Director, Partnerships and Growth Strategy

Description

Location: Los Angeles (Hybrid with in-office days)

Start Date: no later than August 1, 2025

Close Date: June 30, 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Top candidates will be invited to interview as applications are received.

Salary Range: $80,000-$90,000

Uprooted Academy is committed to equity and transparency in our hiring practices. To support fairness across our team and reduce bias in salary negotiations, we do not negotiate individual salaries. Compensation for this role is set based on the scope of responsibilities and external market benchmarks for similar roles in the nonprofit and education sectors.

About Uprooted Academy

Uprooted Academy is a tech non-profit that offers an AI-powered, student-centered platform that ensures under-resourced students can navigate the college application process with confidence, resilience, and well-being. Our holistic, data-driven approach connects students to the resources, mentorship, and social capital needed to pursue their dreams and close the wealth gap.

About the Role

Uprooted Academy is seeking a strategic and execution-oriented Director, Partnerships & Growth Strategy to lead strong implementation, expansion readiness, and partner success across our growing footprint. Ideal for someone who has both education and sales experience, this role blends storytelling, systems building, and frontline relationship management. You’ll manage our portfolio of paid school and organizational partners—from MOU drafting and onboarding to implementation and insight-sharing—laying the foundation for our future expansion into new markets and revenue streams with the goal of reaching more students. This role is built for someone eager to take ownership of the entire partnership lifecycle with a deep commitment to equity and Uprooted Academy’s mission.

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Growth & Partnership Expansion

• Lead MOU and contracting processes for large national youth-serving organizations, school districts, and universities with the purpose of partnering to reach an increasing number of students
• Oversee a portfolio of paid partners across charter networks, public schools, districts, and county offices of education
• Lead revenue growth strategy to increase earned revenue from ~$450K to $1M+ annually (primarily in SoCal)
• Build and maintain a robust pipeline of public school, district, COE, and charter network partners
• Own the full sales lifecycle: prospecting, proposal writing, pricing, contract negotiation, and onboarding handoff
• Respond to RFPs and build funder-supported adoption models with county agencies and foundations
• Cultivate 10 + university partners to support platform programming, visibility, and student access
• Initiate and establish at least one partnership with an edtech or education equity coalition to explore opportunities for regional replication and scale
• Establish partnerships with edtech or education equity coalitions to explore regional replication

Partner Success & Implementation

• Lead contracting and pre-launch onboarding planning with new partners
• Lead implementation and clever onboarding
• Align closely with our Manager of Partner Success & Engagement and tech team to ensure implementation readiness
• Ensure clean handoffs and relationship continuity from sales to ongoing support
• Lead biannual data-sharing and renewal conversations aligned to partner goals
• Maintain 90% renewal rate through sustained monthly engagement

Field Strategy & Relationship-Building

• Lead all conference and event strategy, from proposal submission to logistics 
• Represent Uprooted Academy nationally and locally to deepen relationships, especially in SoCal and key emerging markets

Team & Internal Collaboration

• Directly manage up to two Manager(s) of Partner Success & Engagement
• Provide functional oversight of fractional CIO for implementation support
• Partner with Director of Product Strategy & Research and CTO to align external needs with platform roadmap
• Collaborate with marketing to translate partner insights and data into external storytelling
• Through leadership team, inform cross-functional strategy and share field insights

Qualifications

• 5–10 years of experience in education, edtech, nonprofit leadership, business development or related fields
• Proven track record in partnership management or business development (especially in education or mission-aligned tech)
• Strong understanding of K–12 ecosystems, including charters, districts, COEs, and youth-serving CBOs, especially in California
• Experience managing implementation and onboarding processes for institutional partners
• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills across diverse stakeholders
• Ability to draft and negotiate MOUs/contracts and lead partner renewal cycles
• Strategic thinker with demonstrated ability to build and scale systems for growth
• Comfort with using data to drive insights, implementation outcomes, and storytelling
• Willingness to travel for conferences, partner events, and relationship-building (especially in SoCal)

Perks

• Generous PTO – Enjoy two weeks off in the winter and one week off is summer, plus additional paid time off.
• Comprehensive Benefits
• 401k Match
• Co-working Membership
• Annual Team Retreat – A fully planned retreat to recharge, strategize, and build community.
• And More! – We’re always adding benefits that support our team’s well-being and growth.

Who You Are

You are a mission-driven professional with a unique blend of education and sales experience—someone who has navigated classrooms and conference rooms with equal confidence. You understand the power of relationships, systems, and storytelling to drive sustainable growth. Whether you’re onboarding a new school district, representing a brand at a national conference, or translating data into compelling impact stories for a partner renewal, you lead with empathy and execution. You’re energized by ownership—of your portfolio, your systems, and your results—and you’re ready to help scale a high-impact platform that’s transforming the college journey for historically marginalized students. You bring a “builder” mindset, an eye for detail, and a deep belief in equity and the mission of Uprooted Academy.

Why Join Uprooted Academy?

• Work in a mission-driven organization that is expanding college access through AI-powered innovation.
• Join a fast-paced, collaborative team that values iteration, learning, and bold ideas.
• Hybrid work flexibility with up to 3 days in-person at our workspace in Los Angeles.

If you have questions, please reach out to [email protected]