Jobs at GreatSchools

Parents choose GreatSchools to connect with each other - to find the right schools, to share stories and advice, and to get their parenting questions answered. In the past year alone, more than 35 million people visited GreatSchools (www.greatschools.net). With hundreds of thousands of ratings and parent reviews about schools across the country, GreatSchools is the paramount parent-to-parent education community.

Our organization's mission is to empower parents with information and tools so they can choose the best school for their children, support their education, and improve schools in their communities. A Webby award-winning site, GreatSchools is supported by many foundations and corporations, including the Doris & Donald Fisher Fund, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Robertson Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and more.

Unless otherwise specified, all of our open positions are headquartered in our San Francisco, CA office. Sorry, we do not offer relocation assistance.

We are an equal opportunity employer and actively seek to recruit a diverse workforce.

Positions Available:

Program Director

Interaction Designer

Software Engineer

Vice President - Online Ad Sales

Marketing Manager - Email and Relationship Marketing

Executive Assistant/Office Manager

Milwaukee Community Organizer - Milwaukee, WI (part-time)

Bilingual (Spanish/English or Hmong/English) Milwaukee Community Organizer - Milwaukee, WI (part-time)

Program Director

GreatSchools has raised significant capital to begin the next phase of our mission. We are looking for a driven, innovative and results-oriented Program Director to lead the effort to design, implement and evaluate a brand new Internet-based parent training program targeting low- and moderate-income parents. This mission critical position will report to the COO of GreatSchools. The person in this highly visible and newly-created role will be responsible for the following:

• Initiate and drive all market research efforts to ensure that this initiative meets the needs of the target audience.
• Drawing on market research, expert advice, and the talents of the GreatSchools staff, refine the program concept and develop a roadmap for program creation and launch.
• Project manage the development of the program, including the budget.
• Work with the CEO and funders to create and track program success metrics.
• Work with the editorial team to develop program content, including video, in English and Spanish.
• Work with the product management and engineering teams to identify technologies to support program; work with product management to specify the features and look-and-feel of the program.
• Work with the business development group to develop content and distribution partnerships that support this program.
• Collaborate with the Director of Marketing to create branding and positioning of this program to internal and external parties. Work with the Director of Marketing to identify appropriate acquisition and repeat usage strategies.
• Solicit feedback from potential users throughout all stages of program development, including product conception, beta testing, and launch.

This is a fabulous opportunity for someone with the following qualifications:

• Demonstrable and successful record of creating and launching online educational programs, including market research, concept development, project management, marketing and performance assessment.
• A demonstrated leader and effective manager capable of working within a matrixed organization to achieve results.
• Exceptional interpersonal, strategic, analytical, written, oral communication and presentation skills.
• A demonstrated passion for the education arena and a strong belief and connection to GreatSchools mission.
• Excellent organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple responsibilities; comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and committed to meeting deadlines and creating and improving processes.
• Adaptability, flexibility, and creativity, especially in conceiving, testing and adjusting ideas rapidly, and in handling varying deadlines, shifts in priorities, or other unforeseen events.
• Self-motivated individual who delivers results with minimal supervision and limited resources.
• Undergraduate degree required; advanced degree preferred.

How To Apply:

Please email a cover letter, resume and salary requirements to jobs+progdir.gs@greatschools.net, with "Program Director" in the subject line. Applications without cover letters will not be considered. No calls please.

Interaction Designer

This person will work in cross-functional teams to create interactive designs for high-traffic, advertising-supported consumer web applications. Experience with interface design, information architecture, software application design, and interactive content design is required. A passion for user-centered design and creating intuitive and engaging user interfaces is key for this position.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Work closely with product management and development teams to produce innovative, engaging, and effective designs and interactions that help customers solve problems and locate relevant information.
• Develop information design, user profiles or personas, user task flows, and user experience strategies as needed for complex, data-driven web applications.
• Help ensure quality and effectiveness of visual design by participating in the design process, managing user testing, and collaborating with the development team.
• Create rapid prototypes and mock-ups to validate design concepts with stakeholders and customers.
• Develop style guides and design specifications that developers will use to implement and validate interaction designs.
• Help define multivariant tests and integrate learnings from web analytics into UI development.

