District Fellow & Chief of Staff
THE OPPORTUNITY The District Fellow & Chief of Staff is a strategic partner, project leader, and systems thinker embedded at the heart of district operations. Positioned at the intersection of the Superintendent’s office, district leadership, BEF, and the broader school community, this role will guide a year-long visioning process enabling stakeholders across the Sunnyvale community to define what they want for their districts and schools.
The Fellow is a trusted thought partner who translates vision into action, builds authentic relationships across the organization and community, and serves as an essential bridge connecting district leadership, BEF, and external partners.
This is a year-long position, with the potential opportunity to transition to a full-time role at Sunnyvale School District or Bay Ed Fund if there is fit and need.
ABOUT THE BAY ED FUND The Bay Ed Fund, founded in 2022, is taking a new approach to closing the opportunity gap and ensuring all students are prepared to thrive in the Bay Area. We begin with the voices and aspirations of students, families, and communities to create a local vision for how graduates will be prepared to thrive as adults in the Bay Area. We then support the district and community over ten years to realize that vision through collaborative, transformative work at both the district and school levels.
This support includes investments in instruction, talent, data, and change management. Currently, we are working in South San Francisco, East Palo Alto, and San Mateo - Foster City. We are exploring an expansion to Sunnyvale during the 26-27 school year.
ABOUT THE SUNNYVALE SCHOOL DISTRICT The Sunnyvale School District team comprises more than 800 highly qualified educators, administrators, and support staff whose primary goal is to enable the approximately 5,600 students enrolled to achieve academic success. The district includes a comprehensive preschool program, eight elementary schools serving students in transitional kindergarten through fifth grade, and two middle schools serving students in sixth through eighth grade. The district reflects the diversity of Silicon Valley, with approximately 45 languages represented among its students, and partners with more than 35 community organizations — including world-class universities, high-tech leaders, health organizations, and community groups — to leverage resources and expertise to help children develop the self-respect, healthy habits, and academic skills they need to thrive.
ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES
COMMUNITY VISION & STRATEGIC PLANNING
You’ll ensure that the community-led vision process is executed with excellence: students, families, educators, and community members feel heard, and the resulting strategic plan reflects their voices.
• Serve as the district’s primary point of contact for all visioning and strategic planning activities, managing the relationship between the district, BEF, and external partners
• Develop and manage materials for vision design team and community vision meetings, including bilingual communications for families and community members
• Provide substantive feedback on deliverables developed by external planning partners
• Conduct empathy interviews and gather insights from teachers, administrators, families, and community members to inform planning
• Leverage cross-district learnings from BEF’s network to strengthen the district’s approach
ACCOUNTABILITY, TRACKING, & PARTNER MANAGEMENT
BEF and district initiatives are tightly managed, with clear accountability structures, strong cross-organization relationships, and timely deliverables.
• Develop and maintain objectives, key results, and milestones for all BEF initiatives; build tracking systems to monitor progress
• Co-lead BEF project management meetings and facilitate stepbacks with the BEF team
• Serve as the connective tissue between the district team, BEF, and external partners — ensuring both organizations are aligned on priorities, progress, and next steps
• Work closely with third-party vendors and ensure deliverable quality and timeliness
LONG-TERM STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PLANNING
Leveraging backwards mapping and ongoing monitoring, you’ll ensure local leaders across all groups — families, teachers, school leaders, district leaders — understand the vision process, feel informed at every stage, and trust that their input shaped the outcome. Engagement is not a one-time event but a sustained, well-sequenced experience that moves key audiences toward genuine ownership of the community vision.
• Identify high-leverage opportunities for the district leadership team — including principals and site administrators — to engage in the strategic planning
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The Fellow is a trusted thought partner who translates vision into action, builds authentic relationships across the organization and community, and serves as an essential bridge connecting district leadership, BEF, and external partners.
This is a year-long position, with the potential opportunity to transition to a full-time role at Sunnyvale School District or Bay Ed Fund if there is fit and need.
ABOUT THE BAY ED FUND The Bay Ed Fund, founded in 2022, is taking a new approach to closing the opportunity gap and ensuring all students are prepared to thrive in the Bay Area. We begin with the voices and aspirations of students, families, and communities to create a local vision for how graduates will be prepared to thrive as adults in the Bay Area. We then support the district and community over ten years to realize that vision through collaborative, transformative work at both the district and school levels.
This support includes investments in instruction, talent, data, and change management. Currently, we are working in South San Francisco, East Palo Alto, and San Mateo - Foster City. We are exploring an expansion to Sunnyvale during the 26-27 school year.
ABOUT THE SUNNYVALE SCHOOL DISTRICT The Sunnyvale School District team comprises more than 800 highly qualified educators, administrators, and support staff whose primary goal is to enable the approximately 5,600 students enrolled to achieve academic success. The district includes a comprehensive preschool program, eight elementary schools serving students in transitional kindergarten through fifth grade, and two middle schools serving students in sixth through eighth grade. The district reflects the diversity of Silicon Valley, with approximately 45 languages represented among its students, and partners with more than 35 community organizations — including world-class universities, high-tech leaders, health organizations, and community groups — to leverage resources and expertise to help children develop the self-respect, healthy habits, and academic skills they need to thrive.
ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES
COMMUNITY VISION & STRATEGIC PLANNING
You’ll ensure that the community-led vision process is executed with excellence: students, families, educators, and community members feel heard, and the resulting strategic plan reflects their voices.
• Serve as the district’s primary point of contact for all visioning and strategic planning activities, managing the relationship between the district, BEF, and external partners
• Develop and manage materials for vision design team and community vision meetings, including bilingual communications for families and community members
• Provide substantive feedback on deliverables developed by external planning partners
• Conduct empathy interviews and gather insights from teachers, administrators, families, and community members to inform planning
• Leverage cross-district learnings from BEF’s network to strengthen the district’s approach
ACCOUNTABILITY, TRACKING, & PARTNER MANAGEMENT
BEF and district initiatives are tightly managed, with clear accountability structures, strong cross-organization relationships, and timely deliverables.
• Develop and maintain objectives, key results, and milestones for all BEF initiatives; build tracking systems to monitor progress
• Co-lead BEF project management meetings and facilitate stepbacks with the BEF team
• Serve as the connective tissue between the district team, BEF, and external partners — ensuring both organizations are aligned on priorities, progress, and next steps
• Work closely with third-party vendors and ensure deliverable quality and timeliness
LONG-TERM STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PLANNING
Leveraging backwards mapping and ongoing monitoring, you’ll ensure local leaders across all groups — families, teachers, school leaders, district leaders — understand the vision process, feel informed at every stage, and trust that their input shaped the outcome. Engagement is not a one-time event but a sustained, well-sequenced experience that moves key audiences toward genuine ownership of the community vision.
• Identify high-leverage opportunities for the district leadership team — including principals and site administrators — to engage in the strategic planning
Apply tot his job
Apply To this Job