Vice President, College Partnerships

About The Position 
The Vice President of College Partnerships will lead KIPP’s national strategy to build transformative relationships with colleges and universities that drive access, affordability, persistence, and degree completion for KIPP students. This leader will design and execute the strategic vision for how KIPP engages colleges, set measurable performance standards, and leverages institutional commitments towards meaningful student outcomes. The VP will expand KIPP’s national footprint by securing 50 new MOUs annually and advancing progress toward establishing partnerships with the nation’s top 250 colleges by 2030. Managing a national portfolio of partners, this leader will steward relationships with senior higher education executives, facilitate ongoing progress reviews, and drive collaborative initiatives that strengthen the student experience from matriculation through graduation. Success in this role will be measured through student outcomes at partner institutions, including 90% of KIPPsters persisting to Freshman Spring, 85% persisting to Sophomore year, 30% graduating in 4 years, 45% graduating in 5 years, and 60% graduating in 6 years. The ideal candidate is a strategic, student-centered, outcomes-driven leader who excels at relationship management, negotiation, influence, and operational execution. This role leads a high-performing team of six and collaborates closely with regions, advising teams, scholarship programs, and data leaders to ensure partnerships are effectively integrated into KIPP’s college match and persistence strategies. 

The position reports to the Chief of College Advancement & Partnerships and is part of a team culture grounded in KIPP’s core values—Excellent Results for Students, Collective Impact, and Courageous Action—embracing collaboration, psychological safety, data-informed decision-making, and continuous improvement in service of transformational outcomes for students. 

 

Responsibilities 

Strategy and Vision 

• Set the national vision for how KIPP leverages institutional partnerships to drive affordability, persistence, and degree completion at scale. 

• Design a long-term roadmap to secure partnerships with the nation’s top 250 colleges by 2030, prioritizing institutions committed to equity, student success, and measurable investment in KIPP students. 

• Consistently realize partnership excellence, establishing clear performance standards, accountability structures, and required commitments across all partners. 

• Develop systems, data insights, and cross-functional processes that integrate college partnerships into national advising, match, financial aid, and persistence strategies. 

• Lead and refine the ongoing strategy grounded in data, institutional performance, and student experience to ensure partners consistently achieve results. 

• Position KIPP as a national thought leader and trusted collaborator in improving postsecondary outcomes for first-generation and low-income students. 

Partnership Development and Expansion 

• Cultivate, negotiate, and formalize strategic partnerships with colleges and universities that advance access, affordability, persistence, and completion for KIPP students. 

• Develop and negotiate Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), securing 50 new MOUs annually with clear commitments and measurable goals. 

• Identify, vet, and prioritize new partnership opportunities aligned with KIPP’s goals, including engaging with the nation’s top 250 colleges by 2030. 

Portfolio Management and Relationship Stewardship 

• Manage a national portfolio of college partners, maintaining strong, trust-based relationships with senior institutional leaders. 

• Conduct regular performance reviews and data-driven discussions to strengthen collaboration and outcomes. 

• Support partner institutions in implementing practices that improve student success and equity. 

Driving Student Outcomes Through Partnerships 

• Analyze persistence, enrollment, and graduation data to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities for improvement. 

• Collaborate with partner institutions to enhance advising structures, financial pathways, and campus-based supports. 

• Ensure partnership commitments contribute meaningfully to KIPP’s long-term milestones, including: 

  • 90% of KIPPsters persisting to Freshman Spring 

  • 85% persisting to Sophomore year

  • 30% graduating in 4 years, 45% in 5 years, and 60% in 6 years 

Cross-Team Collaboration and Regional Support 

      • Work closely with high school teams and regional leaders to integrate partnerships into student advising and match strategies. 

      • Provide actionable insights on partner institution strengths and opportunities to inform regional decision-making. 

      • Align partnership commitments with scholarship pathways and persistence strategies to maximize impact. 

Strategic Initiatives and Knowledge Management 

      • Build and refine systems, tools, and codified practices that strengthen partnership effectiveness and scalability. 

     • Serve as a key thought partner in shaping KIPP’s national college partnership strategy, including goals and accountability structures. 

