About the Organization

The Chicago Education Alliance (CEA) is a new nonprofit organization created to strengthen and align Chicago’s education advocacy ecosystem. In a city where energy, expertise, and commitment abound—CEA will serve as a unifying force that convenes partners, builds shared priorities, and drives coordinated action toward a student-centered policy agenda.

CEA will amplify the effectiveness of Chicago’s diverse education partners—grassroots organizers, grasstops leaders, nonprofit organizations, and civic institutions—by:

• Building and sustaining a broad, cross-sector coalition

• Serving as a bridge between the field and key decision-makers

• Advancing policy solutions grounded in the lived experience of students, families, and communities

• Mobilizing collective action around a shared, student-centered policy agenda

Our mission is to catalyze the field and champion policies and systems that ensure every Chicago student—especially those furthest from opportunity—has access to a rigorous education that prepares them for success in a changing economy.

Our vision is that every Chicago child receives a rigorous and well-rounded education that leads to meaningful careers and economic mobility—and that Chicago becomes a national model for what is possible when a city aligns around equity and student success.

In October 2025, CEA hired its Founding Executive Director, Arnie Rivera, a seasoned and respected leader in Chicago’s education landscape. Under his leadership, CEA will build the strategy, partnerships, and organizational foundation needed to drive citywide, student-centered systems change.

CEA is guided as well by a distinguished and deeply committed Founding Board whose members bring extensive experience across education, community leadership, policy, and philanthropy. Their collective insight and partnership will support the Founding Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer in building a durable, high-impact organization.

Founding Board
Sylvia Puente, CEA Co-Chair, Former President & CEO, Latino Policy Forum
Karen Freeman-Wilson, CEA Co-Chair, President and CEO, Chicago Urban League
Allison Angeloni, Director of Policy, Steans Family Foundation
Heather Y. Anichini, President and CEO, The Chicago Public Education Fund
Karina Ayala-Bermejo, President and CEO, Instituto del Progreso Latino
Pastor Chris Harris, Founder & CEO, Bright Star
Greg Jones, CEO, The Academy Group Chicago
Rudy Lozano, Executive Director, Global Philanthropy, JPMorgan Chase & Co
Grace Chan McKibben, Executive Director, Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community

For more information visit: www.ChicagoEducationAlliance.org

The Opportunity

The Chicago Education Alliance (CEA) is seeking a mission-driven, entrepreneurial leader to serve as its inaugural Chief Operating Officer (COO). This is a unique opportunity to help architect the strategy, infrastructure, and external influence of a young, high-impact education nonprofit at a pivotal moment in its development. The COO will serve as a thought partner and second-in-command to the Founding Executive Director (ED), stewarding the organization’s internal operations, driving execution of its strategic priorities, and ensuring CEA is positioned to advance transformative, student-centered change across Chicago’s education ecosystem.

CEA is a field catalyst organization committed to equitable, citywide systems change. In this senior leadership role, the COO will lead across strategy, policy, and operations, ensuring that the organization’s vision is translated into disciplined action and measurable impact. This position is ideal for an entrepreneurial leader who excels in small, nimble environments and brings both the strategic acuity and operational rigor needed to build an early-stage organization into a durable, trusted civic institution.

The COO will work directly with the Founding Executive Director and Board of Directors to:

• Translate the organizational mission into a multi-year strategic and operational plan;

• Lead CEA’s organizational infrastructure, culture, and performance systems; and

• Oversee the development, execution, and dissemination of CEA’s policy and advocacy priorities.

This is a dynamic position for someone who thrives in start-up environments, a builder, strategist, and collaborator who is comfortable navigating ambiguity and energized by creating structure and impact in real time.

Scope of Responsibilities and Goals

Executive Leadership & Organizational Strategy

• Serve as the ED’s principal strategic partner, co-leading CEA’s organizational planning, long-range strategy development, and performance management systems.

• Drive organizational alignment by converting strategic priorities into clear goals, operating plans, internal dashboards, and decision-making processes.

• Anticipate risks, emerging opportunities, and shifts in the policy landscape, and advise the ED and Board on strategic implications.

• Contribute to Board engagement through meeting preparation, strategic updates, and organizational performance analysis.

Policy Leadership & Advocacy

• Provide executive oversight for the development, refinement, and execution of CEA’s citywide policy agenda, ensuring coherence, rigor, and community alignment.