Job Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in visual design, human factors, interaction design, or related discipline. Advanced degree in Design or HCI a plus.
• 4+ years interaction and visual design experience in web application product design. Experience with interaction design in distributed, open source, and agile development teams is a plus.
• Demonstrated experience in information architecture, interactivity, prototyping for innovative product design.
• Ability to translate business requirements into effective UI solutions, manage the development of usable design standards and visual style guides, identify conflicting design requirements and constructively solve problems for the end-useris best interests.
• Thorough understanding of widgets, controls, and feedback mechanisms used on the web, their appropriate uses and what they communicate to users.
• Extensive knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and AJAX.
• Solid presentation skills and experience presenting design scenarios and solutions confidently and credibly to internal stakeholders and executives.
• Ability to manage time and resources on multiple projects with multiple timelines and multiple missions. Ability to deal with changing priorities as needs dictate.
• Experience with running multivariant tests is desirable.
• Experience integrating video and interactive technologies is highly desirable.

How To Apply:

Please send a COVER LETTER and RESUME to jobs-ue@greatschools.net with "Interaction Designer" in the subject line.

A portfolio demonstrating interaction design experience is required. Please send a URL in the body of your application.

We're looking for an all around web application developer to work on our Java and Perl based site. If you have a good grasp of UI development using HTML, JSP, and CSS, are well grounded in Object Oriented Analysis and Design, and have a passion for Test Driven Development, we are looking for you.

At GreatSchools you will:

• Create new and refine existing functionality on our website
• Find solutions for Usability Issues and Search Engine Optimization
• Refactor on an ongoing basis to keep our codebase as clean as possible
• Opportunistically port functionality from Perl scripts to Java and JSP
• Provide feedback on and make suggestions to improve our processes
• Participate in architecture discussions and code reviews

The ideal candidate will have a B.S. in Computer Science or equivalent degree and excellent problem-solving skills. Work experience must include:

• Several years experience designing and developing robust, scalable web applications
• Technical depth in OOD methodology, Java, XML, MVC, ORM, and relational databases
• Agile software development experience
• Must possess high level of enthusiasm and be a strong team player
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Experience with PostgreSQL or MySQL
• Experience with JSP and Perl -- PHP is a plus

How To Apply:

Take the next step and send us an e-mail telling us why you think you would be a great candidate for this opportunity to jobs-software.gs@greatschools.net. Be sure to include your resume, and use "Software Engineer" in the subject line.

Vice President - Online Ad Sales

We are looking for a talented and experienced online advertising sales executive to manage online advertising sales and corporate sponsorships for the nation's leading web site for parents of K-12 students. For the right candidate, we offer a unique opportunity - to leverage your sales skills to make a social difference.

This VP of Advertising Sales will be responsible for identifying, closing and managing advertising partners as well as directing the efforts of our growing online advertising sales team. Additionally, this person will work with the team to develop unique ad vehicles and programs that build value for our partners.

GreatSchools has established a successful online advertising business. Our advertisers include Disney, LeapFrog, Clorox, Quaker, Fidelity, Target, Walmart, Honda, Sylvan, General Mills, Qwest and many others. We are looking to hire an individual who can help drive and support our continued growth. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in online ad sales and management, with exceptional selling skills and a proven record of meeting and exceeding sales targets.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Manage online advertising sales team and work with Product Management, Editorial, Engineering, and Finance departments to maximize revenue opportunities and build sustainable partnerships with advertisers and corporate sponsors
• Identify and initiate contact with advertising prospects, through cold calls, in-person presentations and/or leveraging of existing contact lists
• Assess customer needs; develop effective sales proposals; negotiate deals; and ensure successful delivery of advertising campaigns
• Manage communications, scheduling and approvals between our advertising partners and ad operations team throughout the implementation process
• Oversee accounts and deliver superior customer service for multiple clients
• Establish objectives, perform analysis, and work with our ad sales team to optimize advertising performance
• Develop and implement corporate sponsorship program

Experience/Education/Skills Required:

• Bachelors degree with 3+ years online ad sales and management experience
• 5+ years combined related ad sales experience (print, radio, broadcast, etc.)
• Strong track record of meeting and exceeding sales targets
• Knowledge of business and advertising trends and the ability to translate this knowledge into advertising solutions for clients
• Solid understanding of online advertising and marketing, including pricing structures (CPM, CPC, CPA, CPL) and media types (e.g., banners, skyscrapers, box ads, interstitials, email newsletters)
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills
• Excellent attention to detail, highly organized and flexible
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills
• Ability to handle multiple priorities
• Proficiency with Powerpoint, MS Excel, MS Word and the Web

Experience/Education/Skills Preferred:

• Experience working in a small business or a start-up environment
• Ad agency experience is highly desirable
• Working knowledge of 3rd party research tools (e.g., MediaMetrix; Nielsen @Plan)

Essential Qualities:

• Positive work ethic and ability to exercise mature judgment
• Ability to work independently as a motivated team player
• Preference for a fast-paced, results-oriented environment
• Ability to think analytically, set priorities and meet deadlines
• A strong commitment to GreatSchools' mission

How To Apply:

Please email a cover letter, including salary requirements and resume to jobs+VPAdSales.gs@greatschools.net, with "VP Ad Sales" in the subject line. Resumes without cover letters will not be considered. No phone calls please.

