The Organization
Rose Community Foundation is seeking an experienced, innovative and collaborative individual to lead our community impact team (formerly known as the programs team) at a pivotal and exciting moment of organizational evolution.
ABOUT ROSE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Rose Community Foundation strives to advance inclusive, engaged and equitable Greater Denver communities through values-driven philanthropy. The Foundation envisions a thriving region strengthened by its diversity and generosity, and it utilizes the varied tools at its disposal – grantmaking, advocacy and philanthropic services – to advance this aspiration.
Since its founding in 1995, Rose Community Foundation has granted more than $336 million to nearly 2,000 nonprofit organizations and initiatives in the seven-county Greater Denver area. The Foundation has $365 million in total assets under management, with annual grantmaking and distributions of nearly $20 million – roughly $10 million of which are the Foundation’s annual discretionary grantmaking dollars. The Vice President of Community Impact leads the community impact team, which focuses on strategic deployment of those $10 million in discretionary grantmaking dollars as well as the other tools and mechanisms at our disposal to help drive strategic impact.
The Vice President of Community Impact will work closely with the community impact team, data/grant operations team, President and CEO, and other members of the leadership team, to develop and implement integrated grantmaking and community impact strategies that – per our 2020 strategic plan – advance equity and justice, inclusion and engagement, and grow resources devoted to mission-aligned regional good. In pursuit of these goals, we remain committed to funding across a broad and holistic range of issues and opportunities facing the Greater Denver region (i.e., civic participation, ECE-20 education, economic opportunity, environment, health, housing, immigration, transportation, arts and culture, etc.) while also maintaining our specific commitment to funding in our local Jewish community.
Position Overview
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND ATTRIBUTES
The ideal candidate will have a passion for mission-oriented community work, a growth mindset and a love of learning. Open-minded, innovative, collaborative, entrepreneurial and willing to take risks, the Vice President of Community Impact must be an advocate, strategist and an executor – able to translate vision into implementation, solve problems, effectively lead a team, balance competing priorities, and be flexible and comfortable with the uncertainty and opportunity that is inherent in organizational evolution. A relationship builder at heart, self-awareness, empathy, humility, humor and strong interpersonal skills are key. The Vice President of Community Impact will value consensus while still being a decisive leader – capable of giving, receiving and utilizing feedback from internal and external sources. Both a leader and an active, hands-on team member, a successful candidate will embrace an organizational culture in which all team members – including leadership – are execution-focused. Additionally, the ideal candidate will find personal alignment with the Foundation’s values and culture, ensuring that they and the community impact team contribute to a positive work environment.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The ideal candidate will be a thinker, planner and a doer. The primary responsibilities of this role focus in the following three areas: team management and leadership, community relationships and learning and evaluation.
Team Management and Leadership
· Lead inclusive, collaborative and efficient internal processes around operationalization and implementation of our new strategic plan, including new approaches to grantmaking, process/systems improvement, and partnering with the Foundation’s Director of Data and Operations on usage of data, metrics and evaluation.
· Manage, coach, mentor and inspire a high-performing team through a period of change as we develop and transition to new grantmaking frameworks, approaches and organizational constructs, ensuring access to appropriate professional development, learning and growth opportunities.
· Ensure smooth transition from long-standing grantmaking committee structures to new ones that align with the strategic plan, maintaining continued focus on optimizing committee composition, roles, engagement and experience.
· Oversee diverse array of grantmaking, including capacity-building, program support and program-related investments, ensuring there is cohesion and alignment within the portfolio, with policy/advocacy grantmaking as well as with organizational values and impact goals.
· Provide leadership in cross-department communication, coordination and cohesiveness, identifying synergies and collaborative opportunities between departments and organizational functions, including the engagement of donor-advised funds in aligned giving opportunities. (To date, the Foundation’s donor-advised funds have granted nearly $50 million to nonprofit organizations of their choosing around the state, country and world).
· Deliver consistently high-quality staff performance management, budgeting, financial and administrative management, grantmaking operations and other systems to achieve program goals.
Community Relationships
· Internally and externally model our transition from a “knowing organization” to a “learning organization,” focused on asking the right questions and lifting up the expertise of our nonprofit and community partners.
· Develop strategies for strengthening and growing our community relationships, including respectful entry into communities, issues and organizations that may be less familiar to us currently.
· Maintain active and broad external engagement to ensure awareness of local community needs and opportunities, as well as a broad understanding of trends and needs in the regional and national philanthropic ecosystem.
· Build and maintain relationships with relevant peers in local philanthropy, government, nonprofit sector and business community that may lead to collaborations and partnerships to leverage our resources and increase our impact.
· Lead team in expanding and leveraging national funder relationships to bring more dollars to the Greater Denver region in alignment with our goals, strategies and areas of focus.
