Director of Business Development--Strategic Advancement

(FULLY REMOTE POSITION) Reporting to the Chief Revenue Officer, the Director of Business Development —Strategic Advancement will work to develop and deepen relationships through initiatives with ACUE’s current and prospective strategic partners. Partners include philanthropic foundations, higher- education associations, reform networks, higher education systems, universities, and colleges. The successful candidate will work closely with ACUE’s sales and marketing team as well as ACUE’s President and Co-Founder. Relevant experience includes expertise in education fundraising and advancement or as a foundation program officer, coupled with an entrepreneurial drive to find and form relationships that advance ACUE’s mission and impact.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Maintain strong relationships with ACUE’s existing strategic partners. NOTE: To-date ACUE has raised significant funding from the Kauffman, Koch, and Gates Foundations, Strada Education Network, and the Carnegie Corporation, for strategic initiatives with the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), the National Association of System Heads (NASH), and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), and through reform networks such as Strong Start to Finish (SSTF) and Every Learner Everywhere (ELE). In the coming years, we seek to meaningfully increase the number and size of such efforts.

Develop new initiatives, with existing and new strategic partners, that advance ACUE’s mission of student success and equity through quality instruction. Work is likely to include:

• Identifying and actively developing new grant opportunities from private philanthropy and federal agencies
  
  
• Developing and coordinating efforts with initiative partners and “intermediaries,” such as with NASH and TMCF on behalf of their members

• Expanding ACUE’s current set of philanthropic partners at the national, regional, and local levels 

• Coordinate closely with ACUE sales staff to ensure that strategic, and particularly grant- supported, initiatives complement sales efforts 

• Coordinate closely with ACUE marketing staff to ensure that strategic initiatives serve to positively advance the ACUE brand, open new market segments, deepen existing footprints, and accelerate sale of new offerings 

• Aid institution-level advancement efforts that support ACUE programming, in coordination with sales and marketing staff, through the development of fundraising templates and toolkits and grant-writing assistance 
  
  
• Support and advance ACUE’s thought leadership within the philanthropic community and higher education reform networks.

• Proven fundraising success and deep relationship building for complex initiatives involving a number of organizations and stakeholders, preferably in higher education
  
  
• Experience working with higher education system leadership, presidents, and provost-level institutional leaders and leaders of higher education associations and reform networks 

• Experience designing, negotiating, and structuring complex, multi-year initiatives, memoranda of understanding, and contracts 

• A results orientation, with a commitment to near-term revenue goals and the long-term business plan 

• Exceptional communication skills to message and communicate ACUE’s vision and mission, with comfort presenting to senior higher education leaders, advisors, and potential partners
  
  
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in an entrepreneurial, fast-paced, and dynamic environment where change is a constant.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

•  Higher education experience, preferred 
• Commitment to ACUE’s mission, a must

 
COMPENSATION 

A competitive compensation package will be provided commensurate with experience and responsibilities. This full-time position includes salary, incentive plan and benefits.

ABOUT ACUE

ACUE is a tech-enabled and mission-driven education and training company experiencing rapid growth. In partnership with colleges, universities, higher education systems and associations, ACUE prepares and credentials faculty in the evidence-based teaching practices that improve student achievement and close equity gaps.

 Nationwide, ACUE-credentialed faculty are transforming developmental education, reimagining gateway courses and first-year experiences, implementing practices in support of guided pathways, and connecting classroom learning to the skills students will need to be successful in their future careers. Numerous and independently validated efficacy studies confirm that students are more engaged, learn more, and complete courses in greater numbers—more equitably with their peers—when taught by ACUE-credentialed faculty.

ACUE’s online, cohort-based credentialing programs are delivered through institutional partnerships and open enrollment courses endorsed by the American Council on Education.

 Equal Opportunity Statement:

 It is ACUE's policy to provide for and promote equal employment opportunity in employment compensation and other terms and conditions of employment without discrimination based on age, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, veteran status, genetic predisposition or carrier status.

 ACUE is committed to assuring equal employment opportunity and equal access to services, programs and activities for individuals with disabilities. It is ACUE's policy to provide reasonable accommodation to a qualified individual with a disability to enable such individual to perform the essential functions of the position for which they are applying or in which they are employed. Further, it is the policy of ACUE to provide reasonable accommodation for religious observers.

 This policy applies to all employment practices and actions. It includes, but is not limited to, recruitment, job application process, examination and testing, hiring, training, rate of pay or other compensation, advancement, classification, transfer, reassignment and promotions.

To Apply 

To apply, please submit: 

• A current CV or resume
• A cover letter which expresses your specific interest in, and qualifications for, this position. Submissions without a cover letter will not be considered

Resumes or CVs and cover letters should be emailed to join@acue.org. Please include “Business Development Director—Strategic Initiatives” in your subject line. Only emailed expressions of interest will be considered.