Managing Director, Early Childhood

Woodside, CAFull-time2 hours ago

Share this job

MANAGING DIRECTOR, EARLY CHILDHOOD

ABOUT VALHALLA IMPACT & VALHALLA FOUNDATION

Valhalla Impact (“Valhalla”) is the philanthropic enterprise of Scott Cook and Signe Ostby. Valhalla supports innovative ideas and organizations aligned with its mission to drive measurable, meaningful improvement in outcomes that matter to people and our planet. We are a mission-driven organization that strategically integrates grant making and other forms of investing, along with policy advocacy to achieve impact, primarily through the Valhalla Foundation. Valhalla applies a rigorous, data-driven approach to philanthropy and supports organizations and field actors beyond funding, helping them scale their impact.

Valhalla’s four focus areas are K-12 Education, Early Childhood, Environmental Innovation, and Medical Research and Talent. Valhalla also engages in collaborative philanthropy to drive a broader set of US-focused social outcomes through cross-cutting investments in platforms such as The Audacious Project, Blue Meridian Partners, and NextLadder Ventures. Locally, we support community organizations in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.

ABOUT THE EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM

Valhalla’s Early Childhood program is driven by a goal of ensuring all children experience healthy development from birth to five and enter school Kindergarten-ready. We define Kindergarten-ready as on track across five developmental domains spanning physical, cognitive, social-emotional, executive function, and early literacy development. Valhalla has invested more than $100M in early childhood over the past 5 years.

Valhalla recently refreshed its Early Childhood strategy around three interconnected priorities: Healthy Development Birth to 3, Early Learning – with a focus on Early Math – and Early Childhood Outcomes Measurement. Our investments in early health and education systems and interventions span research, program implementation, system capacity building, and policy advocacy that collectively drive meaningful positive changes in children’s experiences and developmental outcomes. Learn more at www.valhallaimpact.com.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Managing Director, Early Childhood reports to the President and is responsible for developing and executing forward-looking, evidence-based strategies that drive measurable improvements in child outcomes over time. They lead a team of 3 staff plus consultants to shape, support, and manage social impact investments (including grants, contracts, and impact investments) to a cohort of high-performing organizations.

The Managing Director influences the ideas and actions of a wide range of field actors and investees. They drive Valhalla's early childhood field engagement, effectively advising public, social, and private sector actors and fellow funders, and fostering/driving field-wide collaboration that amplifies and accelerates impact.

The Managing Director provides advice to the President and trustees on issues to support the development of Valhalla strategies and initiatives. In addition, the Managing Director shapes Valhalla's culture and practice, which contributes to the overall success of Valhalla Impact.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Managing Director is accountable for:

Leading all aspects of the Early Childhood strategy: Design and drive execution of a compelling impact strategy to guide investments. Build strong leadership alignment on the strategic approach and direct performance management processes to assess strategy, monitor investment progress, and guide shifts in program strategy and team priorities.
Recruiting and developing a high-performing team: Recruit and coach staff and consultants to maximize growth and deliver on strategy goals. Foster a team culture of critical thinking, empowering members to articulate and defend a clear point of view on the optimal path to impact.
Influencing/advising key field actors: Advise investee leaders, fellow funders, and field actors to maximize impact. Maintain broad external networks to ensure work is shaped by current insights and research. Work closely with critical field actors to identify growth opportunities, influence other funders through strategic engagement, and mentor investee leaders.
Driving effective diligence and decision making: Lead sector research and analysis to inform investment initiatives. Drive processes to source, evaluate, and recommend high-impact investment opportunities by engaging field actors, consulting peer funders and experts.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Our ideal candidate is a learner and a doer who takes ownership of results. They bring deep intellectual curiosity, a drive to solve the root causes of complex problems, and a passion for improving early childhood outcomes. They have held varied strategic and execution roles across the social impact, public, and/or private sectors, leading initiatives and making critical decisions. Known for adaptability, humility, a sense of humor, and creative intellect, they are a reflective leader who seeks feedback, listens closely, and focuses on problem-solving.

They thrive in a collaborative environment that encourages constructive debate, contributing to a culture in which diverse ideas and data drive confident decision-making. They bring a track record of impact supported by the following skills, background, and competencies:

Demonstrated record of developing and executing multi-pronged investment strategies, including allocating resources to achieve ambitious goals. Ability to see around corners, chart a path to clear goals, set clear guardrails, align on shared outcomes, and drive timely, clear decision processes rooted in facts/data.
Ability to attract, develop, and retain high-performing talent, establish clear roles, delegate effectively, and build a team culture that enables people of diverse backgrounds to do their best work.
Deep understanding of issues impacting early childhood health and education systems. Robust network of relationships in the early childhood field. Ability to initiate and foster strategic partnerships with field leaders.
Intellectual agility to analyze emerging issues and opportunities. Strong quantitative skills in managing, interpreting, and challenging analysis and data.
At least 15 years of experience across social impact, education, health, management consulting, or business. Philanthropic, impact investing, or senior government funding experience preferred.
Comfortable with ambiguity; able to adapt nimbly and lead others through complex situations.

COMPENSATION

Valhalla bases our compensation on benchmarking of similar roles at peer organizations. The salary range for this position is $290,000–$436,000. Initial placement in the range will depend on a candidate’s job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as evaluated during the interview process. It is unusual for us to place new employees above the mid-point. Valhalla also offers a generous and competitive benefits package.

LOCATION

This role is based in the Bay Area and requires travel (including air travel) for grantee engagement, convenings, and other field collaboration. Our team works from Valhalla’s Woodside, CA office two days/week, with the option to work remotely for the remainder of the week when in-person collaboration is not required. We provide a modest commute stipend for staff who live more than 25 miles from our office.

INCLUSION STATEMENT

Valhalla is an equal opportunity employer committed to hiring and developing a team that brings diversity of voices, ideas, and approaches to the complex societal challenges we tackle. We strive to be an organization that reflects the perspectives of our partners and the communities we seek to serve, and we encourage all interested candidates to apply. All applicants and those who join us as employees will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.

APPLY

Please click HERE to apply. Respond to the application questions and attach your resume as indicated.

We have engaged LNS Partners to support the search. If you have difficulty applying, please contact leslie@lns-partners.com.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

Featured

yes

Expirationdate

2026-11-09 00:00:00

Url

https://impactopportunity.org/job/9215/managing-director-early-childhood/

Remote

hybrid

Salaryfrom

290

Salaryto

400

Companydescription

LNS Partners specializes in supporting the identification and introduction of field-changing leaders to organizations dedicated to creating lasting, positive impact in the social sector.