Uncommon Schools is a nonprofit network of high-performing charter public schools that are closing the academic achievement gap and preparing students from historically underserved communities for success in college and beyond. Uncommon currently manages 55 schools serving more than 20,000 students in six cities: Boston, Camden, New York City, Newark, Rochester, and Troy. Uncommon graduates persist in and graduate from college at rates far higher than their peers. We believe that every child deserves an outstanding education, and we are committed to working beyond the walls of our schools to achieve that goal through our professional development workshops, books, and district partnerships. 

Summary of Role

As our network grows, within the past 5 years, we have gone from graduating 100 seniors per year to 650, on our way to over 1,000 in the next three years. We are proud of the work we have done to-date to support our students on the road to and through college, including through our college alumni success counselors! Our high school graduates currently earn bachelor’s degrees at rates that nearly equal those of students whose families fall into the top income quartile nationally. We are also proud to have our alumni come back to join Uncommon as staff members, with 46 current alums serving in teaching, operations and Home Office roles -- including two alums who are school principals!

We are excited to build on these successes by crafting a robust alumni network and growing opportunities and supports to ensure every Uncommon HS graduate can achieve economic freedom. Our newly formed Alumni Impact team will work to connect our alums to each other, provide additional development opportunities for alums, and facilitate alumni engagement with Uncommon!

This is exciting new work that will involve setting vision, building strategy, designing program, and engaging alumni. As the first member of the Alumni Impact team, you will partner directly with the Chief of Staff, and work closely with our College Completion Team, our Data Analytics team, our Senior Schools Leadership Team, our External Teams (Marketing, Media, Development, and External Affairs), our high schools, external partners, and – most importantly -- our alums.

Core Duties & Responsibilities

The Senior Manager, Alumni Impact is responsible for building and leading a robust strategy to engage alumni at scale and connect alumni to each other, to Uncommon, and to career and leadership opportunities beyond Uncommon.

We expect this role will start by focusing on:

• Collaborating on data-gathering to understand alumni perspective and capture feedback via surveys and focus groups
• Crafting, getting organizational consensus, and implementing an alumni vision & strategy
• Mechanisms for engaging and supporting alums pursuing broader postsecondary pathways
• Pathways for alumni to be involved in the Uncommon community
• Additional supports for alumni based on their interests, such as improved leadership skills or greater civic engagement

To execute on this vision and strategy and in collaboration with current efforts, additional ongoing responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

• Developing and launching key systems and tools to facilitate engagement
• Measuring and sharing progress and feedback as the work progresses
• Seeking out, securing, and leading key partnerships with outside organizations to supplement offerings for alumni
• Piloting and scaling programs and events that align with alumni interests and encourage them to connect to Uncommon
• Crafting communications to build alumni community and highlight alumni
• Collaborating with existing efforts to support alumni through college completion
• Partnering with key internal teams to deliver insights from alumni to improve our current K-12 programs and build appropriate connections between our current work in our schools and our long-term work with alumni

Required Skills & Abilities

• Passion for Uncommon’s mission and our alumni engagement work
• Deep and visible dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Ability to develop and execute program strategy
• Ability to build systems, tools, and launch and scale new programs
• Excellent collaboration, relationship-building and partner management skills
• Strong project management and implementation skills
• Ability to apply principles of equity when building and implementing programs
• Ability to be self-directed and take initiative
• Experience using data to guide recommendations and decisions

Preferred Skills & Abilities

• Experience engaging and partnering with young adults
• Experience in career development/mentoring with a focus on early-career stages
• Ability to coordinate large groups of constituents virtually (especially Gen Z/millennials)

Educational Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required

Experience Requirements

• 5+ years of relevant work experience

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Able to lift up to 15 pounds at a time

Travel Requirements

• Once travel restrictions are lifted, up to 2 days per month traveling across regions, though primary focus will be on NYC and Newark – with increased travel as needed to implement particular initiatives

Uncommon Schools offers salaries commensurate with experience and a very generous benefits and vacation package. All staff members receive extensive professional development, and are equipped with a laptop computer and all necessary supplies.

Uncommon believes in the importance of being a diverse, equitable and inclusive organization that enables our students and staff to thrive. We are committed to building a talented team that reflects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our students. At the same time, we work to ensure an inclusive community through creating a space for meaningful dialogue about issues of race and identity for our staff and students.  As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability.