About College Track
College Track is a comprehensive college completion program. Our students benefit from a 10-year integrated program that helps them overcome obstacles on the path to a bachelor’s degree and a meaningful career. We offer academic, financial, and personalized support over 10 years to help students persist through college and graduate.
What began in 1997 with 25 students in East Palo Alto has grown into a national movement of more than 5,400 scholars and alumni who are driving change in their families, campuses, workplaces, and communities. Today, we operate 13 centers rooted in communities across California, Colorado, Louisiana, and the D.C. Metro Area, with our newest site opening in Baltimore, thanks to a bold partnership with the Baltimore Ravens, M&T Bank, and Baltimore City Public Schools.
Our Impact
Our scholars are leaders on more than 300 college campuses nationwide, including at partner institutions like Middlebury College, Tulane University, Bowie State University, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. They graduate at rates that are three times the national average for first-generation students, proving what’s possible when talent meets opportunity. One year after college, 80 percent of our alumni are employed, and by age 30, they earn an average of $89,823—outpacing the national median and demonstrating the long-term economic mobility a bachelor’s degree unlocks.
These outcomes are the result of a deliberate approach that supports scholars to minimize student debt, secure paid internships, and reduce the need to work excessive hours while in school—ensuring they can focus on learning, leadership, and personal growth. By preparing our scholars to capture the full value of their degree, we position them to thrive in the 21st-century economy and lead lives of opportunity, choice, purpose, and power.
Our Values
At College Track, our values drive the way we do our work, and we look for individuals who share our passion. We blend an entrepreneurial spirit with our nonprofit roots, cultivating a dynamic culture where everyone's contributions are valued and encouraged.
- Commitment: With every choice and every decision, we center the 10-year promise.
- Passion: It is the fire that drives us, and we’re in it for the long haul.
- Joy: Energized by the hopes, ambitions, and growth of our scholars, we celebrate the impact of our community.
- Authenticity: What each brings to the table contributes to deep and trusting relationships.
- Excellence: Every day is better than the last, we’re always learning, always progressing, always evolving.
Learn more about College Track at collegetrack.org.
The Opportunity
College Track seeks an Executive Site Director, reporting to the Vice President College Readiness within the Education Department. The Executive Site Director will manage three direct reports and seven indirect reports.
First and foremost, the Executive Site Director will be a fierce advocate for College Track’s mission to equip scholars confronting obstacles to earn a bachelor’s degree in pursuit of a life of opportunity, choice, purpose, and power.
Candidate Profile
The Executive Site Director will be responsible for the following:
Philanthropic Leadership and Partnership Development
- Serve as key partners in cultivating and stewarding individual donors and private and government funders managed by the Philanthropy team and President and CEO, which could include co-hosting site visits with Philanthropy leads, independently hosting site visits when a Philanthropy lead cannot be present, and representing College Track at funder events and convenings.
- Play a leadership role in recruiting, developing, and managing the Local Advisory Boards in Northern California.
- Cultivate and sustain transformational relationships with local elected officials and district and school leadership.
- Participate in local and state events and speaking engagements and serve as an ambassador for College Track’s mission and impact.
- In partnership with the Marketing and Communications team, work effectively with local media to create a strong, positive local presence.
Student Recruitment and Retention
- Set the vision and strategy for student recruitment and work with the Recruitment Specialist to reach the recruitment goals.
- Work with the Director of Programs on retention strategies to keep all scholars engaged with College Track throughout the 10-year commitment.
Financial Accountability
- Hold the overall accountability for the site budget, ensuring that resources are used effectively to support strong student outcomes.
- Working closely with the central Finance team, support program staff in budgeting and forecasting.
- Working closely with the national Finance team, regularly review projections vs. actuals and anticipate any large variances.
Culture and Site Management
- Co-create a student-centered environment for young people of different backgrounds to feel valued and that they will achieve their dreams.
- Work collaboratively to develop a “one team” culture to help make College Track a destination employer of choice.
- In partnership with the Operations Manager, lead by example, creating a culture of risk management, proactively implementing policies and practices that hold scholar and staff safety at the core.
Through the direct and indirect management of team members, the Executive Site Director should ensure:
- Programmatic goals are achieved.
- College Track staff feel invested in and valued.
- Staff accurately collect and act upon data.
- A culture of fiscal responsibility exists at the site.
- Our spaces are affirming for our scholars.
- Students, staff, and visitors are mentally and physically safe while at the site.
The ideal candidate will have the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics:
- Minimum of a 4-year college degree
- 10-13 years of relevant experience
- Highly developed strategic thinking and execution skills that allow one to successfully lead and manage projects, groups, or organizations to achieve desired results
- Demonstrates the ability to fundraise and expand the organization’s donor base through collaborative relationship-building
- Superior relationship-building and interpersonal skills which enable rapport-building with internal and external stakeholders
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills to inspire confidence and passion both internally and externally to diverse audiences and stakeholders
- Ability to work 11:00am-7:30pm Monday-Friday and some weekends
- Fluency in Spanish or Cantonese is a bonus
- Physical Requirements: alternating between sedentary work that primarily involves sitting, standing, typing on a keyboard, manipulating a mouse to use a computer's operating system/internet, and more active work such as moving around an office environment, communicating with scholars/stakeholders, classroom management, far visual acuity, near visual acuity lifting/carrying/moving objects (20 pounds)
Compensation and Benefits
This position is full-time, exempt, with a salary range of $140,000-$190,000. Exact compensation will depend on experience. However, as someone new to the role, you can expect an offer around $152,500 - $164,999 to ensure internal equity while leaving room for salary growth during your time in the position.
College Track provides access to extensive benefits centered around three core areas of wellness: health care, work-life balance, and financial security. We believe time off is essential to success and provide up to 27 discretionary time off days (Sick and Vacation) in addition to 28 paid office closure and holiday days in your first year of employment. Learn more about benefits here.
This position is based in Oakland, CA.
While we hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, we especially encourage applicants who identify as first-generation college graduates to apply for open opportunities.
Contact
DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Trevor Hooper. Submit a compelling cover letter and resume by filling out our Talent Profile. All inquiries are strictly confidential.
DSG | Koya is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email [email protected]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.
College Track is an equal-opportunity employer fully committed to achieving a diverse workforce. College Track does not discriminate based on race, age, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.
About DSG | Koya
DSG | Koya, a DSG Global company, is the nation’s premier search firm dedicated to mission-driven leadership. Since its founding in 2004, DSG | Koya has had an exclusive focus on mission-driven clients and was founded on the belief that the right leader can transform an organization and have a deep and measurable impact on our world. DSG | Koya works with nonprofits & NGOs, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.
DSG Global is consistently recognized by Forbes on its top 10 list of “America’s Best Executive Recruiting Firms” and is an industry leader in recruiting transformational leaders for a changing world. The firm is deliberately different in its approach, with best-in-class teams who have decades of experience in cultivating inclusive leaders, understanding the dimensions of diversity, and building equitable teams.
Learn more about DSG | Koya via the firm's website.