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

Families who enroll at Alpha don't typically find us through advertising. They come because someone they trust—at a dinner table, in a living room—told them, "This transformed my child." Your job is to own and expand that word-of-mouth ecosystem across an entire region: the gatherings, the parent advocates, the relationship with the mayor's office, the executive who provides a 14-year-old with their first meaningful project.

About the role

In a typical week, you'll be present in four different rooms. You design and execute the region's event calendar, hosting everything from a 150-person open house to an intimate eight-person dinner, running several each month. You identify and train current parents who are genuinely eager to speak with prospective families, and you facilitate those one-to-one connections. You cultivate relationships with civic leaders and business executives, converting those ties into event venues, support for new campus launches, and tangible opportunities for students. And you deliver the Alpha Networks promise: facilitating introductions, expert-led masterclasses, internships, alumni transitions—all tracked family by family.

There is no complete manual to follow. You build the playbook as you execute it, and the processes you develop become models for colleagues doing the same work in other cities. As your region scales, the performance bar rises: doors opened per enrolled family must increase even as total enrollment grows. Your success is measured by the proportion of growth driven by authentic personal endorsements, evaluated over years rather than quarters.

This is an on-site position based 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. The role requires evening and weekend availability in settings with high-expectation parents, elected officials, and business founders, as well as frequent local travel.

Responsibilities

• Creating and executing the region's event calendar: open-format gatherings, curated dinners organized by city and grade level, and family retreats, managing several per month within budget
• Identifying and securing venues, hosts, and vendors, and personally hosting each event
• Identifying and training current parents to serve as ambassadors, providing them with authentic narratives, and facilitating introductions to prospective families and campus tours
• Establishing relationships with public officials and business leaders, and converting those connections into event venues, support for campus expansion, and opportunities for students
• Facilitating connections between enrolled families in parent circles and placing students in mentorships, masterclasses, and real-world internships; welcoming graduating families into the alumni network within 30 days
• Recording every event, introduction, and first-contact source in the CRM (customer relationship management platform) to ensure "doors opened per family" is an accurate, trackable metric

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Purchasing growth through paid media, ad spend, or impression-based lead generation
• Creating the brand narrative or executing top-down marketing campaigns; that responsibility belongs to Marketing
• Managing admissions logistics, conducting tours, or handling enrollment documentation; Admissions and Family Success own those functions
• Operating a campus on a daily basis or managing facility access
• Treating raw attendance and headcount as success metrics
• Waiting for a finalized playbook, standard templates, or dedicated support staff before beginning

Requirements

• 5+ years building community or relationship-driven programs in K-12 education, membership organizations, or similar network businesses, where growth was driven by referrals, members, congregations, chapters, alumni, or client relationships, with quantifiable results
• Personal experience designing and executing 20+ events across formats, from intimate curated dinners to gatherings of 100+ attendees, with full budget accountability
• Established and sustained relationships with public officials or business executives that resulted in specific, documentable outcomes
• Consistent CRM discipline; tracking relationships, attributions, and actions is an established practice
• Currently resides in, or willing to 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 engagement, or partnership initiatives for a network-oriented organization: a school network, membership association, franchise system, or faith-based or civic institution
• Developed and monetized a high-trust relationship portfolio as a client-facing leader in wealth management, consulting, or business development
• Advanced through roles in admissions, advancement, community organizing, or hospitality, and consistently served as the institution's public representative and host
• Established connections with local government or the business community in your region
• Deep understanding of how families navigate high-stakes educational 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.

Benefits

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

Pay

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

Job Code: LJ-5841-US-Nashvill-DirectorofAdva.002