Executive Director

First Graduate; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

403(b) retirement plan

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Paid holidays & vacation

Professional development funds

Job summary

First Graduate, a San Francisco nonprofit, seeks an Executive Director to lead programs, finance, operations, and people management. The role blends internal operations with external fundraising and partnerships to advance educational equity.

The ideal candidate has 8–10+ years nonprofit leadership, proven fundraising success, and a passion for transforming opportunities for students across the Bay Area. This is a full-time, hybrid position with significant growth potential.

Qualifications

• Genuine passion for educational equity and mission-driven leadership.
• Experience managing budgets and fundraising in a nonprofit setting.
• Proven ability to lead, develop, and retain diverse teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead as chief executive across programs, finance, operations, and people management.
• Oversee fundraising, donor relations, and external partnerships to meet a $2.5M+ annual budget.
• Guide strategic planning with the Board and senior leadership.

Skills

Nonprofit leadership

Fundraising

Budgeting & forecasting

Board relations

Strategic planning

People management

Equity & inclusion

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Full-time | Hybrid | San Francisco, CA

https://firstgraduate.org/careers/

https://firstgraduate.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Final-First-Graduate-ED-Position-Description.pdf

The Opportunity

First Graduate stands ready for our next chapter of growth and impact. We're seeking an Executive Director who can both strengthen our organizational infrastructure and champion our mission externally — someone who is equally comfortable managing budgets and building donor relationships, overseeing daily operations, and inspiring community partners.

Our ideal candidate brings deep nonprofit operational experience, proven fundraising success, and authentic passion for educational equity, understanding that sustainable impact requires both exceptional programs and the resources to deliver them. They're energized by building relationships with donors and partners, know how to translate a mission into a narrative that inspires investment, and can think strategically about the next three to five years of growth.

If you're a nonprofit leader called to make a measurable impact on educational equity in San Francisco, this is your opportunity to lead transformational change. This position offers the rare opportunity to lead an organization with a 25-year track record of proven impact, a committed team and board, and tremendous growth potential. The incoming Executive Director inherits an organization performing at the top of its field, with real growth underway. Our model has been refined and validated through decades of success, and SFUSD partners are actively requesting our services at additional schools. The momentum this leader will build on includes:

• 690 youth are currently served across the middle school, high school, and college & career continuum, up from 300 the year prior
• 99% of seniors graduate from high school and enroll in college immediately, compared to a 46% national average for first-generation students
• 78% of First Graduate students complete a four-year degree within six years of enrolling — more than three times the national completion rate for first-generation students
• Expanding into a new middle school (Visitacion Valley) and a new high school in-school advising partnership (Lowell), with high school enrollment projected to nearly double year-over-year
• A growing career pipeline, anchored by a partnership with Deloitte and $239,200 in scholarships awarded annually
• 11 new corporate and foundation funders added over the past three years, diversifying the organization's funding base

Key Responsibilities

This is a hands-on role split roughly evenly between internal operations and external relationship building. Fundraising and relationship building are central to this role. The Executive Director is expected to be personally and visibly engaged in resource development and external partnerships.

Organizational Leadership & Operations (~50%)

• Serve as chief executive, ensuring strong execution across programs, finance, operations, and people management
• Lead a team of 13-20, fostering professional development and a culture of accountability and collaboration
• Build and sustain an inclusive, high-performing culture where staff feel valued, supported, and set up to grow
• Own budgeting, forecasting, and financial management with the finance committee and Board, ensuring fiscal health and strong internal controls
• Ensure compliance with nonprofit governance, labor law, and reporting requirements, and proactively manage organizational risk
• Strengthen internal systems and processes to support operational excellence and growth
• Ensure programs are delivered with quality, consistency, and measurable impact
• Serve as primary liaison to the Board, providing regular updates on financial performance, fundraising progress, and organizational health
• Partner with the Board on strategic planning, governance, and board development/recruitment

Development & External Relations (~50%)

• Serve as the organization's lead fundraiser, personally cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major donors, foundations, and institutional funders
• Develop and execute a fundraising strategy supporting a ~$2.5M annual budget
• Partner with the Board to activate members as fundraisers and ambassadors
• Maintain high-quality stewardship and reporting for existing funders
• Identify and pursue new funding opportunities aligned with long-term sustainability
• Serve as First Graduate's primary external spokesperson, building relationships with school partners, community organizations, and education leaders across the Bay Area
• Increase organizational visibility through strategic outreach, storytelling, and communications

Qualifications & Experience

Required

• Genuine passion for educational equity and First Graduate's mission
• High emotional intelligence, integrity, and authenticity, with a relationship-driven leadership style
• Bachelor's degree and 8-10+ years of nonprofit leadership experience, with significant operational and management responsibility
• Demonstrated experience managing organizations or departments with budgets, ideally in the $2M+ range and teams of 10+ staff
• Proven track record of personally leading fundraising efforts, including major donor and institutional funder relationships
• Strong financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, and managing restricted funds
• Experience working closely with and supporting a nonprofit Board of Directors
• Experience scaling programs, revenue, and organizational impact, with comfort navigating complexity and change
• Inclusive, equity-driven leadership style, with a track record of developing, retaining, and motivating diverse teams

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in education, youth development, or college access
• Experience with K-12 school systems
• Familiar with the San Francisco nonprofit/philanthropic community
• Capital campaign or major gifts fundraising experience

Our Team: Culture and Benefits

First Graduate is committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion and connectedness. We grow and learn better together with a diverse team of employees. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, innovation, self-expression, and talent that our employees bring is an important part of our culture. In recruiting for our team, we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs.

We back that commitment with a total rewards package designed to support our team well: a salary range of $170,000-$200,000; generous vacation, personal days, paid holidays, and sick leave; comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with 100% employer-paid premiums for employees; a 403(b) retirement plan; life insurance, an Employee Assistance Program, and short- and long-term disability coverage. We also provide dedicated funds for ongoing professional development and growth.