Senior Director, External Engagement

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

403(b) retirement match

Life insurance

Short- and long-term disability

Parental leave (12 weeks)

PTO + holidays

Home office stipend

Internet & cell phone reimbursement

Job summary

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools in Washington, DC (Hybrid) seeks a senior External Engagement leader to steer the coalition, build legal and congressional programming, and uplift state and partner leaders. You will coordinate with legal counsel, design fly-ins and school visits, and mobilize grasstops partners to advance charter school policy and advocacy.

This role requires 8+ years in coalition politics or related fields, strong program design, and the ability to navigate

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in coalition politics, association management, campaign or program management.
• Experience building or managing a multi-stakeholder coalition around high-stakes legal or advocacy efforts.
• Experience partnering with legal counsel on public-facing advocacy strategy.
• Experience designing and running leadership development programs for a network of peers.

Responsibilities

• With the Legal team, build, educate, and mobilize a coalition of stakeholders.
• Identify potential litigants, intervenors, and amici for the case and related litigation.
• Explain the stakes to the national charter community and activate accordingly.
• Design and deliver Partner Fly-Ins coordinating with the Federal Government Relations team and events.
• Prepare schools and leaders to be effective hosts for Congress on Campus visits.
• Develop strategy for partner letters and congressional targeting.
• Coordinate with External Engagement and Federal Government Relations on programming.
• Equip partners with materials to engage policymakers.

Skills

Coalition management

Policy advocacy

Leadership development

Project management

Multi-stakeholder collaboration

Job description

Washington, DC (Hybrid); frequent travel

WHAT IS THE ROLE

You are the senior member of the External Engagement team responsible for the Alliance's full coalition and grasstops portfolio: building the SCOTUS coalition and congressional programming that puts charter schools in front of lawmakers, and building the capacity of state charter association leaders, school and network leaders, and the broader coalition of partners who make up the charter movement's base. Reporting to the Chief of External Engagement, you work directly with the Alliance's Legal team on coalition and litigation strategy, and you own the relationships and programming that turn state associations into high-quality advocacy organizations and keep school and network leaders engaged.

On the legal and congressional side, you build and mobilize a coalition ahead of the next U.S. Supreme Court case on religious charter schools, and you design and deliver Partner Fly-Ins, the Congress on Campus school visit program, and earmark advocacy programming. This role does not hold the Alliance's relationships with members of Congress – that responsibility sits with the Federal Government Relations team. Instead, you coordinate closely with that team to design and deliver the product: the strategy, content, and school and leader preparation behind fly-ins, Congress on Campus visits, and earmark programming, so that the relationships Federal Government Relations holds translate into well-prepared, effective engagement.

On the partner and state side, you convene and support the State Leader Council through monthly calls and three annual in-person convenings, engage CMOs and school and network leaders, and mobilize the coalition partners who make up the movement's grasstops base.

Operating across a fast-moving legal and political environment as well as a diverse landscape of state and local advocacy partners, this role requires sound judgment under pressure, the ability to build trust with legal counsel, congressionally-facing colleagues, and grassroots leaders alike, and the discipline to deliver complex, parallel programming in close partnership with teams that own adjacent pieces of the relationship.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• With the Legal team, build, educate, and mobilize a coalition of legal, political, policy, and school-choice stakeholders, including state association leaders and aligned organizations
• Identify potential litigants, intervenors, and amici for the case and related litigation
• Explain the stakes to the national charter community and provide clarity on how and when to activate

Design and Deliver Congressional Programming

• Design and deliver Partner Fly-Ins (including NCSW and NSCW), coordinating with the Federal Government Relations team on member and staff engagement and with the Manager of Events & Logistics on execution
• Design and deliver the Congress on Campus school visit program, including preparing schools and leaders to be effective hosts and advocates
• Design and deliver earmark advocacy programming, including webinars and technical assistance, in partnership with Federal Government Relations and the federal affairs team
• Develop strategy for effective partner letters (appropriations, bills, Dear Colleague letters), coordinating with Federal Government Relations on congressional targeting

