Fully Remote

The Organization

Schott is a BIPOC-led public fund that pools philanthropic funding and fuels racial and education justice movements.

Position Overview

Department

Programs and Advocacy

Reports to

President and CEO

Location

Fully Remote

FLSA Status

Exempt

Benefits and Compensation

Schott Foundation offers a competitive benefits package that includes medical and dental coverage, FSA/HRA benefits, vacation and paid holidays, retirement plan with employer contributions after 18-months employment and other benefits. The starting salary is expected to be $165,000-$180,000 annually depending on experience.

Position Overview

The Senior Vice President of Programs and Advocacy leads all grantmaking and programmatic efforts of Schott, working closely with philanthropic partners, external stakeholders, and grantees to support and cultivate effective campaigns focused on building systems to provide all students an opportunity to learn. The SVP of Programs and Advocacy is a critical leader, visionary, and executive in the achievement of Schott’s goal of a best-in-class social justice philanthropic intermediary that is integrated and intersectional in its approach. The position is responsible for positioning Schott as a leading force for change in aligning philanthropic partners with grantees to effectively respond to national challenges with urgency and impact.

The SVP of Programs and Advocacy is a member of the Foundation’s Leadership Team and leads a team of directors, program officers, associates, and consultants, and works closely with the communications, development, and operations and finance teams.

Responsibilities

Programs and Advocacy Management and Policy Leadership (45%)

• Provide leadership to the Programs and Advocacy department by executing on the strategic direction and goals of the department and managing team members by establishing annual goals, providing mentorship, ensuring professional development, and conducting performance reviews. Provide programmatic guidance and support for fiscally sponsored projects.
• Manage day-to-day partnerships related to the Foundation’s stakeholders—which may include other foundations and philanthropic partners, policymakers, labor unions, educational institutions, grassroots organizations and others— to resource systemic campaigns and strategic institutions in targeted localities and states across the country.
• Serve as social justice policy thought leader and ensure the development of racial equity and racial justice in education policy materials, initiatives, briefings, and convenings in service and support of grantee partners and movement leaders.
• Manage and oversee the Programs and Advocacy budget, including supervising project-specific budgets and budgets more directly developed and managed by the Opportunity to Learn (OTL) Network Director.
• Partner with Schott Leadership Team to implement and refine organizational planning that supports the growth and development of a highly integrated organization that uses all its resources for impact.
• Promote a culture of collaboration, rigor, innovation, respect, and accountability with diversity, equity, and inclusion at the center. Hire, manage, guide, and inspire a program team that works within and across program priorities.

Grantmaking and Grantee Support (10%)

• Support the growth and maintenance of major philanthropic and advocacy partnerships by advocating for grassroots movement and capacity building in support of grantee partners and increased grantmaking capacity, convening and leading efforts to embed educational justice work into larger social justice movements, and engaging in policy roundtables and working groups focused on equity in public education and related movements.
• Lead the Foundation’s grantmaking efforts by directly managing the OTL Network Director who is responsible for the day-to-day grantmaking of the Foundation and actively cultivating philanthropic and other partners.
• Oversee the administration of grants awarded by the Schott Foundation to nonprofit partners, leveraging Schott resources and its role as a philanthropic intermediary to have a measurable impact, particularly related to increasing the power and impact of grassroots organizations and partners.

Development (20%)

• Work with the CEO and SVP of Advancement to strategically identify and cultivate new donors.
• Ensure coordination among donor outreach between various programs.
• Provide presentations to current and prospective donors as needed.
• Serve as an effective public spokesperson for Schott and raise the visibility of the organization’s work by presenting and writing in diverse forums.
• Build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with funder colleagues, grantees, and other key partners to seek opportunity to leverage Schott’s investments.

Grants Management and Evaluation (10%)

• Oversee a highly efficient and responsive grantmaking process using enhanced grants administration systems, tools, and processes to strengthen the quality and impact of the Foundation’s work, while bringing new efficiency to the work of staff and board and aligning impact with the Foundation’s strategic plan.
• Ensure a unified vision for program work and a complementary culture of evaluation and learning.
• Build innovative strategies and frameworks for evaluation of impact. Support and implement decisions about the appropriate type and depth of evaluation and learning at the Foundation, including assessing the capacity needs of the Foundation to achieve these aims in alignment with Schott’s culture and values.