• Supervise policy analysis functions — including research on fiscal stability, governance, accountability, and data transparency — ensuring outputs are actionable, high-quality, and accessible to a wide range of stakeholders.

• Guide the design of cross-sector advocacy campaigns, policy co-design processes, and coalition-based initiatives that reflect both evidence and lived experience.

• Serve as an external ambassador for CEA’s policy agenda by engaging with civic leaders, senior agency officials, policymakers, and funders.

Coalition Building & External Affairs

• Build and strengthen high-trust relationships with city and state agencies, research institutions, advocacy organizations, philanthropy, and community partners.

• Oversee strategic convenings, cross-sector coalitions, and collaborative learning structures to align education stakeholders toward shared, student-centered goals.

• Ensure CEA’s public communications — including reports, briefs, testimony, and presentations — effectively translate complex data and insights into compelling narratives that mobilize collective action.

• Represent CEA in public forums and multi-organization leadership tables, positioning CEA as a trusted catalyst for equitable systems change.

Operations, Finance, & Organizational Management

• Build and oversee CEA’s operational infrastructure, including financial systems, HR processes, internal policies, project management, and accountability structures suitable for a small, high-functioning team.

• Manage day-to-day operations in partnership with the fiscal sponsor, ensuring compliance, budgeting, contracting, and reporting systems are accurate, timely, and aligned with nonprofit best practices.

• Lead multi-project coordination and resource allocation across the organization to ensure strategic initiatives advance efficiently and effectively.

• Provide leadership and oversight for the planning and execution of Board meetings, community engagements, and public convenings.

Candidate Profile: Who you are and what you bring

You are a strategic, relational, and operational leader who thrives at the intersection of systems-level policy and disciplined organizational management. You combine the ability to take a wide-angle view with the willingness to build hands-on systems in a start-up environment. You ground your leadership in equity, partnership, and a deep belief in the potential of Chicago’s students and communities.

As an ideal candidate, you will demonstrate the following core competencies: 

• Executive & Strategic Leadership – You bring a powerful ability to connect policy, operations, and stakeholder perspectives into cohesive, long-range strategies. You can zoom out to see the full landscape and zoom in to drive disciplined execution.

• Operational Excellence – You have built systems and processes that increase clarity, efficiency, and accountability across a small, fast-moving organization. You know how to turn vision into structure and structure into results.

• Cross-Sector Collaboration – You build trust across lines of difference—race, class, sector, and politics—and know how to translate shared priorities into aligned action. You believe that durable change requires collective effort, and you excel at bringing people with you.

• Entrepreneurial Agility – You thrive in ambiguity and are energized by building from the ground up. You can iterate quickly, make sound decisions with imperfect information, and create stability in a dynamic environment.

• Data Fluency – You can synthesize quantitative and qualitative data into clear insights that drive decisions, sharpen strategy, and elevate community voice. You understand the story behind the numbers and can communicate it with clarity.

• Equity Orientation –You lead with humility and integrity, consistently centering the lived experiences of students, families, and communities. You believe deeply in co-creation—designing solutions with people, not for people.

• Exceptional Communication – You communicate with clarity, credibility, and influence across diverse audiences. Whether you’re preparing Board materials, briefing city leaders, or facilitating internal discussions, you move people toward shared understanding and collective action.

Experience and Expertise

• 10+ years of progressive experience in education policy, nonprofit management, or public affairs, ideally within Chicago or other large urban systems.

• Demonstrated success leading cross-sector initiatives, policy campaigns, or collaborative partnerships that produced measurable outcomes.

• Proven ability to design and manage organizational systems that promote efficiency and alignment.

• Strong understanding of education governance, fiscal policy, and data transparency issues in K–12 systems.

• Experience working in or alongside start-up or early-stage organizations is a plus.

Compensation and Benefits

Base Salary: $160K-$180K

Benefits: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage; 401(k) match through fiscal sponsor; generous PTO and holiday schedule.

Additional Requirements

Onsite/in-office presence required, with flexibility.
Occasional evening or weekend work may be required based on organizational needs.

Equal Opportunity

Chicago Education Alliance is committed to building a diverse team and fostering an inclusive work environment. We welcome all applicants regardless of race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, disability, or veteran status.