About International Coalition of Girls' Schools
Through advocacy, research, professional development, and global collaboration, ICGS uplifts girls’ schools and educators while fostering diversity, equity, and belonging. By hosting international gatherings and sharing innovative resources and practices, the Coalition inspires ethical, globally minded changemakers prepared to navigate a complex world. For those passionate about advancing education and gender equity, ICGS offers an unparalleled opportunity to be part of a bold and impactful mission.
A network of 580 primary and secondary girls’ schools in 28 countries, ICGS is growing every day. The Coalition is home to public/state/government/tuition-free girls’ schools, charter girls’ schools, independent day and boarding girls’ schools, and religiously affiliated girls’ schools, serving more than 350,000 students globally. Just as each student is a unique individual, each Coalition member girls’ school has its own distinct institutional identity and characteristics, unified by a commitment to centering girls’ voices.
The more than 50,000 professional ICGS educators and school leaders who are part of the Coalition are well prepared and motivated to give girls the tools, opportunities, and resources they need to step into the fullness of their own potential. International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (ICGS), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the education and empowerment of girls, is powered by one persistent and vital goal: advancing girls and women. Grounded in research and inspired by collaboration, ICGS is dedicated to documenting the transformative impact of girls’ schools. Today, with membership that has more than tripled in the past decade and that now spans the globe, ICGS champions the voices of girls and women, providing tools to challenge systemic gender discrimination and empowering students to lead with courage, competence, and empathy.
Position Overview
The Director of Global Engagement, Membership & Growth sets strategy and provides senior leadership for ICGS’s external engagement and growth portfolio. This role ensures that professional learning, programs, partnerships, and events reach current and prospective member girls’ schools in compelling, relevant, and measurable ways.
The Director oversees membership growth and engagement; communications, marketing, and brand strategy; partnerships, sponsorships, and foundation relationships; and selected in-person events. The position also supervises the Communications & Member Experiences Manager, who leads day-to-day communications, digital engagement, and member-experience delivery within the strategic framework established by the Director.
This senior builder-leader role calls for an energetic, relationship-oriented, goal-driven, and entrepreneurial professional who can establish direction, align resources, and translate organizational strategy into coordinated action. The successful candidate will integrate communications, member engagement, partnerships, events, and growth initiatives to advance ICGS’s mission and support its long-term sustainability.
The Director reports to the Global Executive Director and works closely with the Senior Director of Research, Programs & Operations, Regional Directors, and other colleagues across the organization.
Consistent with ICGS’s evolving organizational culture and priorities, the scope of this position will continue to develop as the organization grows.
Roles and Responsibilities
Global Membership Strategy, Engagement & Growth
The Director will shape and implement an integrated global membership strategy designed to strengthen recruitment, onboarding, engagement, renewal, retention, reactivation, and overall membership growth.
Key responsibilities include:
- Develop and lead a comprehensive membership strategy aligned with ICGS’s mission, organizational priorities, and long-term sustainability.
- Identify opportunities to attract prospective member schools, strengthen relationships with existing members, and encourage renewed engagement among inactive or former members.
- Use member and prospective-member data to identify opportunities, test approaches, track conversion and retention, and recommend strategic investments.
- Partner with colleagues to articulate clear, compelling, and relevant member value propositions.
- Conduct and apply surveys, interviews, and advisory consultations to understand member needs, assess satisfaction, and continuously improve the member experience.
- Adapt engagement strategies to regional contexts while maintaining a coherent global identity, consistent standards, and shared organizational priorities.
- Establish measurable goals and performance indicators to evaluate membership recruitment, participation, retention, and growth.
- Collaborate with internal stakeholders to ensure that membership offerings, communications, and professional learning opportunities reflect member priorities and deliver meaningful value.
Strategic Communications, Marketing & Brand Leadership
The Director will establish an integrated strategic communications program that clarifies organizational priorities, audiences, positioning, desired outcomes, and measures of success.
Responsibilities include:
- Guide ICGS’s brand strategy, messaging, editorial planning, marketing, and digital engagement.
- Ensure a consistent organizational voice and visual identity across regions, programs, events, partnerships, and communication channels.
- Develop communications and marketing strategies that strengthen organizational visibility, advance thought leadership, and demonstrate the value of girls’ schools.
- Align communications initiatives with membership recruitment, engagement, professional learning, partnerships, and revenue-generation goals.
- Oversee communications and member-experience strategy, providing the Communications & Member Experiences Manager with clear direction, regular coaching, and appropriate authority over day-to-day communications and member-experience activities.
- Establish priorities and expectations for communications planning, content development, digital engagement, and brand implementation.
- Evaluate communications effectiveness using appropriate performance measures and insights, adjusting strategies to improve reach, engagement, and organizational impact.
- Work collaboratively across teams to ensure that external communications accurately reflect ICGS’s mission, strategic priorities, and global presence.
