ABOUT GATEWAY PUBLIC SCHOOLS (GATEWAY)

In 1998, a group of San Francisco parents had the dream of creating a school that would be a gateway to college for all students regardless of race, income or learning style. They founded Gateway High School, a college preparatory, public charter school in San Francisco. Since then, more than 96% of its graduates have gone on to college, nearly twice the statewide rate. Expanding on its success, Gateway Middle School was established in 2011 to support students starting in 6th grade. Today, Gateway’s mission is to prepare a broad range of learners for success in college and beyond by combining a rigorous academic program with an approach where the individual talents, strengths and needs of its learners are identified and supported. With two campuses in San Francisco’s Western Addition, Gateway Public Schools (GPS) serves nearly 800 students and an entire community of educators each year. Learn more about our schools at www.gatewayps.org.

POSITION OVERVIEW

Gateway Public Schools seeks an enthusiastic and experienced Associate Director of Development with a commitment to public education, students and families, and the San Francisco community. This is a great opportunity for someone in a manager role ready for their next step and aspiring to be a director. In partnership with the Development team, the Associate Director will conceive, design, and lead effective annual and multi-year strategies to grow revenue and deeply engage Gateway Public Schools’ donors, institutional funders, and prospects.

Gateway is entering a five-year strategic initiative to increase its annual fundraising budget by $1 million annually. This position will play a key role in this initiative through the growth of existing corporate sponsors, building out new sponsorships, and welcoming new donors from the San Francisco and Bay Area communities.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

This position reports directly to Chanda Lockhart, currently Director of Development and Outreach[MOU1] [VS2] . Chanda has served in the role for four and a half years. The Associate Director works closely with all members of the development team. This position will have the opportunity to supervise staff in the coming months.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Corporate Social Responsibility and Foundations

  • Strategically manage relationships with local and national CSRs and private foundations; employ the Director of Development Outreach and other development colleagues, as needed

  • Accountable for achieving mutually agreed upon annual goals for gift income and expanding Gateway’s donor base

  • Research, cultivate prospective funders; manage stewardship of current funders

  • Create and oversee the creation of high-quality content and materials for corporate cultivation/stewardship

  • Craft innovative funding opportunities that demonstrate impact and success

  • Write grant proposals and reports in partnership with school leaders and educators

  • Stay abreast of current trends in education and youth development funding and incorporate compelling ideas into collateral and communications

  • Maintain high data integrity in Salesforce for all institutional funders and contacts

  • Staff corporate partner events at Gateway; attend corporate networking events

Events and Appeals

  • Lead corporate sponsorship efforts – cultivation, stewardship and asks – of Gateway’s schools, events, and programs

  • Convert event attendees to ongoing Gateway supporters

  • Work with Community Relations Manager to execute successful events

  • Design, manage and execute two annual appeals in partnership with the Development team

Strategy and Forecasting

  • Develop and execute an annual institutional fundraising plan within Gateway’s annual strategic fundraising plan to maximize contributed revenue and in support of Gateway’s Dream Big initiative 

  • Enhance ROI of Gateway’s fundraising events to build a pipeline of prospective individual and corporate donors

  • Track progress of revenue quarterly and annually; leverage historical data to forecast and project revenue annually and over time

Team and Organizational Support

  • Additional responsibilities according to the direction of the leadership team

  • Engage in the day-to-day life of Gateway Middle and Gateway High schools; assist with school-wide events as assigned

  • Act as an anti-racist individual and team, challenge racism and actively change the policies, behaviors, and beliefs that perpetuate racist ideas and actions

QUALIFICATIONS

  • 5+ years of experience in fundraising and development with time spent in corporate giving, donor stewardship and cultivation, grant writing, and/or special events

  • A commitment to public education and alignment with Gateway’s mission and values, as well as creating an anti-racist community for students and families

  • Ability to articulate Gateway’s mission, programs, and initiatives in a compelling way to diverse audiences

  • Ability to foster and maintain working relationships built on mutual trust and respect with parents, students, trustees, donors, alumni, and staff

  • Attention to detail; strong organizational skills, verbal, and written communication skills; and ability to work collaboratively across teams

  • Proactive nature with great attention to detail

  • Organize, prioritize, and coordinate multiple work activities with the ability to meet deadlines and outlined team goals

  • Agility and flexibility in response to changing priorities and needs

  • Strong time management and prioritization skills

  • Proficient in Google Suite, experience with CMS and email marketing platforms

  • Experience with Salesforce or similar CRM required

  • Demonstrated ability and willingness to continuously acquire new competencies and accept new challenges

SALARY RANGE AND BENEFITS

The salary range for this position is $100,000 - $125,000 plus benefits. GPS offers an excellent benefits package, including fully paid medical, dental and vision insurance, life insurance, six weeks paid vacation, ten sick days, and 14 paid holidays, professional development opportunities, a retirement savings plan, onsite parking, and, if qualified, student loan repayment support.

This is a full time (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm), exempt flexible hybrid position. Gateway’s offices are located on Gateway High’s campus in Western Addition. The development team’s office is on the second floor of the building. The building has stairs, a ramp and elevator to access the second floor. The office is close to several MUNI lines, and Gateway offers onsite parking for $50 per school year.

COVID HEALTH AND SAFETY

Gateway Public Schools requires employees to be fully vaccinated and encourages all employees to be boosted. Documentation of vaccination status will be required for participating in in-person interviews. Per SFDPH and SFUSD guidelines, masking is strongly encouraged but not required. Each office is equipped with SFDPH-approved HEPA filters and open windows throughout the day.

TO APPLY

To apply for this position, or for additional information on the opportunity, please send a copy of your resume with a cover letter to Victoria Silverman at apply@cooksilverman.com.

All applications and inquiries will receive a response and be kept strictly confidential.

DEI STATEMENT

Gateway is committed to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Gateway strongly encourages women, people of color, LGBTQ+ persons, and persons from other underrepresented groups to apply.

For over two decades, Gateway Public Schools have been committed to preparing an incredibly diverse student body with the skills and mindsets necessary to create a more just world. In order to make that a reality, we are required as educators and as a school community to acknowledge the ways in which public schools have traditionally been used to further white supremacist norms and policies, and interrogate the ways in which white supremacy and anti-Blackness can continue to operate in education.

We are firmly committed to fighting systemic racism both within and beyond our campuses, and to developing students who will continue that work as young adults. To that end we:

  • Implement evidence-based, developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive teaching methods in which we explicitly teach about identity development, diverse cultures, and anti-racism.

  • Provide opportunities for students to engage in identity, diversity, and social justice work both in and out of the classroom, alongside supportive faculty in a variety of contexts.

  • Encourage student voice, choice, and community action through an educational approach centered on student agency, restorative justice, and intentional community-building.

  • Work alongside families from a lens of inclusion, partnership and humility, with the belief that they are the first, best experts on their children and co-architects of our school community.