Program Communications and External Relations (10%)

• Represent the Foundation to external constituencies and participate in high-level programming and discussions with partner organizations, policymakers, labor unions, educational institutions, and grassroots organizations and grantee partners. Support the development of strategic partnerships and collaborations that leverage and extend Schott’s impact.
• Work closely with the CEO and communications team to elevate the work of grantees and disseminate stories and lessons learned on the impact of program and grantmaking initiatives.
• Build on the Foundation’s identity as a thought leader in areas of programmatic focus as well as an innovator in social justice philanthropy.
• Participate in coalitions and develop relationships with allies and other organizations to further advocacy goals and serve as an effective advocate and responsible spokesperson for the Foundation.

Other Duties as Assigned (5%)

• Other duties as assigned by the President and CEO

Qualifications

• Significant work experience (10+ years) and credibility as a leader and expert working with social justice policy, movement building and/or philanthropy.
• Experience working in philanthropy and connections to other foundations focused on grantmaking with an emphasis on racial justice and/or educational justice.
• Deep passion for and commitment to the Foundation’s mission and a track record of driving impact on cross-cutting social justice issues and movement building. A natural disruptor and innovator with the ability to inspire, motivate, generate new ideas, and actualize change programmatically and operationally.
• Experience working in coalition(s), including developing shared plans, coordinating external and internal communications, and understanding internal political dynamics among partner groups.
• Experience with both grassroots organizing and grasstops engagement and deployment to mobilize activist networks at the state and/or national levels.
• Experience providing oversight for both 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) campaigns and strategies.
• Demonstrated success in the area of campaign management, organizing, and/or partnership development. Other social justice-related lobbying, targeted constituent outreach, voter persuasion and turnout, and messaging research experience is a plus.
• Outstanding organizational, programmatic, and financial management experience, including the ability to move work from concept to implementation and completion.
• Excellent analytic, writing, and strategic planning skills, and a demonstrated ability to manage multiple, often-conflicting deadlines and ensure timely delivery of high-quality work.
• Creativity, flexibility, sound judgment, and ability to take initiative and work independently.
• Effective interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to interact professionally with diverse staff, clients, and consultants across varied geographies. A team player who can add value to the Schott team beyond his/her/their area of expertise.
• Experience developing thoughtful, effective relationships and dialogue with senior leadership and board members.
• Experience managing organizational transition and development as well as program innovation and learning.
• A deep network in philanthropy and education is a plus, and a firm understanding of key public policy, research, and movement building efforts in the sector is required; accurate and current knowledge of trends, movements, and developing policy to inform emerging changemaking opportunities.
• Commitment to creating and reinforcing a transparent, accountable, and mutually respectful work environment.
• Willingness to travel frequently.
• A strong sense of passion, purpose, and sense of humor.
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree, law degree, or higher preferred.

Travel

The Schott Team currently operates virtually with staff located throughout the United States. This position requires regular travel to participate in various organizational meetings, attend conferences, and otherwise participate in job-related events. The employee is also expected to travel to staff retreats and board meetings up to six times a year.

Physical Demands and Work Environment Factors

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will sit for long periods of time and may use repetitive wrist and hand motions involved in typing and computer work as well as in sorting and handling documents. The employee is regularly required to reach, with hands and arms, and engage in light work that includes moving objects up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and color vision as the employee will have close visual contact with a computer monitor daily.

Equal employment opportunity and having a diverse staff are fundamental principles at Schott, where employment and promotional opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/ preference, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established under law.

How to apply:

• Submit a cover letter and detailed resume to jobs@schottfoundation.org. Materials must be attached in one combined PDF including both the cover letter and resume.
• Your cover letter should speak to your current relationships within philanthropy, your understanding of the funding needs of grassroots organizations focused on education justice, racial justice, or both, and your leadership style.
• The subject line of your electronic submission must read “SVP of Programs”.

The recruitment is open until filled; however, the priority deadline for applications is Wednesday, November 30, 2022.