Careers @ EA
Many students come to Eastside Academy because they have not found meaning, value, or success in a traditional school. They are not seeking a school that simply repackages traditional instruction with fewer students in the room. They hope for a different approach to learning that EA offers.
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Teaching Intern
Teaching Internship
Job Summary:
The Teacher Intern will assist and support the classroom teacher in various educational activities. The intern will gain hands-on experience in lesson planning, classroom management, and student engagement, contributing to the overall development and success of the students. This internship provides an opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge in a real-world classroom setting. This internship will take place during the work week and a minimum of four hours a day in the afternoons.
Key Responsibilities:
- Classroom Assistance: Support the teacher in managing the classroom environment and maintaining student discipline.
- Lesson Preparation: Assist in preparing teaching materials, handouts, and other educational resources.
- Student Engagement: Lead small groups or individual students during class activities, providing academic support and encouragement.
- Observations: Observe the teacher’s methods, classroom dynamics, and student interactions to learn effective teaching strategies.
- Grading and Assessments: Help with grading assignments, quizzes, and other assessments under the teacher’s guidance.
- Classroom Management: Assist in maintaining a positive learning environment by helping with classroom routines, transitions, and organization.
- Communication: Meet with teacher mentor once a week to discuss student progress, goals, and assignments.
Qualifications:
- Currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a teacher education program (e.g., Bachelor’s or Master’s in Education).
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- A genuine interest in working with students and supporting their educational growth.
- Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team.
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Knowledge of classroom management techniques (preferred).
- Ability to adapt to changing classroom environments.
Learning Outcomes:
- Gain practical experience in lesson planning, classroom management, and student support.
- Develop skills in educational technology and teaching strategies.
- Enhance understanding of the educational system and school operations.
- Build professional connections in the education field.
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Director of Development
About Eastside Academy
Description
Director of Development
Location: Bellevue, Washington
Reports to: Executive Director
Status: Full-time, exempt
Salary: $90,000 – $120,000
Because belief requires backing
Eastside Academy believes deeply in the potential of every student. Sustaining that mission requires trusted relationships, generous partners, and a disciplined fundraising program capable of turning generosity into lasting impact.We are seeking a Director of Development to lead that work.At Eastside Academy, fundraising begins with gratitude. We believe generosity grows through authentic relationships and meaningful connections to students, our mission, and the impact donors make possible.The Director of Development will lead the Advancement Team, own EA’s day-to-day fundraising performance, steward significant donor relationships, and build the systems and team capacity needed for long-term financial sustainability.This is a role for a relationally intelligent and results-oriented leader who can balance people and performance—someone who builds trust naturally and brings the focus, persistence, and organizational discipline required to move fundraising opportunities into meaningful philanthropic partnerships.
About Eastside Academy
Eastside Academy is a nonprofit alternative high school and support program in Bellevue, Washington. Our mission is to inspire change in the lives of youth through high school education, counseling, recovery, housing, and life skills in a Christ-centered environment.Our students often come to Eastside Academy after not finding meaning, value, or success in traditional school settings. We walk alongside students and families through an integrated model of education, mental health care, and relational support that helps young people rediscover hope, purpose, and the possibility of a different future.
What winning looks like
The Director of Development builds a fundraising function that generates strong revenue, deepens donor trust, develops capable people, and becomes increasingly disciplined and sustainable over time.Success means:
- Fundraising performance is strong, increasingly predictable, and supported by a healthy pipeline.
- Significant donors experience authentic partnership, thoughtful stewardship, and meaningful opportunities to deepen their investment in EA.
- Fundraising plans, portfolios, forecasts, data, calendars, and operating rhythms provide clarity and continuity.
- Advancement staff understand what they own, execute their responsibilities well, and grow in capability and autonomy.
- Donors consistently experience gratitude, responsiveness, trust, and a meaningful connection to the impact of their generosity.
- EA develops both the resources needed today and the Advancement capacity required for its future.
What you will lead
Fundraising Strategy + Performance
Develop and lead EA’s annual fundraising plan, own philanthropic revenue goals, and maintain reliable visibility into revenue performance, forecasts, and pipeline health. Establish clear strategies and activity expectations for the Advancement Team, identify opportunities to strengthen and diversify revenue, and respond early to emerging risks and opportunities.