Partnerships, Sponsorships & Foundation Relationships
The Director will develop and lead a partnership, sponsorship, and foundation strategy aligned with ICGS’s mission, organizational priorities, visibility, and long-term financial sustainability.
Responsibilities include:
- Identify, cultivate, negotiate, steward, and expand relationships with aligned corporations, nonprofit organizations, foundations, and other institutions.
- Develop partnership and sponsorship opportunities that strengthen ICGS’s visibility, advance its thought leadership, and deliver meaningful benefits to member schools.
- Build relationships that create sustained organizational value, expand access to resources, and support long-term financial sustainability.
- Develop compelling partnership proposals and sponsorship opportunities that clearly communicate the value of collaboration with ICGS.
- Negotiate partnership arrangements and maintain productive relationships with external stakeholders.
- Coordinate with internal colleagues to align partnership opportunities with membership priorities, professional learning programs, events, and communications initiatives.
- Monitor partnership performance and identify opportunities to strengthen existing relationships, increase engagement, and develop new sources of support.
- Explore foundation relationships and funding opportunities that align with ICGS’s mission and strategic objectives.
Professional Learning, Events & Program Engagement
The Director will play a key leadership role in planning and executing professional development programming, ensuring that programs advance ICGS’s strategic, membership, revenue, and visibility goals.
Responsibilities include:
- Lead the planning and execution of several regional events each year.
- Play a significant collaborative role in the biennial Global Forums and other professional learning programs.
- Lead or coordinate member engagement, sponsorships, partnerships, audience development, external positioning, and communications alignment for relevant events and programs.
- Partner with Regional Directors to develop and deliver professional learning programs that respond to regional needs while remaining aligned with global strategy and standards.
- Identify opportunities to strengthen participation, attract new audiences, and increase the value of ICGS programs for member schools.
- Integrate event planning and promotion with broader membership, marketing, partnership, and revenue objectives.
- Coordinate with internal teams and external partners to support effective program delivery and a positive participant experience.
- Assess event and program outcomes, identify lessons learned, and recommend improvements to strengthen future offerings.
Strategic Leadership, Collaboration & Organizational Alignment
The Director will bring an external, member-centered perspective to organizational strategy and decision-making, helping ensure that member insight informs program design and that offerings are effectively positioned and delivered.
Responsibilities include:
- Partner with the Global Executive Director, Senior Director of Research, Programs & Operations, and Regional Directors to align organizational priorities and strengthen cross-functional collaboration.
- Translate organizational strategy into annual priorities, work plans, budgets, and measurable outcomes.
- Align membership, communications, partnerships, events, and growth initiatives around shared goals and clearly defined responsibilities.
- Use member insights, market opportunities, organizational data, and stakeholder feedback to inform strategic decisions.
- Represent ICGS externally with credibility, cultural agility, warmth, professionalism, and sound judgment.
- Build and maintain productive relationships with school leaders, educational institutions, corporate partners, nonprofit organizations, foundations, and other stakeholders.
- Support the development of new approaches, systems, and processes that improve organizational effectiveness while preserving trusted relationships and continuity.
- Contribute to the ongoing evolution of ICGS’s strategy, programs, and external engagement as the organization grows.
People Leadership & Team Development
The Director will provide strategic leadership and guidance to the Communications & Member Experiences Manager while fostering collaboration and accountability across the broader organization.
Responsibilities include:
- Establish clear expectations, priorities, and performance goals for direct reports.
- Provide regular coaching, feedback, and professional development support.
- Empower the Communications & Member Experiences Manager to lead day-to-day communications, digital engagement, and member-experience delivery.
- Encourage collaboration, initiative, and shared ownership of organizational objectives.
- Align team resources and activities with strategic priorities and measurable outcomes.
- Foster an environment that supports innovation, continuous improvement, and effective cross-functional teamwork.
Qualifications and Personal Attributes
ICGS seeks a mission-driven, strategic, and entrepreneurial leader with the experience and interpersonal skills needed to strengthen global engagement, expand membership, develop partnerships, and advance the organization’s long-term growth.
The most competitive candidates are likely to demonstrate most or all of the following qualifications and attributes.
Professional Qualifications
Progressive Leadership Experience
- Demonstrated leadership experience in business development, advancement, membership, engagement, marketing, recruitment, or a related portfolio.
- A record of developing and executing integrated strategies that support organizational growth, strengthen engagement, and deliver measurable results.
- Experience translating organizational priorities into actionable plans, budgets, performance measures, and coordinated initiatives.
Membership Growth and Engagement
- A proven track record of growing and retaining a membership base, customer community, donor network, or comparable constituency through integrated strategy and disciplined execution.
- Experience developing recruitment, onboarding, engagement, renewal, retention, and reactivation strategies.
- The ability to understand member needs, articulate value propositions, and improve the overall member experience using data and stakeholder feedback.
Partnerships and Revenue Development
- Demonstrated success building partnerships, sponsorships, or foundation relationships that generate sustained value and revenue.
