Manager, Strategic Projects

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 Chicago’s 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. The Manager, Strategic Projects ensures 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 Fund’s 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 across teams.

You may have a background in operations, program management, consulting, or as a chief of staff/strategy-and-ops generalist—but regardless of background, you must bring demonstrated project management skill and a track record of delivering outcomes through structure, follow-through, and strong communication.

Required qualifications include:

• Demonstrated experience independently leading cross-functional projects from planning through delivery, including detailed task sequencing, ownership mapping, dependency management, readiness checkpoints, and risk mitigation.
• Proven ability to build and maintain project plans that actively guide execution — not just document meetings.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare decision-ready materials for senior leaders that require minimal restructuring or clarification.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to produce clear, actionable materials (e.g., trackers, briefs, agendas, summaries) that move work forward.
• Demonstrated ability to move from observation and feedback to concrete, implemented improvements.
• Strong judgment about readiness — able to assess when work is prepared for senior engagement and when further refinement is required.
• Ability to influence without formal authority and move teams through productive disagreement to clear decisions and sustained follow-through.
• Ability to deliver high-quality work with appropriate speed and responsiveness.
• Commitment to equity and demonstrated comfort using clear process and standardization to reduce inconsistency, bias, and “mind reading” across teams.

Preferred qualifications include:

• Experience supporting board processes, strategic planning efforts, or senior leadership teams.
• Experience in education, nonprofit, public sector, or politically complex environments.
• Experience designing or maintaining dashboards or operating trackers that support executive decision-making.
• Experience building documentation systems and shared knowledge structures.
• Many successful candidates will bring 3+ years of relevant experience; however, we welcome applicants who have developed these skills through fewer years or alternative pathways.
• If you meet many—but not all—of the qualifications below, we encourage you to apply. We value transferable skills, learning mindset, and growth potential.

COMPENSATION

The salary band for a Manager at The Fund starts at $80,000 and there is room to grow to $95,000 over time based on a strong ability to regularly exceed expectations and market adjustments. The Fund offers a robust and highly competitive benefits package, including healthcare coverage, retirement contribution, generous paid-time-off for all team members, and paid short-term and family leave.

Please note that The Fund team is an in-person organization, working in schools and out of our offices in downtown Chicago. We offer one work-from-home day per week. This position will require some evening and weekend hours.

TO APPLY

The position is available immediately, and we are actively seeking candidates. We will accept applications through

March 23, 2026. Applying early increases your chances of being invited for an interview, with the interview process set to begin the week of April 6.

Please visit thefundchicago.org/who-we-are/careers/ and follow the links to navigate to the “Manager, Strategic Projects” job description. Once there, use the "Apply" button to submit your application, including a resume and cover letter. Finalists for any role with The Fund must undergo a background check to be considered for employment.

If you have questions or require accommodations during the application or interview process please email Careers@TheFundChicago.org. Please note that we are unable to provide responses to phone inquiries regarding this position.

The Fund employs and values a diverse workforce. We are also an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to engaging the skills and leadership of people of color, low-income people, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and others from diverse backgrounds. People from these and other historically marginalized backgrounds and communities are strongly encouraged to apply.