Head of Strategy, Impact & Transformation

Head Of Strategy, Impact & Transformation

The Head of Strategy, Impact, & Transformation is an integral part of the executive team, ensuring that KIPP DC's strategic plan translates from direction to results through disciplined execution, sound accountability infrastructure, and an organizational culture capable of sustaining transformation over time. This is a full-time role with occasional flexibility based at HDQ with an anticipated start date of August 1st.

For 25 years, KIPP DC has partnered with students, families, and the community to create joyful, academically excellent schools across the nation's capital. Today, our network of 22 schools educate more than 7,500 students in grades PreK3-12, supported by 1,500 dedicated teachers, leaders, and staff.

Our work is grounded in five pillars–Academic Excellence, Joy & Sense of Belonging, Highly Effective Teachers and Leaders, Safe, Structured, and Nurturing Learning Environments, and Commitment to College Readiness–which ensure every student is equipped with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to pursue success in college, careers, and beyond. Our schools combine high expectations with joyful, affirming environments that nurture academic success and personal growth for students and staff alike.

As part of the national KIPP network, we share best practices and innovations while maintaining deep roots in Washington, D.C. Together, we strive toward a future without limits for our students, alumni, and community.

The Head of Strategy, Impact, and Transformation serves as KIPP DC's senior executive accountable for making the school system's 2030 strategic plan executable and for building the organizational capabilities required to sustain improvement over time. This is a rare opportunity to shape a newly established portfolio at the cabinet level of a school system in the midst of a consequential transformation.

Occasional flexibility (4 days per week onsite)

As a headquarters team that is focused on being responsive to our schools and meeting the needs of our students and families, we approach our work in a way that reflects these priorities. Schools operate in person and our students and families rely on us for in-person support, and this position will regularly provide on-site support to school teams, frequently partner with other headquarters teams, or regularly work in multiple locations.

Responsibilities The percentages for each key responsibility are estimates, and other duties may be assigned. Flexibility and responsiveness are encouraged to accommodate organizational needs.

Enterprise strategy and execution (30% of time)

• Establish and maintain the systems and processes through which KIPP DC moves from strategic direction to execution, ensuring that portfolio priorities connect to enterprise commitments and that capacity planning is honest and coherent across the school system.
• Track strategic progress, surface misalignment between portfolio priorities and enterprise commitments, and bring timely, clear-eyed recommendations to the CEO before misalignment compounds.
• Evaluate proposed new initiatives against existing strategic commitments before resources are allocated, providing the CEO with an independent assessment of strategic fit, capacity impact, and sequencing risk.
• Ensure that the school system's operating rhythm — how leaders communicate, convene, and make decisions together — reinforces strategic direction and builds organizational coherence over time.
• Partner with the president & COO to ensure that budget alignment, headcount planning, and operational systems support strategic priorities.

Organizational transformation and change management (25%)

• Design and lead the school system's approach to change management, including the frameworks, systems, and practices that help the organization adopt new ways of working and sustain them over time.
• Build change leadership capability across the executive and senior leader levels, ensuring that leaders at every level of the school system can drive adoption within their portfolios.
• Monitor organizational culture as a strategic variable, identifying gaps between the culture the school system requires and the culture currently in practice, and leading efforts to close those gaps.
• Serve as the executive sponsor for cross-functional integration, ensuring that enterprise priorities receive coherent attention across portfolios and that coordination failures are surfaced and resolved.
• Ensure that organizational commitments made through planning and reconciliation processes are followed through, and that accountability for execution does not erode over time.

Accountability and impact infrastructure (20%)

• Provide executive leadership to the VP of accountability, who maintains a solid reporting relationship to both the Head of Strategy, Impact, and Transformation and the audit committee of the board of directors, with the audit committee relationship governing the independence of the compliance and internal audit functions.
• Oversee the development and management of an enterprise risk management framework that connects risk intelligence to organizational decision-making and supports timely, well-informed action.
• Ensure that KIPP DC's charter accountability infrastructure is operational, credible, and consistently applied, including the systems and relationships required to meet external accountability obligations.
• Own the measurement architecture that defines whether KIPP DC's work is producing results for students and families, ensuring that data informs organizational decision-making rather than accumulating in reports.
• Provide executive oversight of compliance, internal audit, policy, and risk management functions, ensuring they operate with appropriate independence, rigor, and relevance to the school system's strategic priorities.
• Advise the CEO and senior leaders on risk exposure, compliance obligations, and governance matters, providing frank assessments rather than reassurance.

Equity and inclusion strategy (15%)

• Provide direct management and strategic direction to the chief equity and inclusion officer, setting priorities for the function and holding it accountable for measurable progress against the school system's equity commitments.
• Ensure that equity and inclusion considerations are integrated into strategic planning, resource allocation, and enterprise reconciliation processes rather than addressed separately after core decisions have been made.
• Serve as the executive-level voice for equity and inclusion with the CEO and, as appropriate, the governing board, translating the function's work into honest assessments of system-wide progress and remaining gaps

Build and steward external relationships in service of the portfolio (10%)

• Ensure that the board of directors has access to the strategy, risk, and impact information required to fulfill its governance responsibilities, including supporting the work of the audit, governance, and school and community affairs committees as relevant to the SIT portfolio.
• Maintain the relationship with the audit committee of the board of directors, ensuring that the committee has the information, access, and independence required to fulfill its oversight responsibilities.
• Represent KIPP DC with external accountability and regulatory bodies relevant to the SIT portfolio, including charter authorizers and compliance stakeholders, ensuring that the school system's external obligations are met with credibility and consistency.
• Cultivate and steward external partnerships and thought leadership relationships that strengthen the school system's capacity for strategy, accountability, and transformation, bringing insights and best practices back to inform internal priorities.
• Represent KIPP DC in KIPP network-level convenings and peer learning communities relevant to the portfolio, ensuring that the school system both contributes to and benefits from the broader network's knowledge and experience.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 15 or more years of progressive leadership experience, including significant experience in a senior or executive leadership role with accountability for strategy, organizational change, or enterprise operations.
• Demonstrated experience managing across functions and through senior leaders, with a track record of developing and holding senior leaders accountable for results.
• Demonstrated experience leading organizational transformation in a complex, multi-site institution, including direct accountability for change management, implementation fidelity, and outcomes measurement.
• Excellent internal and external communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across an organization, with a governing board, and with external stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in education, public policy, business, organizational leadership, or a related field.
• Experience in systems-level or cabinet-level leadership with demonstrated results across multiple functions or a complex portfolio.
• Experience in a PreK-12 public education setting, urban charter school network, or similarly mission-driven organization serving historically underserved communities.
• Track record of building new organizational functions from a limited foundation, including developing systems, workflows, and team culture in the absence of established precedent.

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to travel to various KIPP DC school locations and other sites as needed.
• Must be able to use a computer and other standard office equipment effectively.
• Must be able to communicate effectively in person, by phone, and electronically.
• Must be able to work a flexible schedule, including some evenings and weekends.

Demonstrated Excellence in the Following Areas:

• Commitment to Students and Schools: Demonstrates commitment