• Document and share best practices to drive continuous improvement and strengthen execution across the network. 

Leadership and Team Management 

• Lead and develop a high-performing, equity-driven team of six, fostering a culture aligned with KIPP’s core values: Excellent Results for Students, Collective Impact, and Courageous Action. 

• Coach and support team members to ensure effectiveness and alignment across regions, goals, and priorities. 

• Manage team budget and resources to deliver results within allocation. 

 

Skills and Mindsets 

 

• Mission and Student Focus: Demonstrates passion and commitment to KIPP’s mission and possesses the desire and ability to uphold KIPP’s core values (Focus on Excellent Results, Collective Impact, and Courageous Action)  

• Achievement & Outcomes Orientation:  Demonstrated record of setting and achieving ambitious goals for their departments in complex or ambiguous environment; uses data, research, and analysis to set a high bar of excellence for goal setting; effectively distributes and redistributes work among direct reports, teammates, and teams to optimizes goal attainments; effectively sets and fosters a culture that enables and celebrates teammates’ achievements and goals attainment. 

• Strategic Decision Making and Problem Solving: Effectively uses data to shape teamwide decisions and the learning agenda or evaluation of a function or significant initiative.  Able to generate, implement, and evaluate solutions with a focus on scalability and sustainability.  

• People Management & Development: Effectively ensures strong professional development and coaching for teammates through layers; proficient in the mechanics of succession management and performance management for teammates; able to coach manager of managers; skilled at setting and fostering a positive team culture in which teammates feel ownership and accountability for their own and the broader team’s work and results. 

• Process Management: Able to build and align goals and project plans with organization priorities; Develops and codifies processes that promote coordination, efficiency and efficacy across KF and the Network; Prioritizes processes that ensure sustainability and scalability; ensures team is finding efficiencies through process implementation and improvement, resource sharing, or other methods. 

• Post Secondary Planning Expertise: Understand of the factors necessary for post-secondary success including ACT/SAT and GPA implications, student aid/scholarships, college admissions process, and career planning. A proven track record of connecting students to post-secondary match and counseling.   

 

Experience and Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred. 

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience managing teams and supporting stakeholders across multiple regions and programs. 

• 10+ years of experience developing, managing, and implementing high-impact partnerships that deliver measurable improvements in student outcomes at a national scale. 

• Proven track record of influencing senior leaders and external partners to achieve ambitious goals. 

• Expertise in college counseling, postsecondary advising, career preparation, or progressive pathways; experience as a high school principal strongly preferred. 

• Experience managing education technology products, including collaborating with technical teams to select and customize platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Tableau) to meet practitioner and student needs. 

• Demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion, with experience working alongside students and families from under-resourced communities, many of whom may be first-generation college-goers. 

Work Conditions 

• Travel requirements: 50%, including KIPP school/region, and college/university visits and network-wide trainings and convenings

• Job Type: Full time, Exempt 

Location 

It is preferred, but not mandatory for this role to be based out of a KIPP Foundation office. This role has the option of working from a remote office full-time. KIPP Foundation offices are in NYC and Chicago. 

Compensation and Benefits 

In compliance with local law, we are disclosing the compensation, or a range thereof, for roles in locations where legally required. Actual salaries will vary based on several factors, including but not limited to external market data, internal equity, and relevant experience. The salary range for this position is [$190,000 - $227,000]. In addition, KIPP Foundation provides a variety of benefits to employees, including:  

• 25 holidays for + 18 days additional flexible PTO days (flexible PTO increases to 23 days for years 3 and 4 and to 28 days for years 5+). 

• 100% paid parental leave 

• 100% coverage of the premium for employee and 75% for employee + family medical/dental/vision plans. 

• Wellness benefits such as fitness reimbursements, discounted tickets to theme parks/attractions, backup care support for children and adults/elders, and our employee assistance program 

• Finance Security benefits include such as a 401K retirement plan with 4% match, employer-sponsored legal plans, life/disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts 

KIPP Foundation embraces the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects the diversity of the students and communities with whom we work and the world around them. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, mental or physical disability, and genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, military status, protected veteran status or any other category protected by law.