San Francisco, CA

Program Director, Immigrant Rights, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund

The Organization

ABOUT THE EVELYN AND WALTER HAAS, JR. FUND

Sixty-six years ago, Evelyn and Walter A. Haas, Jr. started a family foundation as a way to give back to their community— the people of the San Francisco Bay Area. The founders were inspired by their vision of a society in which all people could live, work, and raise their families with dignity. Today, their children and grandchildren—Robert D. Haas, Betsy Haas Eisenhardt, Walter J. Haas, Elise K. Haas, Jesse Eisenhardt, and Walter A. Haas III—carry on the founders’ legacy by taking on contemporary issues rooted in a deep commitment to advancing rights and creating opportunities for all. The Haas, Jr. Fund has evolved from a locally-focused funder in the Bay Area to one that is recognized at the local, state, and national levels.

In all of its work, the Haas, Jr. Fund seeks to:

  • Demonstrate empathy. Compassion and empathy for others are key to the Haas, Jr. Fund’s work on issues ranging from alleviating homelessness to advancing rights and opportunities for gay and lesbian people, immigrants, and students in San Francisco’s public schools.
  • Respect people’s tremendous ability to create change. The Haas, Jr. Fund approaches its philanthropy with a deep belief in the power and the wisdom of people to shape solutions to the problems affecting them and their communities.
  • Affirm diversity and inclusion. Treating people fairly, equitably, and with dignity has been a distinguishing and longstanding value of the Haas family, dating back to the days when Walter A. Haas, Jr. and his brother, Peter Haas, led Levi Strauss & Co. to desegregate its plants in the South.
  • Make a deep and lasting difference. Over the years, the Haas, Jr. Fund evolved from supporting local direct services in the Bay Area to scaling and leading transformative efforts to level the playing field for people, families, and communities.
  • Nurture and sustain a love for the Bay Area. The Haas family’s philanthropy is motivated by their love and deep appreciation for the vitality and beauty of the Bay Area, its diverse people, and its rich culture.

Under the family’s leadership, the Haas, Jr. Fund leverages its partnerships and grantmaking to make a positive difference across these current priorities: Immigrant Rights; Gay and Lesbian Rights; Education Equity; Haas Leadership Initiatives; and community initiatives.

The Haas, Jr. Fund, located in downtown San Francisco, has a full-time staff of about 25 professionals and assets of approximately $460 million. It has awarded over $600 million in grants since its founding. For more information, visit us online at haasjr.org.

Position Overview

ABOUT THE POSITION

Key Duties and Responsibilities

The Program Director for Immigrant Rights leads the Haas, Jr. Fund’s efforts to secure equal rights and opportunities for immigrants, and ensure their ability to fully participate in the social, economic and civic life of our communities and to positively shape the future of California and the nation.

After years of groundbreaking immigration policy advancements in California, the changing political climate requires a leader who can work creatively to respond to challenges and capitalize on opportunities in close partnership with immigration movement leaders and other partners to advance inclusive values and policies. At this pivotal moment for immigrant rights, the Program Director will have an opportunity to build on the Haas, Jr. Fund’s past accomplishments, reputation and strengths to shape and implement a bold new vision for the program. This unique opportunity is suited for an ambitious leader who is willing to take risks, exhibits strategic agility, and thrives by continually learning from successes and setbacks.

The Program Director for Immigrant Rights reports to the Vice President of Programs and is responsible for:

Strategic Grantmaking and Partnership

  • Provide strategic partnership and support to the immigrant rights movement at both the state and national levels as thought leader, alliance builder, strategist and fundraiser.
  • Direct the development and implementation of the Fund’s Immigrant Rights priorities, identifying levers for impact, establishing goals and objectives, and directing grantmaking.
  • Play an influential role beyond grantmaking by providing grantee partners, movement leaders, foundation representatives and allies with strategic advising, resource connections and additional supports.
  • Collaborate with foundations and additional partners to develop initiatives, leverage resources, and engage in cross-movement efforts.
  • Prepare grant and strategy recommendations, and educate the Board of Directors, staff and other stakeholders on challenges and opportunities for advancing the immigrant rights movement.
  • Manage the immigration grants portfolio, including due diligence, financial reviews, site visits, compliance with applicable rules and regulations, and evaluation.
  • Supervise staff assigned to support and advance the Fund’s immigration program by providing ongoing direction, coaching, and professional development support.

Field Knowledge and External Relations

  • A high level of knowledge about current immigration policies, trends, and the immigration ecosystem.
  • Provide an active leadership role in fundraising and attracting other funders to the immigrant rights field.
  • Participate in the philanthropic sector and represent the Fund in public arenas and forums to advance the program strategy, including affinity groups and funder collaboratives.
  • Help deepen partnerships with public, nonprofit and other sectors and leaders to advance mutual goals.

Professional Qualifications and Personal Attributes

Experience and Perspective

  • Demonstrated track record of success moving a strategic policy or project initiative from vision to impact in partnership with community leaders.
  • Direct experience in immigrant movements and ability to advance social change agendas.
  • A deep understanding of the immigrant experience; appreciation of immigrants and their connections to other movements; and a track record of working with diverse immigrant and low-income communities, especially in California.
  • Ten years or more experience demonstrating progressively greater leadership responsibility and impact.
  • Solid understanding of philanthropy and the role of foundations in the nonprofit sector, with substantial experience working in a nonprofit or similar environment, ideally with grantmaking experience.

Essential Skills and Attributes

  • Embrace the Haas, Jr. Fund’s mission and values, and professionally represent the Haas family.
  • Excellent writing skills, including the ability to write clearly, succinctly, analytically, and persuasively in a jargon-free and inspiring way.
  • Strong research and analysis skills. Ability to identify levers for change within complex systems (“see the forest for the trees”) and operate at a high conceptual level.
  • Proficiency in maintaining high standards of integrity and confidentiality in all relationships with board members, staff, grantees, colleagues, grant applicants and other audiences.
  • Excellent public speaking skills and ability to engage different sectors and audiences such as board members, other foundations, public sector leaders, nonprofit and movement leaders, and immigrant communities.
  • Humility, with an emphasis on getting the work done and leading from behind rather than getting credit.
  • Exhibits significant cultural competence with awareness of the increasing complexities of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity and orientation.
  • Effective adapting to change, working flexibly and dealing with ambiguity.
  • Comfortable working in a generative space, contributing ideas and creativity.
  • Well organized with ability to multitask and move many projects forward simultaneously.

Additional Desirable Attributes 

  • A degree in a related field such as public policy, law, urban planning; or a commensurate level of experience.
  • Compassion, a sense of humor and joy, and a commitment to doing the highest quality work.
  • Creative and able to think about age old problems in new ways.
  • Able to be an effective team member, contribute to the effectiveness of colleagues, and positively contribute to organizational culture.
  • Fluency in a second language and experience living, studying, working or volunteering abroad.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience. The Haas, Jr. Fund offers an excellent benefits package including generous medical, dental, and vision plans; paid time off and other paid leave policies; a substantial employer contribution to pension; transit subsidy; and volunteer and matching grant support.

How To Apply

To apply, email a cover letter, resume, and list of three references (candidates will be notified in advance of any outreach to your references) to Derek Tynes, Director of Talent and Culture at Jobs@haasjr.org.

  • Use the subject line: Program Director, Immigrant Rights.
  • Submit Microsoft Word or PDF files only (one combined PDF file is preferred).
  • Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
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