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Director of
Policy
Nellie Mae
Foundation
Quincy
(Boston), MA
OVERVIEW
The Nellie Mae
Education Foundation seeks applications and nominations for the position of
Director of Policy.
As the largest public charity dedicated to improving academic achievement for
The New England region’s underserved communities, the Nellie Mae Education
Foundation (the Foundation) is embarking upon a dynamic period of renewed
strategic focus. The Director of Policy (Director) will work closely and
collaboratively with the Foundation’s President & CEO, senior managers, and
staff to expand the Foundation’s knowledge and influence in areas of public
policy that impact education reform. Specifically, s/he will assume primary
responsibility for devising and implementing a strategy and policy agenda for
connecting the Foundation to the policy community at state, regional, and local
levels and will identify opportunities for investing in policy analysis and
research. S/he will work to forge and nurture relationships with policy leaders
and inject Foundation outcomes into the policy community and public at large. In
this capacity, s/he will work closely with policymakers to further the
organization’s success, realize opportunities for program growth, and support
the implementation of innovative strategic objectives. The ideal candidate will
demonstrate the values advanced by the Foundation, have significant experience
and savvy in navigating legislative communities and their processes, and will
possess the sophistication, intellectual drive, and charisma to effectively
build bridges between the Foundation, policy makers and the public at large.
MISSION & HISTORY
“A
catalyst for dramatic, dynamic, and relevant change and improvement in
education.”
The Nellie
Mae Corporation, a nonprofit education-financing company, first pioneered
philanthropy in the student-loan industry in 1990 by creating the Fund for
Education. For the next eight years, the Fund for Education provided over $5
million in grants to advance more than 300 education programs throughout New
England. In 1999, the Nellie Mae Corporation was purchased by SLM Holding
Corporation (Sallie Mae) resulting in the creation of the Nellie Mae Education
Foundation. Today the Foundation is New England’s largest independent principal
public charity focused exclusively on education.
The Foundation is grounded in
the belief that access to higher education is a right and necessity for all
individuals. Dedicated to promoting accessibility, quality and effectiveness of
education for the underserved in the six New England States, the Foundation has
to date granted $83 million funding education programs and technical assistance
to improve academic achievement and access to higher education, and sponsored
research and conferences that have advanced knowledge within the educational
field and influenced policy at the state, regional and national levels. The
Foundation’s historic and primary focus has been on engaged funding of relevant
programs within defined strategic areas. Since 2000, the Foundation has focused
grantmaking in four strategic initiatives – Adult Literacy, College Prep,
Minority High Achievement, and Out-of-School Time Matters. Through these
endeavors, the Foundation has improved academic achievement for underserved
students throughout New England.
While it will continue to build
on established successes, the Foundation seeks to achieve increased, direct
impact on education reform by transforming into a catalyst for innovative,
multi-dimensional improvement in systems of education. With new leadership and a
renewed vision, the Foundation recognizes that today’s learners must achieve
across a wider range of domains. Thus, the Foundation is reexamining its
historical focus and forging a new strategic direction in order to equip
learners to actively engage in the global economy through a renewed, dynamic and
relevant system of high quality education accessible to all from preschool to
adulthood.
Under the forward thinking leadership of President & CEO Nicholas C. Donohue,
the Foundation has charted a bold course to explore reinvention to strengthen,
expand, and diversify the variety and quality of educational access and
advancement for every student. To achieve this goal, the Foundation, with a
staff of 13, is realigning its programs and investing in a deeper array of
innovative and promising practices to acquire impact-driven knowledge to inform
future practices and shape public policy. Capitalizing on program investment
lessons, the Foundation will be poised to: influence, shape and identify new and
refined programmatic strategies; influence public policy; analyze successes and
barriers to success in policy innovation and reinvention; and develop and
cultivate strategic partnerships with key opinion leaders, policymakers, and
constituent networks on local, state and national levels. Through these efforts,
the Foundation will increase public understanding and commitment needed to
support authentic, sustainable systems of education reform that respond
equitably and dynamically to the needs of all learners, and support the high
achievement learning needed to thrive in a dynamic economy.
Beginning in 2008, the Foundation will focus its grantmaking on strategies,
including funding for partnerships, programs, research, and intermediary
organizations, that will support underserved learners and build knowledge to
dramatically improve outcomes for them. Emerging program areas include early
learning, the use of time in learning, the examination of the pathways involved
between secondary and postsecondary education, and adult learning with a focus
on postsecondary opportunities. With renewed vision and an innovative strategic
plan, the Foundation is realigning program investments to generate energy and
momentum in outcomes that influence public policy in education reform, and to
build the alliances and relationships necessary to disseminate the results
within the policy community and to the public at large. The Director will play
an integral role in the Foundation’s learning process, in informing public
policy, and in growing public support for authentic, sustainable action in
education reform. The Director will be integral to the successful implementation
of the Foundation’s strategic benchmarks, leading and managing critical facets
of the Foundation’s core functions that impact and shape public policy and
awareness in education reform, and that increase the visibility of the
Foundation.
