Director of Advancement, Alpha - $400,000/year USD

Families who enroll at Alpha seldom find us through advertising. They arrive because someone they trust—another parent at dinner—told them, "This transformed my child." That referral engine, rooted in real relationships, is what you will own across an entire region: the gatherings, the ambassador program, the connections to civic leaders, the executive who creates a pathway for a 14-year-old's first meaningful project.

About the role

In a typical week, you'll be present in four different rooms. You will design and execute the region's event calendar—ranging from a 150-person open house to an intimate dinner for eight—several times each month. You will identify and activate current parents who are eager to speak with prospective families, pairing them strategically. You will cultivate ties with city officials and business leaders, converting those relationships into event venues, support for campus launches, and tangible opportunities for students. And you will deliver the Alpha Networks: introductions, expert-led masterclasses, internships, alumni integration—tracked and logged family by family.

There is no completed manual. You will build the systems as you execute them, and the frameworks you develop will be adopted by peers launching the same model in other markets. As your region expands, the challenge intensifies: the number of doors opened per family must increase even as total enrollment grows. Success is measured by the proportion of growth driven by authentic referrals, observed across years rather than quarters.

This is an on-site role in one of the following regions: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Greenwich, Miami, Atlanta, Boston, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Dorado, Nashville, or Park City. Expect to work evenings and weekends in rooms filled with ambitious parents, elected officials, and entrepreneurs, along with frequent local travel. You will become the most connected person in your city, and you will invest that capital in service of students.

Responsibilities

• Designing and executing the region's event calendar: open gatherings, curated dinners organized by city and grade level, and family retreats—several per month, on budget
• Securing venues, hosts, and vendors, and personally hosting each event
• Identifying current parents to serve as ambassadors, equipping them with authentic narratives, and pairing them with prospective families and campus tours
• Building relationships with public officials and business leaders, and converting those ties into event venues, campus launch support, and student opportunities
• Connecting enrolled families into parent circles and students into mentorships, masterclasses, and real-world internships; welcoming graduating families as alumni within 30 days
• Recording every event, introduction, and initial contact attribution in the CRM (customer relationship management platform) to ensure "doors opened per family" is a verifiable metric

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Purchasing growth. No paid advertising, no media spend, no impression or lead-generation targets
• Owning brand narrative or top-level campaigns; that belongs to Marketing
• Managing admissions processes, conducting tours, or handling enrollment paperwork; those are owned by Admissions and Family Success
• Operating a campus day-to-day, or managing the physical facility
• Reporting raw attendance and headcount as though filling a room constitutes the outcome
• Waiting for a complete playbook, template, or support team before beginning

Requirements

• 5+ years building communities or relationship-driven programs in K-12 education, membership organizations, or a comparable network business, where growth originated from people: referrals, members, congregations, chapters, alumni, or a client book, with quantifiable results
• Has personally designed and executed 20+ gatherings spanning the full spectrum, from intimate curated dinners to events with 100+ attendees, with budget accountability
• Has initiated and sustained relationships with public officials or business executives that yielded concrete, identifiable value
• Disciplined CRM user; documenting relationships, attributions, and actions is an established practice
• Lives in, or will relocate to, one of these regions: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Greenwich (CT), Miami, Atlanta, Boston, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Dorado (PR), Nashville, or Park City (UT)
• Authorized to work in the US without visa sponsorship

Nice-to-have Requirements

• Led regional growth, community, or partnerships for a network-based organization: a school network, membership club, franchise, or faith or civic institution
• Developed and monetized a high-trust relationship portfolio as a client-facing principal in wealth management, consulting, or business development
• Advanced through admissions, advancement, community organizing, or hospitality, consistently selected to host and represent the institution
• Pre-existing relationships with local government or business community in your city
• Deep understanding of how families make high-stakes education decisions

About Alpha

Join the team building school around student growth. Alpha reimagines the school day around faster learning, stronger mentorship, and more time for students to build real-world skills. Roles with real student impact: Alpha hires teachers (guides), operators, admissions experts, school & curriculum leaders, and remote team members. Education work that pays like it matters: Alpha offers six-figure roles for people ready to help build a radically better school experience. A culture built for builders: Alpha is fast-moving, ambitious, and student focused. It’s for people who want to improve the system, not maintain it. Alpha is where you can do the most meaningful work of your career.

Pay

The compensation level for this role is $400,000 USD/year. The payment period is weekly.

Benefits

This is a full-time, W2 employee position with immediate access to benefits. All roles are year-long positions.