Major Donor Development + Stewardship
Manage an assigned portfolio of significant donors and prospects. Develop thoughtful cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies; conduct meaningful donor conversations; maintain clear next steps; and ensure consistent follow-through. Partner with the Executive Director on transformational relationships and significant solicitations.
Advancement Systems + Operations
Build the systems, rhythms, information, and accountability that allow Advancement to operate as a coordinated and sustainable function. Maintain the annual fundraising calendar, donor portfolios, forecasts, relationship information, performance measures, and cross-functional Advancement projects. Strengthen processes so fundraising effectiveness does not depend on individual staff knowledge.
Team Leadership + Development
Lead, coach, and develop the Advancement Team. Establish clear priorities, responsibilities, expectations, and decision ownership. Create consistent rhythms for individual coaching, team accountability, performance, and professional development. Monitor team capacity, remove barriers, and increasingly delegate meaningful ownership.
Donor Experience + Organizational Stewardship
Champion EA’s gratitude-first approach to fundraising. Ensure gifts are acknowledged promptly, stewardship is consistent, and donors receive meaningful communication about student and organizational impact. Partner across EA to translate our work into compelling and authentic donor communication that strengthens trust and long-term partnership.
Leadership and decision-making
The Director of Development owns the day-to-day leadership, execution, and performance of Eastside Academy’s Development function.The Director has authority to:
- Establish and execute annual fundraising plans, priorities, and team rhythms within EA’s approved strategy and budget.
- Assign donor portfolios, fundraising responsibilities, and Advancement Team ownership.
- Determine cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for assigned relationships.
- Establish Advancement workflows, reporting rhythms, performance expectations, and operating practices.
- Direct and evaluate assigned staff and adjust priorities based on performance and capacity.
- Coordinate fundraising campaigns, appeals, donor communications, and stewardship efforts.
The Director partners closely with the Executive Director on fundraising strategy, transformational donor relationships, major solicitations, organizational priorities, and the health of the Advancement Team. Decisions with significant financial, staffing, strategic, or reputational implications are made with or escalated to the Executive Director.
What you bring
We care less about whether your experience follows a particular timeline and more about what you have successfully led, built, and achieved.The strongest candidates will demonstrate:
- Fundraising Leadership: You have developed and implemented fundraising strategies that generated meaningful philanthropic revenue.
- Major Donor Development: You can cultivate authentic relationships, understand donor interests, make clear invitations, and steward partnerships over time.
- Ownership + Results: You accept responsibility for fundraising performance, act without waiting to be directed, and adjust your approach when results or evidence require it.
- Tenacity: You follow relationships and opportunities consistently without becoming transactional or losing sight of the person behind the gift.
- Organizational Discipline: You establish clear plans, maintain accurate information, follow through, and keep complex fundraising work moving.
- People Leadership: You create clarity, coach effectively, establish accountability, delegate meaningful ownership, and develop the capability of others.
- Strategic Judgment: You connect daily fundraising activity to broader revenue needs, organizational priorities, donor relationships, and long-term sustainability.
- Communication: You can translate EA’s mission, student impact, organizational needs, and future direction into compelling and authentic donor communication.
- Emotional Maturity: You remain grounded amid rejection, uncertainty, financial pressure, and difficult conversations.
- Integrity + Discretion: You handle donor relationships, financial information, student stories, and organizational matters with exceptional care and trustworthiness.
- Mission Alignment: You understand and communicate Eastside Academy’s mission with authenticity and conviction and align with EA’s values, relational commitments, and Christ-centered identity.
Relevant experience may come from nonprofit development, major gifts, institutional advancement, philanthropic partnerships, donor relations, or another setting requiring both relationship development and revenue accountability.Experience leading an Advancement team, managing a major-donor portfolio, using donor-management systems, partnering with executive or Board leadership, or fundraising in a school or youth-serving organization would be especially valuable.You do not need to meet every preferred qualification to apply. If you can demonstrate that you have built trusted donor relationships, led people and systems, and produced meaningful fundraising results, we would like to hear from you.
