Job Description

Special Projects Manager to the CEO

Hiring Manager: Chief Advancement Officer 
Location: Remote, New York, NY Preferred
Role Tier: 3. - Manager 

About Us
Our nation’s education system is leaving millions of students—including an overwhelming number of students of color and low-income students—unprepared for college, career, and life. While research shows that classroom teachers are the single most important in-school factor in improving student achievement, their diverse voices are consistently left out of education policy decisions. For far too long, teachers have been treated as subjects of change rather than as agents of change.  

Founded by public school teachers, Educators for Excellence is a growing movement of 35,000 educators, united around a  common set of values and principles for improving student learning and elevating the teaching profession. We work together to identify issues that impact our schools, create solutions to these challenges, and advocate for policies and programs that give all students access to a quality education.

What We Do
Our Theory of Change is grounded in two long-term goals that are inextricably linked: better outcomes for our students and the elevation of the quality and prestige of the teaching profession. We achieve these goals by changing policy at the district, state, and federal levels and transforming our teachers’ union to be more student-focused, democratic, diverse, and anti-racist. United around our Declaration of Teachers’ Principles and Beliefs , we are building a powerful movement to lead this change by:

• Organizing educators who share a common vision of equity and excellence in schools,
• Training and supporting teacher leadership, and
• Advocating for teacher-led recommendations at all levels of government, within teachers’ unions, and in the public conversation around education.

Educators for Excellence (E4E) envisions an equitable and excellent education system that provides all students the opportunity to succeed and elevates the teaching profession. 

The Opportunity

Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer and directly supporting the CEO, the Special Projects Manager (SPM) will support E4E’s next phase of development by serving as a trusted operational lead for the CEO, the Executive Team, and select organization-wide priorities. The SPM manages complexity, creates clarity, and ensures senior leadership time, attention, and workflows are aligned to organizational priorities through strong systems, scheduling, and execution.

This role requires deep, daily partnership with the CEO and close coordination with the Executive Team. The Special Projects Manager will regularly connect with the CEO to align on priorities, troubleshoot obstacles, and adjust plans in real time, while also supporting Executive Team coordination, internal communications, culture-building efforts, and special projects as capacity allows. This role is well suited to someone who genuinely enjoys complex scheduling, fast-paced problem-solving, and being in constant motion behind the scenes to keep senior leaders and the organization operating at their best.

The ideal candidate is a highly organized, detail-oriented, and relational professional with experience supporting senior executives in fast-moving, high-volume environments. They exercise strong judgment, anticipate needs, and translate big-picture priorities into clear next steps, calendar decisions, and follow-through. They are also a culture leader – someone who embodies E4E’s core values and brings calm, clarity, and accountability to complex work.

Scope: What is the nature of the role?

The Special Projects Manager to the CEO will: 

In service of supporting the CEO:

Working in close partnership with the Chief Advancement Officer and CEO, the Special Projects Manager will serve as a trusted operational lead for the CEO – anticipating needs, managing complexity, and ensuring the CEO’s time, attention, and energy are aligned to organizational priorities.

• Maximize the efficiency, organization, and execution of the CEO  
  • Own and continuously optimize the CEO’s extremely active calendar, ensuring it reflects strategic priorities, energy management, and real-time tradeoffs; serve as a trusted gatekeeper who independently prioritizes and sequences internal and external requests
  • Own and help prioritize the CEO’s task management, including tracking commitments, follow-up, and engaging in side-by-side work as needed
  • Establish and maintain a daily workflow rhythm with the CEO, including regular check-ins to align on priorities, flag risks, and adjust plans as new information emerges
  • Effectively represent the organization with a range of stakeholders, including donors, partners, members, and staff
  • Draft internal and external correspondence on behalf of the CEO in a way that reflects the CEO’s voice and E4E’s core values
• Deliver high-level operational, administrative, and project support with discretion and sound judgment

• Serve as a highly confidential, trusted partner to the CEO, exercising strong judgment and professionalism in handling sensitive information, communications, and decision-making
• Build strong working relationships across the organization to enable effective coordination, follow-through, and problem-solving
• Support early-stage planning and execution of CEO- and Executive Team-led initiatives, including developing draft agendas, outlining project plans, tracking milestones, and maintaining clear timelines and next steps
• Gather, synthesize, line-edit, and refine materials, research, briefing documents, and presentations (including slide decks) to support meetings, convenings, and decision-making
• Monitor CEO time usage and workflow to identify efficiencies, flag tradeoffs, and ensure alignment to organizational priorities
• Navigate deadline pressures with a clear understanding of priorities and a calm, solutions-oriented approach
• Complete time tracking and expense reports for the CEO

• In service to the Executive Team, Board, and Board Committees:
  • Serve as a core operational partner to the Executive Team, supporting planning, coordination, and follow-through across Executive Team-led priorities
  • Support early-stage development of Executive Team agendas, project plans, and decision-making processes, including sequencing topics, outlining goals, and tracking milestones and next steps
  • Maintain and continuously improve systems that help the Executive Team stay aligned, informed, accountable, and compliant
  • Coordinate and oversee Executive Team retreat planning, including agenda flow, logistics, schedules, materials, and vendor management
  • Partner with senior leaders to support Board and Committee governance, including early agenda development, sequencing of topics, preparation of materials, compliance-related governance requirements, and follow-up on decisions and action items
  • Lead coordination and execution of Board and Committee Meetings, ensuring high-quality materials, accurate capture of minutes, and effective setup of in-person and virtual meetings
  • Own scheduling and administrative coordination for Executive Team- and Board-related needs, including calendaring, reimbursements, and travel booking