OPPORTUNITIES
AND CHALLENGES FOR THE
DIRECTOR OF POLICY
The Nellie
Mae Education Foundation’s Director of Policy will develop and implement a
strategy for connecting the Foundation to the policy community and key opinion
leaders at the state, regional and local levels. By fostering stronger
relationships between the Foundation and the policy community, the new Director
will play a critical role in expanding the Foundation’s impact on systemic
education reform. This important and exciting role will present challenges and
opportunities for the new Director that are each key to the success of the
Foundation’s strategic initiatives. The key challenges will include, but not be
limited to:
Conceiving and articulating a strategy for
connecting the Foundation to the policy community;
The Director will develop a policy agenda and corresponding outreach strategy
that positions the Foundation to influence policymakers, key opinion leaders,
and local and state legislators to address public policy issues in education
reform. As part of this outreach, s/he will survey the activities of various
like-minded organizations, and provide strategic and operational expertise to
command the Foundation’s unique space among organizations seeking to influence
education reform including guidance on policy analysis investment, development
of internal learning plans and research agendas, and identification of external
spheres of influence. The Director will exhibit outstanding management skills
and operational finesse in helping Foundation staff and stakeholders to
understand legislative priorities and to promote ideas in an effective and
influential manner.
Forging and sustaining relationships with
key leaders in the policy community;
The Director will be an effective relationship builder, forging lasting and
productive partnerships with leaders in the policy community. S/he will be
responsible for communicating the goals and actions of the Foundation to myriad
stakeholders including constituent organizations, policy makers, key opinion
leaders, Foundation staff and the public at large. Relationship building will
occur in various settings including meetings and conferences with relevant
policy organizations.
Translating ideas and outcomes from the
Foundation to the policy community and informing Foundation staff of policy
developments.
The Director will integrate policy trends and opportunities into the
Foundation’s work and ensure that the Foundation remains on the cutting edge of
influencing education reform. S/he will build bridges to organizations in the
“ideas infrastructure” ensuring policy makers and key opinion leaders and
officials are present at Foundation events and will identify and create forums
to discuss research and policy relevant theory.
QUALIFICATIONS OF THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
The successful candidate will be an
established and articulate leader with sophistication, intelligence, drive, and
a demonstrable record of success in influencing and shaping public policy in the
field of education. S/he will minimally hold a bachelors degree, but an advanced
degree in a policy related field is preferred. S/he will also demonstrate a
proven leadership track record with a minimum of ten years of relevant work
experience in public policy, government affairs, or a related field.
Additionally, the ideal applicant will possess many of the following
professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:
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Substantive
knowledge of education reform and the ability to understand and communicate
the Foundation’s goals;
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Deep commitment to the mission of the
Foundation to promote accessibility, quality and effectiveness of education
for the underserved in the six New England States;
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Experience with public policy, public
awareness, and public interest issues in education;
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Intimate knowledge of public policy
organizations and the legislative community and the ability to engage policy
leaders in Foundation activities;
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Ability to be a key strategic thinker and
player in policy circles, networking effectively and calling on policy
makers and organization leaders to engage with the Foundation on specific
issues;
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Thorough understanding of the legislative
process, how to translate ideas into policy and into accessible documents
for the policy community; Current knowledge of legislative undertakings and
priorities in the field of education;
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Superior oral and written communications
skills in one-on-one settings and in large group meetings with the ability
to advocate, drive attention and generate good will interest in the
Foundation, and an eagerness to be a dynamic and compelling ambassador to
all audiences;
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Entrepreneurial experience and management
style thinking, and the ability to engage in intellectual, conceptual and
theoretical discourse and brainstorming;
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Ability to practically bridge vision and
implementation, and to receive, integrate and translate others’ ideas and
suggestions;
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The flexibility and ability to work in a
collaborative, team-oriented, and productive environment;
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Innovative, strategic, opportunistic and
creative thinking skills combined with strong leadership, impeccable
management and organizational skills, and exceptional attention to detail;
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A passion for and proven leadership and
management success within Foundations and/or nonprofit organizations is
desirable; and
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An optimistic outlook and the humor,
integrity, compassion, and patience necessary to address the practicalities
and desires of an entrepreneurial nonprofit.
TO APPLY:
More information about the Nellie Mae Education
Foundation may be found at:
http://www.nmefdn.org/
Nominations and applications are due by March 28, 2008. Due to the pace of the
search, candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Applications
including a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, your
resume (in Word format), salary history, and where you learned of the position
should be sent to:.
nm-dp@nonprofitprofessionals.com.
In order to expedite the internal sorting
and reviewing process, please type your name (Last, First) as the only contents
in the subject line of your e-mail.
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.
Women and candidates of color are encouraged
to apply.
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