Manager, External Affairs

Code2College is scaling post-secondary opportunity, access and success to high school
students regardless of their zip codes. Our program model leverages paid, technical work
experience for our high school students as the primary leverage point for economic mobility and generational joy. And now, we’re looking to hire a Manager, External Affairs to support our mission.

This position is based in a home office in the state of Texas. Travel is required to and within the Austin Metropolitan area and to other cities up to 50% of the time, including some evenings and weekends for events.

OVERVIEW
As the Manager, External Affairs, you will be responsible for overseeing and executing a national events strategy and managing relationships with city and government stakeholders to expand the reach and impact of Code2College. You will lead the design and implementation of experiences that build the Code2College brand and create new opportunities for student engagement and programming, including through Summer Youth Employment Programs.

In this role, you will drive external engagement across regions, ensuring strategic alignment with city partners, civic organizations, and local leaders. You will be instrumental in expanding the Code2College footprint by cultivating relationships that unlock public partnerships and funding streams, while delivering a high-quality, mission-aligned experience through all external touchpoints.

Additionally, within the first 12 months, the Manager, External Affairs will:

Identify and secure city and government partnerships, including formalizing agreements with at least two municipalities to support Summer Youth Employment Program placements for Summer 2026.

Develop and implement a comprehensive external affairs strategy across events, city
partnerships, and brand-building initiatives.

Lead the end-to-end planning and execution of large-scale, high-impact national and
regional events—ensuring operational excellence and alignment with organizational
goals.

Build and manage an annual calendar of external events, conferences, and opportunities for Code2College engagement; proactively identify and act on alignment opportunities.

Serve as the primary relationship manager with city offices (e.g. Mayor’s Offices), civic organizations, and public sector entities, articulating the Code2College value proposition and securing support.

Oversee all aspects of external-facing events, including logistics, messaging, speaker
prep, and partner management, with an emphasis on elevating the brand experience.

Collaborate cross-functionally with internal teams to ensure external affairs initiatives are tightly coordinated with programming, partnerships, and communications.

Travel up to 40% of the time to represent Code2College and lead event execution and
stakeholder engagement efforts in key cities.

Other duties as assigned.

WHAT YOU BRING
We are looking for an exceptional leader who thrives at the intersection of event strategy, public partnerships, and external engagement. You are creative, politically savvy, deeply
mission-aligned, and passionate about designing experiences and partnerships that unlock
opportunities for students from underserved backgrounds.

You bring a proven track record of delivering high-quality events and managing complex,
cross-sector relationships. You have a deep understanding of how to cultivate trust with city leaders, design scalable engagement strategies, and activate stakeholders around a shared mission.

You are a thoughtful communicator and a master organizer who brings energy, intentionality, and follow-through to every detail. You know how to execute with excellence—and you’re ready to build something bigger than yourself.

Additionally:

You are highly organized and have led complex event planning efforts from ideation
through execution.

You have experience working with public sector or government entities, ideally in roles
that required relationship development or cross-agency coordination.

You are an excellent communicator—written, verbal, and visual—with a talent for
storytelling and persuasion.

You have a clear sense of ownership. You take initiative, anticipate needs, and don’t wait to be told what to do.

You can manage ambiguity and pivot strategically in response to changing priorities or
external factors.

You thrive in a high-accountability, outcomes-oriented environment and are energized by big goals.

You care deeply about diversity, equity, and inclusion and are committed to serving
historically marginalized communities.

IDEAL CANDIDATES WILL HAVE:

2+ years of experience in event strategy, external affairs, civic engagement, or public
partnerships.

Demonstrated experience managing large-scale events and/or external-facing initiatives with multiple stakeholders

Experience building and managing relationships with city and municipal leaders, ideally within the youth, education, or workforce space

Comfort with public speaking, presenting, and representing an organization externally

Excellent organizational, planning, and project management skills

High level of cultural competence and commitment to working with underrepresented
communities

Flexibility to travel frequently and support events during evenings and weekends

Passion to work at an organization that is minority-led and focused on serving
underrepresented minorities

Spanish language proficiency is a plus

Authorization to work in the United States required

WHAT WE OFFER
Code2College offers a competitive salary for this role. The salary range for this role is $55,000 – 75,000. Typically, new hires are brought into the organization at a salary between the range minimum and midpoint, depending on qualifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package for all full-time employees, including medical,
dental, and vision plans. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to join on the ground floor and be part of the founding team that charts a path forward for organizational growth and success. As a founding team member, you will have tremendous growth potential with the organization.

HOW TO APPLY
Please submit your resume, tailored cover letter, and salary requirements through our online
application. We recommend including a cover letter that addresses your interest in the
Code2College mission and your fit for this opportunity. We also encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible as we are reviewing applications on a rolling basis.

ABOUT CODE2COLLEGE
Code2College is a growing non-profit organization based in Austin, TX with a mission to
dramatically increase the number of minority and low-income high school students who enter and excel in STEM undergraduate majors and careers. These students often lack access to some of the most in-demand careers and technical industries. Further, the absence of opportunity to explore these areas through exposure to industry professionals, technical skills development, and at-bats to practically apply these skills has led to the dearth of diverse technical talent that we see today. We believe that through our approach to education, exposure, and experience, we can enhance student preparation for rigorous, technical careers and mitigate some of the key factors around STEM attrition. Code2College has served over 5,000 students since 2016 and we plan to have served over 10,000 students by 2030.

Code2College is an equal opportunity employer and an organization that values diversity.
Code2College is committed to maintaining a non-discriminatory work environment and we do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or any other personal characteristic protected by applicable law.