Lead and manage cross-cutting projects in support of the CEO and E4E’s internal communications, including but not limited to:

• Serve as a central bridge between the CEO and E4E teams, ensuring clear, timely communication, follow-through, and closed feedback loops
• Collaborate with the Development team to ensure effective processes and timely communication between internal teams and external funders
• Project manage Town Halls, including technology needs (Zoom, audio, screen sharing, etc.)
• Coordinate, draft, and disseminate the quarterly internal newsletter
• Take on additional internal communications projects as needed and as capacity allows

Minimum Requirements :

• Experience: At least 5 years of professional experience; Special Projects Manager or support to a high-functioning Executive, and project management experience required
• Deep commitment to the values of E4E , to our commitment to antiracism , and passion for students, educators, and improving education.
• Technical Skills: Knowledge of Slack, Asana, Salesforce, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word and corresponding Google Suite products, Understanding of reporting databases (i.e. Salesforce) preferred, very comfortable with phone and email outreach
• Transportation: Ability to travel to retreat locations as needed, likely on a quarterly basis. 

Core Values: What beliefs do you embody? How do you approach your work?

• Adjust Course - We take a resilient attitude towards roadblocks and adjust strategies to ensure progress to goal. 
• Responsiveness - We keep each other in the loop to keep the work moving forward.
• Inclusiveness - We make space at the table for all, so everyone feels like they belong.
• Ownership - We take part in finding solutions for the problems we identify. 
• Communication - We value clear and thoughtful word choice, tone and body language.

Positional Skills - What can you do well?

• Organizing Planning and Executing - Able to organize, track and manage workflow and resources; clearly articulates plans to others, develops systems to prioritize tasks; executes according to set timelines
• Cultivating Relationships & Collaborating – Develops a sense of rapport and trust with staff and seeks opportunities to share expertise and leverage the strengths of others; comfortably communicates with external stakeholders 
• Making Decisions & Demonstrating Judgment – Makes strategic decisions, even in ambiguous situations; weighs factors both within and outside of one’s control to mitigate risk; exercises discernment when involving others in decision-making, leverages data when appropriate 
• Tracking, Measuring & Analyzing – Builds and maintains systems and procedures to track data and progress towards individual and organizational goals; analyzes data thoroughly to determine trends & opportunities
• Learning & Developing – Pursues opportunities to deepen and expand skill set regularly; implements new strategies with fidelity and shares learning with others 

Functional Knowledge - What do you know a lot about?

• Project Management
• Communication 
• Calendar Management and Logistics
• Travel Operations Management
• Prioritizing & Gatekeeping

Compensation, Benefits & Applying

Compensation Policy

Educators for Excellence (E4E) is committed to valuing team members holistically in appreciation of their contribution to the organization’s success and for the good they create for society as part of our mission. While there are many facets of the “Total Rewards” package that come with working at E4E, compensation is a significant factor in a team member’s decision to work here. As such, we strive to attract, retain and reward top talent by offering competitive salaries and benefits that are equitably and transparently administered. Therefore, we do not engage in salary negotiations - our first offer is always our best offer! 

The salary band for this role is $89,665 - $127,524 

*based on NYC cost of labor and adjusted for candidates in different geographic regions.

Within this range, our competitive, non-negotiable salary offer will be based on a candidate’s relevant experience and credentials, role-related competencies assessed through our robust hiring process, and geographic location. 

COVID-19 Vaccination Policy

All new employees are required to comply with E4E’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, which requires all staff be fully vaccinated prior to the start of employment. An employee will be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the requisite number of doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Employees may request an exemption as a reasonable accommodation due to a medical reason or sincerely held religious belief.

E4E abides by each state’s requirements, and acknowledges they may change over time. If you advance forward to an interview, you will have the opportunity to ask questions about this job requirement.

Benefits & Applying

Educators for Excellence (E4E) believes in providing employees with benefits to support self-care, wellness, and financial stability. We value the whole person and provide benefits such as; paid time off, health insurance plans, competitive salaries that include pre-tax benefits, and cell phone reimbursements. See more information about our benefits here .

E4E is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state or federal law or local ordinance. E4E has a zero tolerance for discrimination, racism, xenophobia or misogyny in any form in our workplace. We strive to create a workplace where everyone feels a strong sense of belonging.

Accommodations : We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible interview experience and will ensure that all candidates are provided with reasonable accommodations that allow them to participate in the interview process. To request an accommodation, please email peopleandequity@e4e.org

EEOC questionnaire: We place a particular focus on recruiting staff members who share the backgrounds of the communities we serve. We encourage all applicants to complete our EEOC questionnaire as part of your application process (the form will be sent directly to you after completing your initial application) . Completing the questionnaire will help ensure our People & Equity team are attracting a diverse pool of qualified candidates for each of our open positions. Please note this information is not included with your application, and our hiring managers do not have access to race and other identifying information at any point in the interviewing or hiring process, including after a hire is made.

E4E uses E-Verify when completing all new hire paperwork. For more information, visit here .

Job Tags

Full time, Local area, Remote work,

Similar Jobs