Charleston Feasibility Study Executive Director

• Values-Driven: We educate the whole student: academically, spiritually, and socio-emotionally.
• Growth Opportunities: We prioritize our faculty and staff’s learning and growth.
• Invested Students and Engaged Families: Our students’ families seek out our schools.
• National Community: Our faculty and staff are a proud part of a national movement.

Position Summary 

• Act as the chief representative and ambassador of the Cristo Rey mission and movement in Charleston, while leading and directing a community of dedicated volunteers, committee members, and community partners in conducting a thorough and successful Feasibility Study, including securing donations & monetary pledges, engaging and building partnerships in target communities, securing job commitments from corporate leaders for future students, and identifying a school site and Catholic sponsor;
• Lead the effort to recruit business, faith, philanthropic and community leaders in Charleston to serve on the Feasibility Study Committee;
• Function as a liaison between the Feasibility Study Committee and Cristo Rey Network office;
• Research, synthesize, and develop engagement strategies utilizing demographic information about the communities the prospective Cristo Rey school will serve, as well as economic and employment data to determine the viability of a Corporate Work Study program;
• Organize and lead meetings with business leaders to secure their partnership as future employers of Cristo Rey students;
• Lead community engagement efforts to develop trust and an understanding of the needs and desires of the most underserved communities, while accurately and persuasively representing the student-centered mission, vision, and success of the Cristo Rey movement, and collecting surveys from community leaders and prospective parents and students;
• Schedule, plan and lead all Feasibility Study related meetings and events (fundraising, friendraising, community engagement, job solicitation, and board and governance);
• Collaborate with Committee members to prepare both a budget for the Study and a five-year budget for the future Cristo Rey school;
• Prepare grant applications and lead development and fundraising efforts for the Feasibility Study;
• Compile and manage a database of contacts from government organizations, and potential business partners, donors, and community partners;
• Draft and edit the Feasibility Study Application and the Feasibility Study Report (including all necessary requirements) for submission to the Cristo Rey Network and Cristo Rey Network Board; and
• Support the President hiring search & selection of the founding board.

• Ensure all activities comply with federal, state and local law, with the support of pro bono counsel;
• Performs other duties as assigned by the Feasibility Study Chair(s).

Required Qualifications:

• Committed to educational opportunity for underserved students, with a passion for the distinct mission, values, academic standards, and Catholic identity of the Cristo Rey Network such that s/he can inspire people to support this unique educational movement;
• Have an awareness of and commitment to the Catholic traditions of education, service, and social justice, with the credibility to lead and represent the Cristo Rey movement with integrity, and facility for working well with diverse Catholic church leaders, lay and clerical;
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, including the proven ability to engage and inspire a wide range of stakeholders, and to build creative and mutually beneficial relationships within the philanthropic, corporate, public, non-profit, and non-Catholic faith sectors;
• Demonstrated ability to achieve projected outcomes across a spectrum of goals with strategic planning and execution capabilities;
• The executive presence to inspire organizational and professional confidence, passion and persistence in an ambitious, fast-paced, and results-oriented period of growth and assessment; and
• Bachelor’s degree (Master’s degree preferred) and proficiency in Google Suite & Microsoft 365.

A candidate should demonstrate a combination of the following characteristics: 

• A minimum of three years experience establishing and managing budgets for a complex organization;
• A minimum of three years of executive leadership and management experience, steering an organization, or a significant department within an organization;
• A minimum of three years of proven fundraising and/or revenue generating success, preferably in the non-profit sector and with foundations;
• Exceptional project management, presentation, relationship management, advocacy or sales skills;
• Ability to effectively work independently; You will be driving projects forward as the only paid member of the team and directing/collaborating with volunteers; and
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills, including evidence of enhancing an organization’s financial strength and sustainability.