BACKGROUND

The Chicago Public Education Fund (The Fund) supports public schools by investing in the talented educators who lead them. As an independent nonprofit organization, we partner with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the City of Chicago, the local philanthropic community, principals, and aspiring principals to build and sustain a culture of strong leadership.

For more than two decades, our program and policy efforts and our willingness to innovate alongside educators have made a measurable, positive impact on school leadership and helped educators support student learning. In our current campaign, Chicago Leads, we will raise and invest $50M to deepen and strengthen leadership in Chicagos 636 public schools.

ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES

• We are solutions-oriented.Challenges are part of the work; we aim for continuous improvement.
• We are collaborative.Each team member relies on others to achieve goals; we ask for help when we need it and provide help when asked.
• We act with integrity.We say what we will do, and we do what we say. We are honest about what we know and what we are learning.
• We prioritize equity.We prioritize leaders who serve communities most directly impacted by structural racism and systematic exclusion. We recruit and hire for diversity across all areas of identity.

MANAGER, STRATEGIC PROJECTS

The Role

Strong leadership drives student success and delivering on that belief requires disciplined execution and clear alignment between strategy and action. TheManager, Strategic Projectsensures our internal operations match the ambition of our mission.

We are seeking a senior project manager who independently drives execution across board management, strategic planning, and cross-functional systems. This role translates strategy into detailed, actionable project plans, strengthens existing processes, and ensures work arrives decision-ready reducing executive lift and increasing organizational clarity.

The role focuses on two core areas:

• Board Management & Strategic Planning Integration:Ensure board cycles run predictably, strategic priorities are actively tracked, and Senior Team materials are clear, organized, and decision-ready.
• Repeatable Systems Strengthening:Refine and improve cross-functional systems so work is consistently planned, tracked, documented, and sustained.

You will likely bring strong project management tools and habits of your own. At The Fund, you must be comfortable operating within Monday.com, Microsoft Suite, and our internal AI supports strengthening existing systems rather than rebuilding them.

Success means execution is strong, priorities are visible, and details are handled before they require intervention. Operational excellence is the foundation. You will be primarily responsible for:

Board Management + Strategic Planning Execution (Execution + Consistency)

In your first 90 days, you will learn our board processes, strategic planning tools, and Senior Team rhythms. You will then strengthen execution so plans are detailed, current, and actively used. Success means board cycles run predictably, materials arrive decision-ready, and executive lift is meaningfully reduced.

You will:

• Own end-to-end project management for board management and strategic planning, maintaining detailed, actionable plans in Monday.com with clear sequencing, ownership, deadlines, and readiness checkpoints.
• Ensure decision-readiness by coordinating across teams so materials are aligned, high-quality, and prepared for discussion not revision.
• Embed strategy into Senior Team rhythms by maintaining dashboards, tracking goals, and aligning agendas and stepbacks with forward-looking priorities.
• Surface and manage cross-functional dependencies, mitigating risks early and preventing last-minute rework.
• Translate feedback and friction points into concrete system improvements that strengthen clarity and follow-through.

As execution stabilizes, the role may expand into deeper strategic synthesis.

Repeatable Systems + Process Strengthening

You will partner with Directors and Managers to strengthen at least one high-impact repeatable process per vertical each year. Success means processes are clear, documented, sustained, and not dependent on individual memory or personality.

You will:

• Design and implement durable process improvements supported by detailed project plans with clear sequencing, ownership, timelines, and feedback loops.
• Turn diagnostics into measurable, sustained improvements.
• Establish clear documentation ownership and structured systems (e.g., SharePoint) with defined owners and version control.
• Standardize practical tools project templates, communication frameworks, and tracking mechanisms that increase consistency without adding burden.
• Provide proactive executive visibility on progress, risks, and overall process health.

The goal:reduce confusion, clarify ownership, and increase organizational predictability.

As a member of The Fund team, your broader culture contributions will include:

• Offering ideas and supporting projects that help achieve The Funds main goals. Your input is crucial for our success.
• Participating in the Managers Cohort to work with colleagues, share knowledge, improve your leadership skills, and work on projects that involve different parts of the organization.
• Attending events and meetings to represent The Fund, showing our dedication to enhancing Chicago’s education. Your efforts are key to strengthening our relationships and reputation.
• Helping with projects that involve multiple teams, showing your commitment to our values and helping our team work well together.
• Focusing on your professional growth by taking part in educational opportunities and keeping up with the latest in public education and school leadership.

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate is a highly capable project manager who thrives in a fast-paced environment and brings the judgment, rigor, and relationship skill needed to help senior leaders and teams execute. You are comfortable balancing multiple priorities, building systems that make work easier (not heavier), and strengthening consistency acro…