ORGANIZATION: New Charter Management Organization (CMO) (yet-to-be-named)
POSITION: Chief Executive Officer
LOCATION: St. Louis, MO
REPORTS TO: Founding Board of Directors
Background
Founded in 2018, The Opportunity Trust (TOT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that every child in St. Louis is prepared to thrive by having access to a quality public school education. Since 2019, The Opportunity Trust has attracted and invested over $125 million to transform public education in Missouri, launching new schools, strengthening educator and leadership pipelines and expanding access to quality public schools (both traditional district and public charter schools). In 2023, the organization secured Missouri’s first-ever $35 million U.S. Department of Education Charter School Program award, a landmark investment to expand access to high-quality charter schools across the state.
The Opportunity Trust’s mission is to accelerate improvement and increase access to quality public schools for all children. By 2027, TOT will ensure that at least 30% of St. Louis’ children attend a quality public school, up from 12% when the organization launched. Through its Innovative Schools Fellowship (ISF), The Opportunity Trust has incubated and launched 9 schools, creating over 2800 new quality public school seats in St. Louis. As part of its growth strategy, TOT seeks to create a new Charter Management Organization (CMO) to support a network of semi-autonomous schools launched by future ISF fellows, by providing strong academic, operations, finance and human assets systems and support
To learn more about The Opportunity Trust, visit their website here.
Opportunity
This role represents a game-changing opportunity for a bold, visionary and entrepreneurial leader. The Founding Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will have the chance to design a new CMO model from scratch, blending forward-thinking ideas with strategies that deliver lasting impact. As innovation and evidence-based practices are not mutually exclusive, this is an opportunity to develop new solutions informed by both.
During the planning year (2026-2027), the new CEO will be expected to create the operations, finance, human assets and baseline academic infrastructure, agnostic of a school’s curriculum choices or model, to support the development and launch of one to two new schools in 2027.
Specifically, the CEO will:
Build a high-performing founding network team;
Recruit and collaborate with a founding Board of Directors, ensuring strong governance and aligned oversight;
Cultivate positive relationships with community members, families, educators, and key stakeholders;
Work closely with the ISF Fellows on the operational, financial, talent, and academic systems needed to launch their schools successfully;
Create a plan to raise early-stage funding and to support the CMO in becoming sustainable over time.
The founding CEO will work closely with The Opportunity Trust team, the founding Board of Directors and key community stakeholders to create a network that embodies excellence, innovation and equity. The CEO will serve as the visionary architect, chief strategist and culture builder for this new CMO and create an innovative model that can be replicated in other cities across the nation.
Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership and Innovation
Lead the creation of the CMO’s vision, mission, values and strategic plan;
Support educator-entrepreneurs in designing schools that integrate effective and innovative approaches to instruction, student support and school culture;
Translate vision into action with clear goals, execution plans and agile learning loops;
Oversee all aspects of organizational development, ensuring academic, operational, financial and human assets excellence.
Organizational Culture and Team Management
Recruit, develop and manage a high-performing founding team responsible for shared services across academics, culture, operations and human assets;
Build a cohesive and mission-driven culture that reflects the organization’s core values;
Create systems for performance management, professional development and organizational learning.
Governance and Board Development
Recruit and engage a founding Board of Directors aligned with the organization’s mission and vision;
Develop systems for strong board governance, accountability and engagement;
Establish autonomous and accountable governance structures where each school operates with a community advisory board;
Support school leaders in developing local advisory boards to ensure authentic community engagement and ownership;
Partner closely with The Opportunity Trust, the Missouri Charter Public School Commission and the Missouri Charter Public School Association to ensure alignment and shared vision.
Community Engagement and Advocacy
Build deep, trust-based relationships with families, students, educators and community leaders;
Serve as a powerful external voice for the CMO’s mission and innovation agenda;
Build and strengthen partnerships with key stakeholders, policy leaders and the broader education ecosystem to advance innovation and equity.
Fundraising and Resource Development
Develop and execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy to support launch and early-stage growth;
Manage public and private funding streams with transparency and strong financial stewardship;
Advocate for supportive policy conditions that enable innovation and sustainability.
Qualifications
The ideal candidate will bring the following experiences, knowledge, skills and values:
Required Experience, Knowledge, and Skills
7-10+ years of leadership experience in education, nonprofit management or startup environments;
Proven success launching or scaling high-performing organizations or high-performing companies with a decentralized or affiliated model in the private sector;
Deep knowledge of strong governance, performance management, and operational systems;
Track record of designing and leading innovative, equity-centered initiatives;
Experience building, developing and inspiring high-performing teams;
Excels at both strategy and execution;
Strong communication skills and ability to mobilize stakeholders through storytelling and clear direction.
Preferred Experience, Knowledge, and Skills
Experience with governance and semi-autonomous and/or networked organizations;
Familiarity with the St. Louis education landscape.
Mindsets and Values
Thrives in ambiguity and can turn vision into structure;
Values both innovation and evidence-based practices;
Values trust, partnership and belonging;
Leads with humility, feedback and focus.
Compensation and Application
The starting salary range for this position is $225,000-$275,000, with a performance bonus based on key milestones and student outcomes. The role includes comprehensive healthcare, retirement contributions, flexible PTO and professional development as part of founding support, after which the CEO will design the benefit system for the organization. The Opportunity Trust will also provide strategic coaching, funding access and planning assistance during the launch phase.
Initial Application Deadline: December 15, 2025.