- Experience identifying opportunities, developing proposals, negotiating agreements, and cultivating long-term relationships with external stakeholders.
- The ability to connect partnership development with organizational visibility, strategic priorities, and financial sustainability.
Marketing and Communications
- Strong marketing and communications judgment across positioning, campaigns, content development, digital engagement, and brand standards.
- Experience developing integrated communications strategies that support audience development, engagement, recruitment, and organizational growth.
- The ability to communicate organizational value clearly and persuasively across different audiences, channels, and geographic regions.
Events and Professional Learning
- Experience leading in-person events, including managing timelines, budgets, venues, vendors, sponsorships, event schedules, and evaluation.
- The ability to coordinate complex events and programs while balancing audience engagement, financial considerations, partnerships, and organizational objectives.
- Experience collaborating with colleagues and external partners to deliver meaningful professional learning or community engagement opportunities.
People and Relationship Leadership
- Experience leading employees and external partners through clear expectations, coaching, collaboration, and accountability.
- Excellent writing, presentation, relationship-building, negotiation, and facilitation skills.
- The ability to build trust across countries, regions, identities, institutions, and professional communities.
- Demonstrated cultural agility and the ability to navigate diverse perspectives and organizational contexts.
Leadership Attributes
The successful candidate will embody the following qualities:
Member-Centered and Mission-Driven
- Demonstrates a strong commitment to ICGS’s mission and a deep appreciation for the distinctive contributions and transformative potential of girls’ schools.
- Approaches membership and external engagement with a strong instinct for service, relationship-building, and value creation.
- Understands the importance of creating meaningful, relevant, and lasting benefits for member schools.
Entrepreneurial and Growth-Oriented
- Demonstrates initiative, creativity, and a strong orientation toward organizational growth.
- Identifies opportunities, tests new approaches, and translates promising ideas into practical action and measurable results.
- Combines strategic thinking with disciplined execution and a willingness to take appropriate risks.
Persuasive and Relationship-Focused
- Communicates organizational value with clarity, confidence, and credibility.
- Builds strong relationships and makes compelling cases for participation, partnership, sponsorship, and investment.
- Can secure commitment without becoming overly transactional, balancing organizational goals with the needs and interests of stakeholders.
Adaptable and Resilient
- Responds effectively to changing organizational needs, emerging opportunities, and evolving priorities.
- Builds new systems and approaches while preserving trusted relationships, organizational knowledge, and continuity.
- Demonstrates flexibility, sound judgment, and the ability to navigate complexity in a growing global organization.
Collaborative and Accountable
- Works effectively across departments, regions, and professional disciplines.
- Establishes clear priorities and expectations while encouraging shared ownership and collaboration.
- Takes responsibility for outcomes, evaluates progress, and adjusts strategies to improve effectiveness.
Work Arrangement & Travel
ICGS employees work remotely. Candidates must have permission to work in the United States; however, the Director may work from any location in the world, subject to the organization’s work authorization requirements.
The position requires international and North American travel several times each year to support member engagement, professional learning programs, regional events, the biennial Global Forum, partnership development, and organizational collaboration.
Candidates should be comfortable working across geographic regions and time zones and building productive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders in a global, largely remote environment.
Compensation
The full-time equivalent salary for this position is approximately $150,000 USD annually.
The starting salary will be determined based on several factors, including years of relevant experience, education level, expertise, and other job-related qualifications.
How to Apply
ICGS has engaged Carney, Sandoe & Associates to support the search for its next Director of Global Engagement, Membership & Growth.
Interested and qualified candidates are encouraged to contact the search consultants confidentially. The search process will move quickly, so candidates are encouraged to submit their application materials as soon as possible.
Required Application Materials
Please submit the following documents as separate PDF files:
1. Cover Letter
A cover letter expressing your interest in the Director of Global Engagement, Membership & Growth position and outlining your relevant experience, leadership approach, and alignment with ICGS’s mission.
2. Current Résumé
A current résumé detailing your professional experience, leadership responsibilities, relevant accomplishments, and qualifications.
Additional Materials for Selected Candidates
Candidates selected to advance in the search process may be asked to provide:
- Writing samples relevant to the position and search.
- A list of five professional references, including each person’s name, relationship to the candidate, telephone number, and email address.
References will not be contacted without the candidate’s permission.
Search Consultants
Amy Rogers
Consultant
Email: amy.rogers@carneysandoe.com
Marsha Little
Senior Consultant, Vice President of Professional Learning and Strategy
Email: marsha.little@carneysandoe.com
Application materials and inquiries should be directed to the search consultants using the contact information above.
Equal Opportunity and Organizational Commitment
ICGS seeks a leader who values diverse perspectives, builds meaningful relationships across cultures and institutions, and contributes to an inclusive, collaborative, and mission-focused organizational environment.
The Director will play an important role in advancing ICGS’s global presence, strengthening its relationships with member schools and external partners, and ensuring that its programs, communications, and engagement strategies contribute to the continued growth and sustainability of the organization.
