Chief Executive Officer

Esperanza
Esperanza was founded in 1987 by Hispanic clergy who had a vision to build an opportunity community in North Philadelphia grounded in faith, integrity, and excellence. Driven by the biblical mandate to "serve the least of these," Esperanza aims to strengthen Hispanic communities through education, community, economic development, and social change. Seeing itself as a catalyst for local, regional, and national change, Esperanza's more than 650 dedicated employees follow a comprehensive ecosystem approach to programming that delivers transformative experiences through affordable housing, charter schools, economic and corridor development, housing counseling, immigration legal services, a school of music, workforce development, youth leader training, and a fully-accredited university branch campus that is a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution. All programs and institutions are part of an ecosystem that is working to build an opportunity community, a place where anyone at any income level can access a good quality life and economic mobility. To witness the transformative power of community that Esperanza inspires, check out these stories.

Esperanza Academy Charter School
Esperanza Academy Charter School (Esperanza Academy) is a key part of Esperanza's ecosystem and has been serving the young members of its community for over two decades. What started as a comprehensive college preparatory high school in the single hallway of a converted warehouse in 2000, has now grown into a multi-school campus and one of the best neighborhood schools in Philadelphia. Currently serving grades K- 2, and 4-12, Esperanza Academy believes that education can be a vehicle for social and economic progress for marginalized communities. As a result, Esperanza Academy is relentless in their pursuit to prepare critically thinking, socially capable, spiritually sensitive, and culturally aware young adults who can use English, Spanish, and technology as tools for success in the 21st century.

Esperanza Academy's proven track record of students who have historically been underserved sets them apart: over 98% are majority minority, over 90% Latino and predominantly low-income. Esperanza Academy has been consistently recognized by the U.S. News and World Report, ranking within the top 9 percent of high schools nationwide, and with a graduation rate exceeding 90% since 2010 – more than 3 times the national average for students from historically underserved communities. Esperanza Academy has 11th-grade test scores above the city of Philadelphia average and value-added math and reading proficiency growth among the highest in Pennsylvania. Additionally students at Esperanza Academy have the opportunity to graduate with both a High School diploma and an Associates in Arts degree — last year, 20 students graduated with dual degrees.

Driven by the ethos that every parent is a great parent, Esperanza Academy fosters a deep partnership between its teachers and parents with the goal of ensuring that their students are supported throughout their academic career. A top school of choice for Philadelphia families, Esperanza Academy is poised to grow and scale its impact. By the fall of 2025, Esperanza Academy will have fully expanded to a K-12 school serving over 2,200 students.

To learn more about Esperanza Academy click here.

With the ability to capitalize on the strong foundation built by the community-first approach of Esperanza and Esperanza Academy, the CEO will be responsible for leading Esperanza Academy consistent with its mission, vision, and values. The CEO will build upon Esperanza Academy's twenty-three year legacy and, in deep partnership with the Board of Directors, will be responsible for aligning with the opportunity community mission of Esperanza's broader ecosystem as well as setting the strategic vision and future direction for Esperanza Academy. The CEO will partner with a diverse set of stakeholders (e.g. Esperanza academic leaders, teachers, staff, board members, and parents) to identify pathways for broader and deeper impact and outcomes. Additionally, the CEO will serve as Esperanza Academy's external ambassador, championing the mission of Esperanza Academy, deepening existing external relationships and building new ones (e.g. with donors, elected officials, community leaders, partner organizations, education leaders, etc.).

Reporting to the Esperanza Academy Charter School Board of Trustees with a direct reporting line to the Executive Vice President of Esperanza, the Chief Executive Officer will manage 10 direct reports, this includes three Directors of Instruction, Director of Student Success, Director of Teacher Development, Director of Operations, Director of Talent, and Executive Assistant to the CEO; additionally this includes a dotted dual reporting line to the Director of Special Education and Director of ELD. The CEO will also oversee a full staff of 268. Additionally a contingency of parent and community volunteers help support the work of Esperanza Academy.