· In close cooperation with the Philanthropic Services team, support revenue-generating activities and efforts to deliver content-rich donor education and engagement strategies.
· Represent Rose Community Foundation in coalitions and collaborations in pursuit of the Foundation’s goals.
Learning and Evaluation
· Drive the Foundation’s learning culture by leading efforts to maintain high levels of quantitative and qualitative awareness of the issues, challenges and opportunities facing Greater Denver – ensuring that grantee expertise and community experience is sought out and incorporated into our work.
· Partner with Director of Data and Operations to create flexible, right-sized systems by which we use data and metrics to both inform our strategies and evaluate the impact of our work, partnering with the Public Affairs team in communicating results to the Foundation’s internal and external stakeholders.
· Develop and utilize grantee feedback loops to continuously improve grantmaking processes.
· Collaborate with Public Affairs team in identifying potential upstream levers related to community needs, helping to ensure that our policy and advocacy investments support systemic change and our community grantmaking.
SUPERVISOR RELATIONSHIP
The Vice President of Community Impact reports to the President and CEO, serves on the Foundation’s leadership team, and leads a team of up to five direct reports. In addition to staff, the position will interact with committee members, board members, donors and external partners.
QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
Required:
· Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional and life experience.
· At least 10 years of professional experience, including at least five years in the social sector (nonprofit, government, corporate philanthropy, community organizing and/or foundations) at a senior leadership level with responsibility for building and sustaining organizational capacity.
· Knowledge of the philanthropic field and various models of foundations work, including relationships with (or knowledge of) regional and national funders who may be aligned funding prospects.
· Proven experience in strategic planning; operationalizing values, vision and strategies to achieve priorities and goals; change management; and budget management.
· Proven track record in managing and developing a staff team: attracting, retaining and growing talent through performance reviews, professional development, team-building activities, goal setting, accountability and growth opportunities.
· Experience successfully vetting, hiring and managing consultants, serving as an active and engaged client.
· Strong public speaking and written communication skills, including giving presentations and writing and editing reports, summary memoranda, correspondence, etc.
· Technologically adept – comfort, familiarity and/or ability to learn and utilize a variety of computer applications (i.e.: Microsoft Office, internet research) as well as project management, human resources and grants management/CRM systems.
· Proven track record of building trusting relationships and working effectively across different settings, communities and issues – with people of diverse backgrounds, perspectives and cultures.
· An understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) principles and practices and a commitment to incorporating them into internal and external work.
· Commitment to the Foundation’s core values and culture.
Preferred:
· Experience with a diverse range of grantmaking processes, approaches, tools and tactics – including Program-Related Investments (PRIs) – on the funder and/or grantee side.
· Fluency with data and evaluation, including the development and utilization of metrics to assess social impact and return on investment.
· Demonstrated ability to design and evolve systems, processes and organizational structures to optimize alignment, integration, efficiency and effectiveness.
· Experience managing annual budgets of $5+ million.
· Community engagement experience.
· Experience with, or understanding of, policy and advocacy work.
· Experience with internal and external feedback loops for process, system and cultural improvement.
· Knowledge of the Greater Denver community, including strengths, challenges, trends and the regional philanthropic sector.
· Advanced degree or certifications in a relevant area of study.
SALARY & BENEFITS
This full-time, exempt position’s hiring range is $110,000 – $170,000. Offered salary is commensurate with internal equity, internal salary ranges, sector benchmarks, and candidate’s relevant qualifications, experience and skills. Rose Community Foundation offers a competitive benefits package including employer-supported health, dental, vision, and life insurance; short- and long-term disability coverage, a 403(b)-retirement plan (including an annual employer contribution after one year of employment), flexible spending account (FSA) options, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), generous paid time off including holidays, professional development opportunities, and a matching gift program.
WORKPLACE
Brand-new office with a collaborative environment located in an updated building with a café, gym, secure indoor bike parking, covered employee parking and convenient access to parks and trails. As a health and safety precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rose Community Foundation’s physical office was closed until June 2021 at which time we returned to full-time in-person work at the office. With the recent increase in Delta variant cases, we have expanded remote work options and flexibility for all staff and expect it will remain as such when this position is filled. The Foundation expects all team members to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and we will eventually return to full-time, in-office and in-community work.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION
Rose Community Foundation believes in the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The Foundation is committed to equal employment opportunities and prohibits the unlawful discrimination against applicants or employees based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, creed, religion, sex, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.
How To Apply
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and the posting will remain open until the position is filled; however, prioritization will be given to applications received by Sunday, November 28, 2021. Please submit your application, including a resume and cover letter, here. Please upload your cover letter under “Other Documents.” No phone calls or additional email messages please.