Education Fund - Executive Director

DSG | Koya; Miami (FL); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Vacation & sick leave

Job summary

The Education Fund is seeking an Executive Director to lead fundraising, operations, and staff in South Florida. This role partners with the President and Board to advance educational initiatives in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, building strong donor ties and strategic programs.

Success requires a track record of securing significant funding, guiding budgets, and fostering collaboration across teams while maintaining a community-focused culture.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years in a senior nonprofit leadership role with fundraising success.
• Proven ability to raise at least $1M/year through grants and giving.
• Experience in budgeting, operations, and staff leadership.

Responsibilities

• Strategize with Board and President on governance and growth.
• Design and enhance programs with Program team.
• Lead fundraising campaigns with donor development.
• Oversee budgets, accounting, and financial operations.
• Supervise senior staff and foster collaborative culture.

Skills

Fundraising leadership

Staff management

Program implementation

Financial management

Grant writing / donor relations

Regional relationship building

Communication skills

Communications leadership

Tech adoption / AI

Public education knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Advanced degree a plus

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

The Education Fund works side-by-side with the private sector to promote and support quality public education for every child in Miami-Dade County Public Schools by providing teachers and students with the resources they need to be successful. Focusing on opportunities for innovation, impact, and investment, The Education Fund engages the entire community in making educational excellence a top priority.

The Education Fund has been supporting student success for 40 years. In that time, The Education Fund’s results include: $90 million raised for public schools, $29 million+ in free supplies for classrooms provided via a free supplies warehouse program, arts education supported through programming including $1.1 million+ raised, piloting a ‘first-in-the-nation” Food Forest program with 73% of student improving math knowledge and 65% increasing science achievement, providing college & career support with a 34% increase in college enrollment attained, and recruiting and placing 3,000+ business professionals into the shoes of a teacher for a one-of-a-kind educational experience.

Learn more about The Education Fund, including our current programs, at www.educationfund.org.

About the Executive Director Opportunity

The Education Fund seeks an Executive Director who is passionate about supporting public education and who brings strong skills across fundraising, operations, and staff leadership. The Executive Director will play a pivotal role in driving our mission by providing leadership capacity across all aspects of the organization, including fundraising, operations and finance, programs, staff supervision, and board relations. As a key ambassador for our mission, the Executive Director will build relationships with current and prospective donors and interact with key individuals within Miami-Dade County Public Schools, leveraging excellent interpersonal skills. Internally, they will foster collaboration and a positive team culture, and they will draw on a systems-thinking ability to identify opportunities to strengthen organizational processes and policies.

The Executive Director will report to the President, collaborating closely on opportunities to shape the role and evolve their responsibilities over time, based on organizational needs and the individual’s experience. With success in the role, the Executive Director will be in line to succeed the President, making this a unique leadership opportunity for an individual who is committed to building on the success and impact we have had over the last 40 years.

Key Responsibilities:

Organizational Strategy

• Collaborate with the Board of Directors and President on organizational strategy and governance
• Partner with the Program team to design new programs and enhance existing programs
• Collaborate with the VP of Development to create and execute fundraising strategies and campaigns, including donor identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities
• Develop and maintain relationships with key constituents including district leaders, elected officials, and community leaders
• Close major gifts, grants, sponsorships, and other donations either individually or in partnership with other leaders
• Support the Development team by reviewing grant proposals and developing grant budgets
• Supervise communications and branding activities to raise visibility for The Education Fund and provide a win-win experience for donors

Operational Success & Continuous Improvement

• Guide the identification and implementation of tools, processes, and policies that support effective and efficient operations, such as AI tools (and an AI policy) that help the organization gain efficiency, a new purchase order system, a new CRM, and other improvements.
• Partner with the President to develop budgets and with the Director of Accounting to oversee financial operations
• Communicate clear goals to staff, ensure effective practices for tracking progress, and leverage data to provide recommendations

Team and Culture Building

• Provide supervision and leadership to senior staff, ensuring successful outcomes in their respective functional areas
• Foster a positive organizational culture that fosters professional growth and ensures effective collaboration, a high degree of accountability, and ethical conduct

Candidate Profile

As a strong candidate for the Executive Director position, you will demonstrate many – though perhaps not all – of the following skills, experiences, and characteristics:

• You are an experienced nonprofit leader, with a minimum of 7 years of experience in a senior leadership role and demonstrated success in fundraising, program implementation, financial management, staff management and planning.
• You believe in the power of public education and are excited to represent our mission among a wide range of constituencies.
• You must have demonstrated success in fundraising, with experience personally raising at least $1 million/year through grants and other giving strategies and are motivated to build external relationships with a variety of donors and partners to support organizational growth.
• While fundraising is critical to the position, you also bring a knowledge of programming and can guide program development and deployment.
• You are familiar with the Miami-Dade/South Florida region and culture and have a track record of effectively building relationships in the region. Knowledge of the area’s philanthropic community and Miami-Dade County Public Schools is preferred.
• You balance a solutions-oriented approach with strong listening skills, a belief in collaboration, and a high degree of emotional intelligence that allow you to bring others along with you.
• You demonstrate excellent communication skills. Prior experience supervising or directly leading communications, PR, and marketing efforts are considered a strong advantage.
• You are highly proficient in Microsoft Office and other technology/software programs and interested in implementing AI and other technologies to improve operational outcomes.
• You hold a Bachelor’s degree; advanced degree a plus.

Location

The Executive Director must live in South Florida, ideally in Miami-Dade, and maintain a presence in our office, with flexibility for a hybrid schedule. Travel within the region and attendance at periodic events outside of standard work hours is required.

Compensation and Benefits

The starting salary range for this position is $140,000 - $170,000, with additional bonus potential. If the Executive Director succeeds the President, the salary will increase commensurate with the responsibilities.

The Education Fund offers a benefits package that includes health insurance, retirement, and vacation/sick leave benefits.

The Education Fund is an equal opportunity employer.