Partner Across Teams

• Serve as the coordination point between External Engagement and Federal Government Relations on all congressional programming
• Equip partners and school leaders with the substance, positioning, and materials they need to be effective once Federal Government Relations has secured the relationship or meeting

Build State Association Capacity

• Convene and connect the State Leader Council (SLC) through monthly virtual calls, including agendas, materials, and speakers
• Lead three annual in-person SLC convenings (Fall, Spring, Summer)
• Provide meaningful support for new CSA leaders, including leader-to-leader coaching and, in 2028, implementation cohorts
• Convene CSA leaders on state-specific contingency plans, applying the legal and political coalition work you lead directly

Galvanize School and Network Leaders

• Design the vision, agenda, and intention for the SLOC, CEO, and SLC receptions at NCSC, partnering with the Programs team on execution

Mobilize Coalition Partners and Parent Voice

• Build and run a playbook for soliciting partner and network-leader input on proposed rules and policy changes
• Leverage coalition gatherings, small groups, focus groups, and 1:1 meetings to surface on-the-ground challenges and opportunities
• Generate field intelligence reports that translate what partners and parents are telling us into recommendations for policy, communications, and state associations

WHO YOU ARE

Experience

• You bring 8+ years of experience in coalition politics, association management, campaign or program management, field organizing, or legal/policy advocacy — direct relationship-holding with members of Congress is not required for this role, but experience designing programming that puts advocates in front of policymakers is
• You have experience building or managing a multi-stakeholder coalition around a high-stakes legal, legislative, or advocacy fight
• You have experience partnering with legal counsel on public-facing advocacy strategy
• You have experience designing and running a leadership development or coaching program for a network of peer organizations
• You have planned and executed multi-day convenings or conferences for a professional audience
• You have delivered complex programs in close partnership with teams that own different parts of the relationship or process
• You bring familiarity with charter schools, K-12 education policy, state charter associations, or education reform

Skills and Approach

• You build trust easily with legal counsel, coalition partners, and grassroots and grasstops leaders alike
• You translate complex legal and policy stakes into clear, actionable guidance for a broad, non-legal audience
• You are comfortable identifying and approaching individuals and organizations who may become plaintiffs, intervenors, or amici
• You can move comfortably between institutional leaders and grassroots voices, treating both as essential parts of the same coalition
• You are an excellent program designer and deliverer who thrives working alongside teams that hold the relationships your programming is built around
• You are collaborative and clear about lanes — comfortable coordinating closely with Federal Government Relations rather than owning every piece yourself
• You are highly organized and comfortable managing a recurring cadence of calls, convenings, and follow-up across parallel workstreams

This position requires regular travel for fly-ins, school visits, SLC convenings, coalition gatherings, and NCSC.

WHAT WE OFFER

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools offers a sector-leading salary and benefits package. We cover 100% of an employee's medical, dental, and vision premiums, and 50% for spouses and dependents, including an HRA to cover 100% of in-network medical deductibles. We also offer:

• 403(b) retirement account with up to a 6% match after 90 days of employment
• Automatic life insurance coverage, short- and long-term disability coverage, and FSA
• 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave
• 25 PTO days annually, plus every federal holiday and a week off at year-end
• Monthly reimbursement for internet and cellular service, plus a $500 home office setup stipend in your first 90 days

The anticipated starting salary range for this role is $110,000–$140,000 , commensurate with experience and qualifications.

WHO WE ARE

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools believes that all families deserve high-quality public school options. Charter schools are independent public schools providing families with a new set of public school options. Each of these schools is developed to be a partnership between parents, teachers, and students.

When given the option, parents are choosing to enroll their children in charter schools. In fact, the demand for charter schools is far outpacing the supply in most communities. What began as a small movement in a few states has grown to become a major force in education reform across the country. Through advocacy, research, and strategic communications, the National Alliance works to grow the number of high-quality charter schools available to all families, especially those who do not have access to high-quality public schools.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

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