Compensation and benefits
Salary: [Insert salary range], depending on relevant experience, demonstrated capability, and qualifications.Eastside Academy offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:
- EA-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees
- A flexible spending account
- An employer-sponsored 403(b) retirement plan
- EA-paid life insurance
- Two weeks of paid time off
- Paid holidays and school breaks
- Sick and safe time, along with additional leave benefits
- Professional-development support
- An Employee Assistance Program
Eligibility requirements and the terms of the applicable benefit plans govern coverage.
How to apply
Please submit a résumé and cover letter.In your cover letter, tell us what draws you to Eastside Academy’s mission and how your experience has prepared you to build trusted donor relationships, lead a Development team, and create a sustainable fundraising program. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
Salary
$90,000 – $120,000 per year
Director of Operations
Eastside Academy is creating a Director of Operations role for the first time as a deliberate investment in our organizational capacity and future. Until now, many of these responsibilities have been carried by the Executive Director alongside broader executive leadership responsibilities. This new role brings them together under a dedicated leader who can strengthen the systems, people, and infrastructure supporting the entire organization. The Director will join organizational leadership, lead an existing Operations Team, and build an operating environment in which people have the clarity, information, and support they need to do their best work.
About Eastside Academy
Description
Director of Operations
Location: Bellevue, Washington
Reports to: Executive Director
Status: Full-time, exempt
Salary: $100,000–$115,000 annually
Build the systems that allow a mission to flourish
Eastside Academy is creating a Director of Operations role for the first time as a deliberate investment in our organizational capacity and future.
Until now, many of these responsibilities have been carried by the Executive Director alongside broader executive leadership responsibilities. This new role brings them together under a dedicated leader who can strengthen the systems, people, and infrastructure supporting the entire organization.
The Director will join organizational leadership, lead an existing Operations Team, and build an operating environment in which people have the clarity, information, and support they need to do their best work.
About Eastside Academy
Eastside Academy is a nonprofit alternative high school and support program in Bellevue, Washington. Our mission is to inspire change in the lives of youth through high school education, counseling, recovery, housing, and life skills in a Christ-centered environment.
Our students often come to Eastside Academy after not finding meaning, value, or success in traditional school settings. We walk alongside students and families through an integrated model of education, mental health care, and relational support that helps young people rediscover hope, purpose, and the possibility of a different future.
What winning looks like
The Director of Operations creates an organization in which the systems supporting the mission are dependable, visible, appropriately owned, and increasingly proactive. Staff spend less energy navigating operational friction, leaders have trustworthy information, risks are addressed early, and organizational growth does not require proportional increases in complexity.Success means that:- Facilities, technology, vendors, and administrative systems function reliably.
- Financial processes are accurate, timely, and well controlled.
- Employees experience clear and dependable people systems.
- Risks, compliance requirements, and recurring deadlines are addressed proactively.
- The Operations Team demonstrates increasing ownership and effectiveness.
- Routine operational matters no longer require the Executive Director’s involvement.
- EA’s systems become more scalable and less dependent on individual staff knowledge.