Marketing Manager - Email and Relationship Marketing

We are looking for a driven, innovative and results-oriented Marketing Manager to lead our email marketing efforts. Our goal with this newly created position is to drive acquisition of community members and newsletter subscribers, as well as make subscribers more active through smart, well-crafted and relevant lifestage communications. This position is critical to fulfilling the GreatSchools mission and reports directly to the Director of Marketing. The person in this highly visible and newly-created role will be responsible for the following: The person in this highly visible and newly-created role will be responsible for the following:

• Developing and driving our email marketing to acquire new GreatSchools members and ensure that they are engaged and active. .
• Develop strategy and deploying email newsletter streams based on both user triggered actions and timed events.
• Planning and execution of email marketing campaigns in support of new product launches and relevant engagement-oriented messaging.
• Maintenance of an annual marketing communications and email calendar. Coordination with various internal teams.
• Working with the internal teams to develop engaging newsletter content (copy, video, design, etc.).
• Working with internal teams to identify requirements to support email marketing programs.
• Liaising with Email Service Provider to ensure smooth campaign set up, quality assurance and analysis.
• Monitoring and reporting regularly to the organization on campaign efficacy (i.e. opens, CTR, referrals, etc.).
• Testing and optimizing programs based on results (A/B tests, etc.).

This is a fabulous opportunity for someone with the following qualifications:

• A passion for the GreatSchools mission.
• Demonstrable and successful record of creating email marketing programs that engage consumer and drive repeat usage.
• Experience in campaign testing and analysis.
• History of working with vendors.
• A demonstrated leader and effective manager capable of working within a matrixed organization to achieve results.
• Exceptional interpersonal, strategic, analytical, written, oral communication and presentation skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple responsibilities; comfortable working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and committed to meeting deadlines and creating and improving processes.
• Adaptability, flexibility, and creativity, especially in conceiving, testing and adjusting ideas rapidly, and in handling varying deadlines, shifts in priorities, or other unforeseen events.
• Self-motivated individual who delivers results with minimal supervision and limited resources.
• Undergraduate degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 5-7 years of relevant experience.

How To Apply:

Please email a cover letter, resume and salary requirements to jobs+mktgmgr.gs@greatschools.net with "Email Marketing Manager" in the subject line. Resumes without cover letters will not be considered. No calls please.

Executive Assistant/Office Manager

We are seeking a dynamic and self-motivated Executive Assistant/Office Manager to provide administrative support for the CEO and COO, oversee the operations of our office, and serve as a member of our customer service team.

This position will report to the Chief Operating Officer.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Provide administrative support to the CEO, including meeting and appointment coordination, travel logistics, expense reporting, etc.
• Assist with quarterly Board meetings by coordinating travel, sending all communications, scheduling, and preparing packets as well as attending the meetings and recording the minutes.

• Oversee all office operations, including facilities management. Act as primary contact and liaison between the office and building management as well as other outside vendors.
• Manage office supplies budget. Research and purchase office supplies.
• Oversee and maintain mail and office equipment contracts and services. Research cost effective means when replacing necessary business equipment or services.
• Manage existing office space planning and reconfigurations.
• Work with COOs and real estate leasing brokers to assist with space locating and planning.
• Manage systems for storing and retrieving official contracts and key organizational documents.
• Assist Finance and Human Resources with the design and implementation of office procedures.
• Act as Floor Warden in the event of an emergency.
• Assist with and respond to Web site community help desk questions.

Job Requirements:

• Minimum of three years of applicable experience in office management
• Experience supporting senior level executives
• Highly organized, deadline and detail-oriented
• Friendly, independent self-starter and outstanding team player
• Flexible, entrepreneurial and able to work in a fast-changing environment
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Professional demeanor and excellent customer service skills
• Ability to exercise diplomacy and tact in handling confidential and/or sensitive matters
• Demonstrated proficiency with MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook)
• Previous experience working with a nonprofit organization is desirable
• Strong commitment to the organization's mission of helping parents make better decisions about their children's education and improving public schools

How To Apply:

Please send resume and cover letter including salary requirements to jobs+ea.gs@greatschools.net with "Executive Assistant" in the subject line. Resumes without cover letters will not be considered. No phone calls please.

Milwaukee Community Organizer - Milwaukee, WI (part-time)

We are embarking on an ambitious new project to provide quality educational information to Milwaukee parents. This project, a part of the GreatSchools Network, will bring comprehensive, audience-appropriate material to Milwaukee parents in conjunction with personalized workshops to help parents choose the right school for their children and support their children's educational success.

