Principal, School Success Jobs

About Equitable Facilities Fund (EFF)

Equitable Facilities Fund (EFF) is a nonprofit social impact fund that’s on a nationwide mission to help high-performing public charter schools spend more money on students and less on the costs of borrowing for their facilities. We offer school leaders simple and much-needed access to low-cost loans combined with support from an expert team that has walked in their shoes.

To date, EFF has committed nearly $1 billion to schools serving over 60,000 students, providing them with funding to amplify their impact. Equity is at the core of our mission, and we invest in schools that create opportunity for students and communities that have traditionally been denied access to high-quality educational opportunities.

If you’re seeking to have a community-level impact on a national scale, apply to join our team!

The Opportunity

The Principal, School Success will play a critical role in EFF’s effort to ensure every high-impact charter school operating in historically marginalized communities has a pathway to affordable financing. Reporting to the Chief Program Officer, the Principal will directly manage two or more of EFF’s regional or specialty funds, lead the implementation and execution of EFF’s regional lending business development strategy, and render critical supports to optimize the facilities process for prospective school partners. The ideal candidate will enjoy multifaceted work, problem-solve relentlessly, and possess expertise in virtually all aspects of charter school lending and investing.

Responsibilities

The Principal, School will be responsible for:

• Business Development: Working with the Chief Program Officer to develop a holistic lending business development strategy for Fund II and then co-leading the execution of this strategy.
• Org Leadership: Serve on EFF’s leadership team that convenes on a biweekly basis, partake in strategic decision-making, and prioritize org-level activities.
• Team Management: Managing an Associate who will help execute School Success objectives. Principal may take on additional reports (either FTE or consultants) in the future depending on the evolution of School Success and regional fund scope.
• School Pathmaking: Conducting intake (two to three conversations) with approximately 30 prospective borrowers per year, gathering pertinent data and information, and then making recommendations to EFF’s Pathmaking Committee on whether to advance deals into underwriting, defer until a later date (with “light TA” provided), or refer to another lender.
• State Fund Management: Managing at least two of EFF’s state-specific or specialty funds, including sourcing deals, supporting prospective school partners, making recommendations to EFF’s underwriting team on which deals to advance, and owning key stakeholder relationships.
• “Light TA”: Rendering front-end technical assistance supports to a subset of prospective borrowers, including project affordability analysis, support with financial proforma, and informal strategic advice to help optimize borrowing process.
• Portfolio Events: With logistical support from EFF’s operations team, planning and hosting one in-person convening per year for schools and other stakeholders in each state or specialty fund portfolio managed by the Principal.

Qualifications

• Outstanding relationship management skills
• Track record of meeting and exceeding aggressive goals
• Experience with business development and/or customer lead generation
• Willingness to travel frequently (up 25-35% of time)
• 3-5+ years of experience in a senior charter school lending and/or real estate development role
• Demonstrated advocacy for diversity, equity, and inclusion in workplace and investment practices
• Strong problem-solving skills and an ability to think “outside the box” and pivot as needed to support a growing business
• Unyielding commitment to EFF’s mission to ameliorate educational, financial, and racial inequities
• High degree of integrity and authenticity and a good sense of humor
• 10-15+ years of overall professional experience; 5+ years in the charter school sector
• Customer service orientation and ability to collaborate across functional areas
• Experience working for a charter school or management organization strongly preferred
• Extraordinary communication skills and an ability to clearly explain and answer questions about product-related details
• Expertise in rendering advisory services and other forms of support to schools

Compensation And Benefits

The starting salary for this position is $160,000 - $195,000 with up to a 10% bonus based on organizational performance. Compensation is competitive, commensurate with experience, and may be subject to modest adjustments for high-cost-of-living geographies. We are proud to offer excellent benefits.

Location

This role can be based anywhere in the US but is expected to travel to NYC or other geographies to meet with EFF team members at least 3 to 4 days each month.

Reporting Relationship

The Principal, School Success will report to the Chief Program Officer.