The CEO will serve as an inspirational, culturally aware, and deeply collaborative organizational leader empowered to steward Esperanza Academy through its next phase of growth. This is a unique opportunity for a dynamic servant-leader, someone with humility, and who deeply believes in the power of education to create an opportunity community for the students, teachers, parents, and staff that make up Esperanza Academy and the Hunting Park community at large.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Strategic Leadership and Execution

• Partner closely with the Esperanza management team in an effort to create alignment between Esperanza Academy and the mission and values of Esperanza
• Uphold Esperanza Academy's mission and provide inspiring direction for Esperanza Academy's future, and work with the Board of Directors, school leadership, teachers, and staff to refine the organization's strategic priorities ensuring alignment to its core values, student outcomes, and overall school-wide performance
• Continue to evolve Esperanza Academy's organizational strategy in keeping with Esperanza's missional commitments and set clear and consistent metrics that capture student success
• Think big about Esperanza Academy and how its high-quality curriculum and program offerings can have expanded and deepened impact for its students, families, and the broader community to support the overarching vision of creating an opportunity community

Organizational Leadership and Management

• Promote, preserve the mission, vision, and culture of Esperanza Academy and model an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming culture that embodies Esperanza's values of faith, integrity, and excellence
• Collaborate closely with Esperanza Academy leadership and staff to ensure the team has the capacity and infrastructure necessary to achieve organizational goals; hold team members accountable for achieving ambitious goals
• Hire, retain, and empower a high-performing cohesive team of instructional and non-instructional leaders to deliver educational excellence for Esperanza Academy students and continue to serve as a model/partner for other area/neighborhood schools
• Promote systems and structures that lead to effective working partnerships across teams and departments; transitioning the school to operate more streamlined and efficiently as it grows to a K-12 school
• Ensure sound fiscal operations and provide responsive collaboration with fundraising, finance, legal, and human resources teams of the management organization

Community Engagement

• Serve as the external voice of Esperanza Academy, enhancing the school's visibility, brand recognition, and credibility; acting as a thought leader and advocate for the community Esperanza Academy serves
• Steward existing relationships with all Esperanza Academy stakeholders, champions, and collaborators, including but not limited to: donors, Board, Esperanza Executive Management, charter office, School District of Philadelphia, local and statewide charter organizations, faculty and staff, families, students, and the local community agencies by maintaining an ongoing presence and active involvement in the Hunting Park community and beyond
• Actively participate, collaborate, and represent Esperanza Academy as a member of Esperanza's management structure and Strategy Team

• 10+ years of executive and/or senior level leadership experience; experience in managing and leading high performing teams, schools, school districts, private schools or non-education organizations including strategic development and operations
• Passionate about serving historically underserved communities (least of these) and believes that all students can achieve
• Comprehensive understanding and/or prior experience of K-12 school systems, advocacy, politics, and policy and deep understanding of education reform, instructional leadership, and the Philadelphia educational charter landscape
• Active and visible involvement in the total life of Esperanza Academy, including engaging directly with students, teachers, and parents to drive both the culture of Esperanza and the academic success of Esperanza Academy's students
• Expertly leverage data and consider interdependencies and complexity to lead vision and set short- and long-term strategy for a growing organization
• Expertise in instituting systems and processes that enable scaling with quality
• Is a creative problem solver that sees things the way they could be instead of the way they are and is someone that brings an outcomes orientation keeping a constant eye on Esperanza Academy's highest priority goals
• A track record of managing teams, with the ability to recruit, develop, and retain a high performing team, set priorities, delegate responsibilities, hold teams accountable for outcomes, and provide thoughtful, learning-oriented feedback
• Ability to forge strong relationships with people from diverse backgrounds and identities and brings an understanding of how culture plays a role in shaping perspective and conclusion
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to act as a compelling advocate for the work of Esperanza Academy; because Esperanza Academy serves a largely Spanish-speaking community, fluency in Spanish is strongly preferred
• Passion for Esperanza's core values of: faith, integrity, and excellent
• Embodiment of Esperanza Academy's values of: critically thinking, socially capable, spiritually sensitive, and culturally aware