Community organizers will work to bring these resources and services to Milwaukee parents.

This position reports to the Director - GreatSchools Milwaukee.

Responsibilities:

• Seek out and work with community-based organizations to jointly and independently hold workshops, training classes, and events for Milwaukee parents
• Sign up eligible parents for free internet access
• Promote, use and teach basic technology usage to parents regarding the GreatSchools Web site
• Localize information and resources designed to help parents guide their educational decisions and support their children's education (e.g. the Milwaukee School Chooser, any tools created to help parents become more involved in their children's education)
• Be an on-call resource for Milwaukee parents through the GreatSchools parent hotlines
• Maintain accurate records of family contacts and coaching events
• Support the Director's efforts to maintain the program's fiscal sustainability and effectiveness

Job Requirements and Related Experience:

The successful candidate for this position will have demonstrated experience in community mobilization and training. Experience in education is a plus. He or she will also have strong verbal and written communication and organizational skills.

• Has 2-3 years experience in community organizing, preferably in the City of Milwaukee
• Demonstrates an understanding of how parents should support and guide their children's education
• Is familiar with current educational events and issues
• Has a strong knowledge of the Milwaukee, WI community
• Has the ability to build relationships with Milwaukee public, private, and charter K-12 schools
• Is able to mobilize and work with low-income and low-literacy communities and parents
• Displays a proven commitment to education and educational development
• Is self-motivated with the ability to work effectively both independently and within a team
• Pays close attention to detail
• Meets deadlines and follows through on all assigned responsibilities

Compensation:

$15.00 -$22.00 per hour, depending upon credentials and experience. This is a part-time position (approximately 10 - 15 hours per week). This position will require scheduling flexibility around evenings and weekends. We are asking for a commitment of at least one year.

How To Apply:

Submit cover letter and resume in an email to milwaukee@greatschools.net, using "Milwaukee Community Organizer" in the subject line. Resumes without cover letters will not be considered. This is a part-time position based in MILWAUKEE, WI. Please only apply if this is what you're looking for.

Bilingual (Spanish/English OR Hmong/English) Milwaukee Community Organizer - Milwaukee, WI (part-time)

We are embarking on an ambitious new project to provide quality educational information to Milwaukee parents. This project, a part of the GreatSchools Network, will bring comprehensive, audience-appropriate material to Milwaukee parents in conjunction with personalized workshops to help parents choose the right school for their children and support their children's educational success.

Our bilingual community organizers will work to bring these resources and services to Milwaukee parents.

This position reports to the Director - GreatSchools Milwaukee.

Responsibilities:

• Seek out and work with community-based organizations to jointly and independently hold workshops, training classes, and events for Milwaukee parents
• Translate school selection information in Spanish/English OR Hmong/English at and for family events
• Sign up eligible parents for free internet access
• Promote, use and teach basic technology usage to parents regarding the GreatSchools Web site
• Localize information and resources designed to help parents guide their educational decisions and support their children's education (e.g. the Milwaukee School Chooser, any tools created to help parents become more involved in their children's education)
• Be an on-call resource for Milwaukee parents through the GreatSchools parent hotlines
• Maintain accurate records of family contacts and coaching events
• Support the Director's efforts to maintain the program's fiscal sustainability and effectiveness

Job Requirements and Related Experience:

The successful candidate for this position will have demonstrated experience in community mobilization and training. Experience in education is a plus. He or she will also have strong verbal and written communication and organizational skills.

• Has 2-3 years experience in community organizing, preferably in the City of Milwaukee
• Demonstrates an understanding of how parents should support and guide their children's education
• Is familiar with current educational events and issues
• Has a strong knowledge of the Milwaukee, WI community
• Has the ability to build relationships with Milwaukee public, private, and charter K-12 schools
• Is able to mobilize and work with low-income and low-literacy communities and parents
• Displays a proven commitment to education and educational development
• Is self-motivated with the ability to work effectively both independently and within a team
• Pays close attention to detail
• Meets deadlines and follows through on all assigned responsibilities

Compensation:

$15.00 -$22.00 per hour, depending upon credentials and experience. This is a part-time position (approximately 10 - 15 hours per week). This position will require scheduling flexibility around evenings and weekends. We are asking for a commitment of at least one year.

How To Apply:

Submit cover letter and resume in an email to milwaukee@greatschools.net, using "Milwaukee Community Organizer" in the subject line. Resumes without cover letters will not be considered. This is a part-time position based in MILWAUKEE, WI. Please only apply if this is what you're looking for.