Director, Strategic Growth and Partnership Engagement

Director, Strategic Growth and Partnership Engagement

The Surge Institute is an education leadership accelerator with a simple but important mission : Develop and elevate leaders of color who create transformative change for children, families, and communities.

The Institute's signature programs were designed to develop and unite emerging BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) leaders and change the education landscape by providing them with a unique leadership development experience. We go beyond training. We connect, support, and elevate; and we do it all in love and through community.

The Director, Strategic Growth and Partnership Engagement at Surge is a strategic, revenue-generating leader responsible for expanding both fee-for-service and philanthropic revenue across Surge's diverse and growing portfolio. This includes core programmatic offerings like the Academy Fellowship, Black Principals Network, Power Surge, Surge Angels, and Surge @Work.

Reporting to the Vice President of Development and working in close collaboration with the Chief Program Officer, other Executive leaders as needed, and Program leads, this role complements the Director of Development (who leads on our traditional philanthropy and donor-facing campaigns) by focusing on corporate partnerships, earned-income growth, philanthropic support in expansion markets, and broader strategic engagement. They will develop and execute comprehensive strategies to secure revenue from a diversified portfolio, including institutional philanthropy, corporate partnerships, and mission-aligned earned-income opportunities. This role will directly contribute to Surge's vision by bringing experience, systems and best practices to aid Surge in reaching ambitious revenue targets at the regional / local level and partner on org-wide fundraising efforts, contributing towards Surge's audacious goal to be the preeminent pipeline of leaders of color tackling the world's most challenging problems.

Key Responsibilities

Revenue Strategy & Fundraising Leadership

• Partner with the VP of Development and Director of Development to implement a revenue diversification strategy, balancing traditional fundraising with earned-income growth.
• Lead business development activities that generate revenue through fee-for-service engagements, CSR-driven partnerships, and corporate contracts.
• Build and cultivate a pipeline of new institutional donors in expansion markets, corporate sponsors, and ecosystem partners aligned with Surge's mission.
• Identify, cultivate, and close philanthropic opportunities, including general operating and program-specific support, through effective storytelling and relationship-building.
• Serve as a front-line fundraiser, initiating and stewarding major gift relationships, with a proven ability to make significant 1 : 1 and group asks that result in investments.
• Coordinate with the Development Team to support grant writing, prospect research, donor segmentation, and proposal development.

Earned Income & Market Expansion

Strategic Growth & Organizational Alignment

Desired Attributes

Required Qualifications

Compensation

Surge Institute offers a competitive salary, commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $110,000 - $120,000. A comprehensive benefits package including unlimited PTO, 401k retirement plan, annual performance bonus eligibility up to 10%, and a variety of other benefits are offered by Surge.

The Surge Institute does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or other characteristics covered by law with regard to employment opportunities. The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of job functions, responsibilities, or requirements and does not include the general job performance expectations applicable to all employees (e.g., regular, timely attendance).