What you will lead
Organizational Operations + Infrastructure
Build and improve organization-wide workflows, calendars, facilities, technology, purchasing, vendor relationships, and administrative systems. Clarify ownership, coordinate cross-functional handoffs, remove operational friction, and lead Operations-owned logistics for major organizational events and transitions.Financial Operations + Stewardship
Lead the Office Manager + Financial Administrator and oversee reliable financial-administration systems. Partner with external accounting professionals, strengthen internal controls, monitor spending, support budgeting and forecasting, and provide leaders with trustworthy financial information for decision-making.People Operations + Organizational Support
Coordinate HR administration, onboarding, offboarding, benefits, personnel documentation, required training, policies, and recurring employment processes. Build dependable systems that support employees and supervisors while department leaders retain authority for hiring, supervision, performance management, and personnel decisions within their teams.Risk, Compliance, + Organizational Readiness
Maintain organization-wide compliance calendars, documentation, renewals, records, safety planning, and emergency-readiness systems. Coordinate timelines and approvals across departments while functional leaders retain responsibility for the accuracy and submission of reporting from their areas.Operations Team Leadership + Organizational Capacity
Lead, coach, and develop the Office Manager + Financial Administrator and Manager of Community Engagement. Establish clear priorities, decision rights, accountability, and sustainable workloads. Strengthen the systems supporting volunteers, mentors, community partnerships, family-resource navigation, and community-resource mobilization.Executive leverage and organizational execution
Across these five areas, the Director translates established leadership decisions into clear ownership, timelines, systems, and follow-through. The Director maintains visibility into cross-functional commitments, prepares operational information for decisions, and helps organizational priorities move from decision to completion.The Director has meaningful authority over Operations-owned systems and day-to-day operational decisions within approved strategy, policy, and budget.Functional leaders retain responsibility for Education, Counseling, fundraising strategy, organizational culture, program outcomes, and supervision of their teams. Cross-functional coordination does not transfer those responsibilities to Operations, and the Director is not the default owner of work simply because it is unclear or spans departments.What you bring
We care less about whether your experience follows a particular timeline and more about what you have successfully led, built, and implemented.
The strongest candidates will demonstrate:
- Implementation + Follow-Through: You turn decisions into action, establish clear plans and ownership, close loops, and remain engaged until a system is implemented, adopted, and working reliably.
- Tenacity: You persist through ambiguity, resistance, competing priorities, and the less-visible details required to finish important work. You do not confuse a good idea or documented plan with a completed result.
- Systems Building: You have designed or improved organizational systems, workflows, documentation, decision rights, and recurring operating rhythms.
- AI Proficiency: Demonstrated ability to use modern AI tools and build task-specific AI agents or AI-enabled workflows that improve efficiency, information access, analysis, and follow-through, with sound judgment regarding data privacy, security, accuracy, and human oversight.
- Operational Breadth: You have held meaningful responsibility across several operational areas, such as finance, people operations, technology, facilities, vendors, compliance, administration, or organizational risk.
- People Leadership: You have directly led and developed staff, established accountability, delegated meaningful responsibility, and helped others grow in ownership.
- Financial Stewardship: You are comfortable working with budgets, financial reports, internal controls, payroll-related processes, forecasting, and accounting professionals.
- Project Leadership: You can move complex work from ambiguity to clear ownership, milestones, implementation, and completion.
- Operational Judgment: You can distinguish what requires immediate attention, what can wait, what should be delegated, and what requires executive involvement.
- Change Stewardship: You introduce new systems with attention to communication, trust, adoption, and organizational readiness.
- Collaborative Leadership: You work effectively across functions while respecting the authority and expertise of other leaders.
- Integrity + Discretion: You handle sensitive financial, personnel, student, and organizational information with sound judgment and care.
- Mission Alignment: You align with Eastside Academy’s mission, values, relational commitments, and Christ-centered identity.
Relevant experience may come from nonprofit operations, school administration, business operations, people operations, finance, human services, or another environment requiring leadership across multiple organizational functions. Experience in a small-to-midsize organization, especially during growth or organizational change, would be particularly valuable.
You do not need to have held the title “Director of Operations” or meet every preferred qualification to apply. If you can demonstrate that you have built systems, led people, exercised sound operational judgment, and carried important work through implementation, we would like to hear from you.
Compensation and benefits
Salary: $100,000–$115,000 annually, depending on relevant experience, demonstrated capability, and qualifications.
Eastside Academy offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:
- EA-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees
- A flexible spending account (FSA)
- An employer-sponsored 403(b) retirement plan
- EA-paid life insurance
- Two weeks of paid time off (PTO)
- Paid holidays and school breaks
- Sick and safe time, along with additional leave benefits
- Professional-development support
- An Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Eligibility requirements and the terms of the applicable benefit plans govern coverage.
How to apply
Please submit a résumé and cover letter through the link.
In your cover letter, tell us what draws you to Eastside Academy’s mission and how your experience has prepared you to build systems that help people and programs do their best work.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
Salary
$100,000 – $115,000 per year
