Today, 67% of students and 82% of low-income students can’t read at grade level by the end of third grade. That’s when students are supposed to go from learning to read to reading to learn. It’s America’s number one education crisis and we know how to fix it.
Ignite Reading delivers one-to-one virtual tutoring that teaches every student the foundational skills they need to become a confident, fluent reader. We pair students who need extra support with expert reading tutors who provide daily, 15-minute, Science of Reading-based instruction that rapidly closes their decoding gaps. We focus on the foundational reading skills—phonics, phonemic awareness, and sight words—kids need to master so they can decode a sentence. Students in Ignite Reading’s program achieve over 2 weeks of reading skills growth per week of instruction, and notably all students achieve the same outstanding results including students with IEPs, multilingual learners, students of color and those receiving free or reduced-price lunch.
Ignite Reading is a mission-driven public benefit corporation. We believe we can do well for our team members and shareholders while we solve one of the nation’s biggest challenges. We believe we will be more successful with a diverse team and are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Your Role
Reporting to the CEO, the Chief of Staff (COS) is a key member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), working closely alongside the CEO and department leaders to define and deliver Ignite Reading’s mission, vision, and strategic goals. The COS will help to set and drive strategy, support the CEO in managing day-to-day operations, drive key initiatives, and act as a trusted advisor to the CEO while collaborating cross functionally to ensure org-wide alignment and operational efficiency. The COS will also help Ignite Reading reach its growth objectives by representing the organization externally with key stakeholders. This position offers a unique opportunity to make a significant impact on children’s lives as we scale to achieve our near-term vision of teaching at least a million children a day to read.
Strategic Planning and Execution:
- Support with the planning, leadership, and execution of key strategic objectives, including owning and building specific strategic initiatives at the direction of the CEO
- Collaborate with the CEO and executive team to develop and refine the company’s strategic goals and objectives
- Monitor progress towards strategic goals and key performance indicators, driving routine metrics reviews and management processes while ensuring alignment and accountability across departments; make recommendations to optimize student and financial outcomes
- Serve as a thought partner for other members of the Senior Leadership Team to help them achieve their goals and thus support overall team performance
- Leverage business acumen and knowledge of the K-12 market and relationships with school districts to provide recommendations to help inform decision-making processes and accelerate our growth
Communication and Stakeholder Management:
- Serve as a liaison between the CEO, executive team, and various internal and external stakeholders, including district partners and the Board of Directors
- Support with management of SLT, including weekly team meetings, retreats (virtual and in-person), and other opportunities for team collaboration
- Represent Ignite Reading in high stakes situations with partners, customers, state governments, and other external stakeholders
- Facilitate effective communication, ensuring information flows smoothly across different departments and levels of the organization
- Prepare and deliver presentations, reports, and other communication to internal and external stakeholders
- Support with writing and editing key CEO communications
Leadership and Team Development:
- Provide leadership and mentorship to a diverse, growing executive team and foster a collaborative and high-performing culture
- Lead by example, demonstrating humility, a strong work ethic, adaptability, and a commitment to excellence
- Handle sensitive and high-stakes situations with composure, empathy, confidentiality and professionalism
- Respond to urgent issues, ensuring appropriate actions are taken to address situations
Competencies
- Passion for our mission
- 10+ years experience as a senior executive in the education space
- Significant experience engaging with K-12 education stakeholders, including Superintendents, Chief Academic Officers, and School Board members; ideally also brings experience working with government stakeholders
- Experience working in a start-up environment and successfully scaling a business in roles such as COO, CSO, COS
- Understanding of advanced business planning and solid grasp of data analysis and performance metrics
- Brings the confidence, experience, and gravitas to confidently sit in for the CEO and stand before an audience of either internal or external stakeholders while also being able to derive satisfaction from being behind the scenes collaborating with teams and ensuring that everything we are doing is optimized for the attainment of audacious goals
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities and the ability to have both an empathetic and data-driven approach to decision making while also being able to diagnose problems quickly and foresee potential issues
- Demonstrated leadership capabilities, with a track record of effectively leading teams and driving organizational change
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, adapting quickly to changing priorities; ability to roll up your sleeves and do whatever it takes to get the job done while balancing long-term projects with the urgency of immediate demands
- Highly collaborative and capable of working closely with others to achieve common goals
- Exceptional attention to detail, impeccable organizational skills, and ability to manage multiple strategic projects while also executing portions of the work with a start-up mentality
- Strong emotional intelligence and ability to facilitate work with stakeholders, including building relationships in service of the mission of Ignite Reading and its strategic priorities
- Extraordinary communication skills; written, verbal, and interpersonal
- Ability to be self-managing and flexible while working in a remote environment
At Ignite Reading, we’ve decided to embrace a transparent compensation structure for a few reasons:
To promote fairness and equity: This approach supports fairness within our structure. When everyone knows how compensation decisions are made, it reduces the likelihood of pay discrimination based on factors like gender, race, relationships, or negotiation skills.
To provide accountability for our approach: The same role receives the same compensation, with no negotiation.
To build trust within the organization: When employees understand how their compensation is determined, they are more likely to trust organizational structures and decisions, which can lead to overall better culture.
To support legal considerations: Many states are moving to requiring compensation listed on job descriptions and we want to follow these rules.
Salary: $180,000
We believe in building and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace environment. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer where all applicants are considered for employment without attention to color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. Research shows that candidates from underrepresented backgrounds often don't apply for roles if they don't meet all the criteria – unlike majority candidates meeting significantly fewer requirements. We strongly encourage you to apply if you’re interested!
We are seeking candidates who have lived experience related to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are a virtual organization with headquarters in the California Bay Area.
What We Do
When kids learn to read on time their opportunities in school and life improve profoundly. If a child cannot read by the time they are in third grade, they are four times less likely to graduate high school.* In 2022, only 33% of U.S. fourth graders and 31% of eighth graders were reading at grade level (National Assessment of Educational Progress reading assessment scores). Ignite Reading is on a mission to fix this.
Ignite Reading delivers one-to-one virtual tutoring that teaches K-8th graders the foundational skills they need to become confident, independent readers. We pair developing readers with expert reading tutors who provide daily, 15-minute, Science of Reading-based instruction that rapidly closes decoding gaps. Students across all demographics achieve the same outstanding results–an average of 2.4 weeks of reading skills growth per week of instruction–including students with IEPs, multilingual learners, students of color and those receiving free or reduced-price lunch. By ensuring all students master the foundational skills to fluently read any word, Ignite Reading empowers them to move forward and unlock everything school and life have to offer.
"Ignite Reading is one of the most, if not the most, successful interventions we have implemented in our district. The student results and program design are indisputable."
- Claudia Salvestrin, Assistant Superintendent, Red Bluff Union Elementary School District, CA
