.
• Maintain contact lists and curate connections among existing and potential partners — including through coordinating and convening regular partner calls and conversations, and collaborate with other team members to ensure partners’ connections to and with CJSF’s broader network — including donor members and network partners.
• Identify programmatic and operational support needs in the field and contribute to the design, coordination, and roll-out of technical assistance and capacity-building efforts in support of CJSF’s partners.
• Assist with educating donor members, network partners, and others about CJSF’s partners, organizing, and the education justice movement’s priorities and demands.

Operations and Engagement

• Pursue creative opportunities with staff and other colleagues to further CJSF’s mission and serve the best interests of grantee partners through a variety of methods other than grant-making, including convening, technical assistance, serving on committees and task forces, public speaking, podcasts, blog posts, and op-eds.
• Help shape and implement narrative and programmatic strategies aligned with the expertise and needs of CJSF’s partners and the education justice movement — including collaborating with other team members, partners, and network partners to ensure CJSF actively advances federal strategies aligned with our partners’ needs and demands.
• Keep current on issues of importance to the Fund and the grantees by literature review, contact with social and professional communities, and participating in and attending relevant conferences, working groups, coalitions, and events.
• Assist with preparation of reports to CJSF donor members and others on plans for and results of Fund grant-making and initiatives.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• A demonstrated commitment to advancing intersectional racial justice and equity, building Black/Brown solidarity, and advancing healing and wellness in movement spaces;
• Deep understanding of community organizing praxis and theories of change (including base-building, leadership development, & political education)
• Knowledgeable about the power, needs, and unique challenges faced by youth, educator, and caregiver of color-led organizations and of intergenerational and multi-cultural community organizations.
• Knowledge of and experience with these issue areas addressed by CJSF partners as they relate to racial justice in education: school climate, discipline, and safety; police abolition; culturally relevant-sustaining curriculum and pedagogies; social-emotional learning; queer and indigenous liberation; disability justice; restorative and transformative justice; privatization and disaster capitalism;
• Deep knowledge of the harms of exclusionary discipline and law enforcement referrals from schools and the rationale/imperative for the liberatory education framing and remedies/strategies being elevated by CJSF partners and the education justice movement;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
• Strong planning, administrative, and organizational skills.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Relevant experience in philanthropy
• Spanish proficiency and/or fluency
• Knowledge of budgeting and financial management
• Experience with social media and communications strategies

ATTRIBUTES

• Exceptional attention to detail paired with a broad perspective and thought leadership
• Superb interpersonal and relationship-building skills
• Sense of humor
• An ability to work collaboratively in a team environment
• Initiative, reliability, and consistent follow-through across a varied workload
• Readiness to work independently when needed, to take on new tasks, and to give and receive feedback as needed
• Self-starter who takes initiative to utilize available resources and make recommendations for innovative solutions to existing problems and strategies for anticipated challenges

COMPENSATION

The salary range for this position is $95,000 to $115,000 yearly, commensurate with experience, plus a competitive benefits package that includes health coverage, retirement benefits, paid sick leave, vacation and holidays, professional development support, and more.