Ashoka U - Changemaker Campus Director
Marhian Escuro
Hiring through: ReWork
Location: Washington, DC
Type: Full Time
Min Experience: Mid Level
ABOUT ASHOKA
Ashoka invests in people who see the world not as it is, but as it could be; who seek to change a broken system instead of letting it continue. We call them social entrepreneurs, and over the past 35 years, we have supported more than 3,000 Ashoka Fellows as leading social entrepreneurs in 70 countries.
Our work is based on a fundamental insight: Behind every social innovation, there are human beings. Supporting the best of them, and connecting them with a network of peers, is the most effective way to bring about social change.
Our vision is a world where everyone is a changemaker – a world where everyone has the skill and confidence to drive social change, and is committed to the good of all.
Changemaking is a way of being, including being empathetic and thoughtful, being curious and creative, and being resilient to make life better for yourself and your family, friends, community, humanity, and the planet. Becoming a changemaker, then, is a process of becoming equipped with and inclined to use a sophisticated worldview and complex array of changemaking skills.
ABOUT ASHOKA U
Higher education offers the ideal platform for changemaking. Yet within colleges and universities, silos between different divisions and outdated educational methodologies have resulted a lack of clarity for students seeking to learn how to effectively contribute to social change. As a result, students may never get involved; or they may move too quickly, proposing new innovations without fully understanding the context or the existing players.
Ashoka U, founded in 2008 and serving as Ashoka’s University initiative, seeks to address this challenge by collaborating with colleges and universities to break down barriers to institutional change and foster a campus-wide culture of social innovation. As a result, we aim to impact the education of millions of students to build their skillsets and self-identity as changemakers.
To date, Ashoka U has designated 37 Changemaker Campuses across seven countries to set the standard for social innovation in higher education. We connect a powerful global peer network of over 150 colleges and universities representing 30 countries at the annual Ashoka U Exchange, the premier gathering for social innovation educators, and through the Ashoka U Commons, a virtual accelerator for changemaking education.
The end goal? To shift higher education, from more traditional to more innovative and entrepreneurial, while demonstrating that social innovation and changemaking will more effectively prepare students for today’s world and equip higher education to solve global challenges through action and engagement. In short, we’re out to create an entirely new model. Instead of starting from scratch, we work in collaboration with the system to change the system.
YOUR ROLE: CHANGEMAKER CAMPUS DIRECTOR
You will join our team at a critical moment as we grow and expand the impact of Changemaker Campus. As the leading designation in social innovation in higher education in the world, the Changemaker Campus program now includes a robust selection process, an active network of Change Leaders and a renewal process to ensure continued excellence and leadership. The Director will lead the selection process to identify prospective Changemaker Campuses in new markets and networks, develop a strategy to unleash the power of those already in the Changemaker Campus Network, and engage high quality thought-leaders as partners and allies in changing the future of higher education.
SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:
Strategy and External Leadership
· Connect Ashoka U Changemaker Campus strategy with Ashoka’s global Everyone a Changemaker vision and objectives.
· Develop the long-term strategy for Changemaker Campus. Provide insights about the future direction of Ashoka U and set targets for Changemaker Campus growth and improvement for the next 3-5 years.
· Serve as the lead, external representative of Changemaker Campus in higher education conferences, to funders, to the Changemaker Campus Network and key institutional stakeholders.
· Develop relationships with top tier institutions, networks, and associations to assist with Selection of top institutions and to provide value to the Changemaker Campus consortium.
· Serve as a thought leader by keeping a pulse on field-level trends, ensuring Changemaker Campus alignment and positioning.
· Actively recruit institutions to join the network by curating relationships with additional advanced institutions.
· Brainstorm, develop, and test pilot revenue models to ensure collaborative projects are continually advanced without becoming financially unsustainable.
· Forge “win-win” partnerships across Ashoka’s global programs and country offices to benefit both Changemaker Campuses and Ashoka strategic priorities.
· Curate and lead the annual President’s track at the Exchange, engaging 25 Presidents, Provosts, and Trustees in Ashoka’s vision of an Everyone a Changemaker world.
Team Leadership and Sustainability
· Lead the culture, growth, performance evaluation and professional development of the Changemaker Campus Team, including a Selection Manager, Network Manager, and Renewal Manager, and ensure they are fully empowered to succeed in their roles.
· Lead the financial security and sustainability of Changemaker Campus.
· Set clear goals, metrics and deliverables for the Changemaker Campus team.
· Ensure that all target deliverables for Selection, Network, and Renewal are appropriately managed and met, and that timelines are on track to hit all future deliverables and financial targets.
Adapt Changemaker Campus for New Markets
· Gather and build buy-in from the Changemaker Campus network to support expansion of the network into international and under-represented markets.
· Lead the adaptation and expansion for international audiences, overseeing the work with global staff and potential new hires in other geographic regions.
· Lead the adaptation of Changemaker Campus language, examples and value-for under-represented institutional types both domestically and internationally.
· Develop clear criteria around which institutions Changemaker Campus will work with, and processes for ensuring that only institutions who are strategic are engaged.
WHO YOU ARE:
· Entrepreneurial.
· ...you’re industrious and can do a lot with a little. You’ve been around the block with about 8-15 years of revenue generating or other relevant experience, and you hold the ability to not only set the vision for something new, but to also grow it from zero.
· Higher Ed Savvy.
· ...you have experience, and ideally expertise, in higher education. You’ve worked with student leaders or institutions, and know how to navigate institutional change.
· Opportunistic.
· ...you leverage opportunities. Your ideas shoot off like rocket fire and you can imagine possibilities left and right.
· A Thought Leader.
· …you keep a pulse on field-level trends and have published thought leadership pieces.
· Poised & Adaptable.
· ...you are comfortable with ambiguity and know how to make decisions without perfect information.
· Mission-aligned.
· ...you are deeply passionate about our mission. Impact comes first to you and you are relationship-oriented before profit-oriented.
· Articulate & Sharp.
· …you have a reputation for being particularly well-spoken, well-informed, and well-prepared for every encounter.
THE TEAM
As part of our Ashoka global team-of-teams, you will interact with the executive leadership team and entrepreneurial staff from around the world who are working on a variety of different issue areas. As a senior member of the Ashoka U team, you will work directly with colleagues who bring more than a decade of experience in developing the field of social innovation in higher education. As the Changemaker Campus Director, you will join a Selection Manager, Renewal Manager and Network Manager in the DC office, as well as two international team members in Mexico and Canada. As a dynamic and growing team, we will be hiring additional members over the course of the year.
THINK THIS IS THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU?
Please complete a quick application to the role of Changemaker Campus Director at Ashoka U through this link here. The application deadline is on WEDNESDAY, JULY 13TH, 2016; therefore we encourage you to submit yours soon!
The application will be a 2-part process. If your background and experience align, you will be asked to complete a short-answer questionnaire designed to replace a cover letter. Please take your time with them and copy in your answers from a separate document.
Next, if you are chosen as a finalist, you will be interviewed directly by the Ashoka team. Our target start date will ideally be August 1.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU’RE SELECTED AS THE NEW CHANGEMAKER CAMPUS DIRECTOR?
You’ll be invited to join our team in our offices near the beautiful Potomac River in Washington, DC! If you have any questions about the role, please feel free to email us at tal...@rework.jobs.