Impact Officer – Education

Impact Officer - Education

• Compassion with Courage. We will be bold in pursuing our commitment to the people and communities of Western North Carolina by taking smart risks and investing in opportunities for profound impact.
• Sustainability with Integrity. We will bring transparency and humility in stewarding resources to support and strengthen Western North Carolina for generations to come.
• Partnering with Purpose. We will foster collective impact by promoting collaboration and advancing shared learning.

In alignment with our vision to create an impact in employment, priority will be given to applicants who live in and/or have deep connection to Dogwood's home in Western North Carolina. SUMMARY The Impact Officer for Education will foster and maintain relationships with communities, nonprofits, and other partners to advance Dogwood's evolving grantmaking and Impact investment strategies. The Impact Officer will lead a team that implements the initiatives that meet Dogwood's strategic goals in the region. They will be passionate about equitable education outcomes for the region's youngest citizens, birth through adolescence. The Impact Officer for Education will have a track record of measurable results, growth, and financial strength; and be flexible, adaptive, and energized in a start-up environment. Reporting to the VP of Education, the Impact Officer will be responsible for supporting new ideas and partnerships, partnering with the team and strategy groups on refining strategic goals, and implementing measurable, impactful results. OUTCOMES What you will do:

INITIATIVE LEADERSHIP & STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

• In collaboration with impact team VPs and Senior Impact Officers, contribute to the development and execution of effective grantmaking and impact investment strategies for initiative(s)
• Translate our education impact goals into objectives, design, and metrics, with a focus on continually evaluating and improving tactics.
• Implement the priorities for an assigned grantmaking area through a combination of grantmaking and community engagement.
• Identify and disseminate emerging trends in the sector, relevant case studies, and other topics of interest related to our work.
• Consult and coordinate with colleagues in exploring new grantmaking and investment opportunities.
• Identify organizations with strong potential for partnership; conduct due diligence and recommend grantee partners with effective track records, internal capacity, and strategic skills.
• Participate regularly as a key impact team member in Board, Board committee, and staff meetings to provide open communication about our initiative strategies and efforts.

EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

• Build and enhance relationships with community leaders, organizational leaders, and funding partners across the state.
• Serve as a primary partner and point of contact for grantees and other collaborators in your initiative area.
• Articulate Dogwood's purpose, values, and programs with external stakeholders, leveraging a partnership with the Sr. Director of Communications to tell effective stories.
• Anticipate, analyze, and quantify community needs and proactively seek opportunities that leverage existing community strengths and assets.
• Represent Dogwood to a diverse array of partners including grantees, community leaders, business leaders, government officials, affinity groups, and collaborators in the region.
• Educate community and statewide leaders about Dogwood's purpose, programs, and goals.
• As appropriate, convene grantees and others in the field of education to advance collective action, networking, and learning opportunities for partners.
• Remain well informed of current research, activities, and trends in Education, the issues addressed by our partners and serve as an informal thought partner.

GRANTS & COMMUNITY INVESTMENT

• Review and analyze grantmaking investments to ensure legal / regulatory compliance.
• Manage the full P&L for one or more initiatives.
• Evaluate grant and community investment proposals and develop funding recommendations.
• Prepare strategy memos, briefs, reports, and presentations in a variety of formats to engage a broad range of constituents (e.g., board members, community leaders, grantees, allied funders).
• Support the development and implementation of initiative evaluation plans to track the impact of the work and allow for continuous learning.
• Prepare and contribute to written materials that communicate the alignment of grantee activities with portfolio goals and strategies, including grant recommendations and context papers.
• Collaborate with colleagues, board, and staff to coordinate with and contribute to projects and relationships where you can combine efforts for mutual success.

• Undergraduate degree in Education.
• Graduate degree, advanced teaching certification in Education, or closely aligned education-related discipline is a plus.

Work Experience

• Impact Officers should have five years or more of progressively responsible roles related to education (Early Childhood and/or K-12 environments).
• Demonstrated leadership of a transformational initiative or project with measurable impact.
• Experience convening or facilitating internal, local, regional, state, and/or national/international education aligned stakeholders toward actionable, impactful, and/or measurable change or growth on behalf of children, families, schools, institutions, and/or communities.
• Experience with efforts that led to learning or school transformation outcomes, invention, or repositioning of curricular or programmatic shifts, early childcare or K12 systems change, and etc.
• Experience establishing and managing complex internal and external relationships.
• Budget management experience.

Key Competencies

• Promotes a high-performance, high support environment and has a track record of leading and inspiring strong, collaborative teams.
• Demonstrated commitment to equity across ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural lines.
• Displays the highest level of personal integrity & transparency.
• Comfortable in a fast moving, fast changing environment.
• Able to think strategically about an issue that is outside their realm of expertise.
• Experience addressing and simplifying complex problems and creating a strategy to solve them.
• Able to analyze complex data, make assumptions, and proceed with imperfect information.
• Knows their internal states, strengths, and limitations; maintains a professional demeanor.
• Has established and managed complex organizational relationships.
• Strong active listening, oral, and written communication skills.
• Ability to build successful relationships with local leaders and organizations and engage people from diverse backgrounds in a variety of settings.
• Experience or ability to facilitate meetings, synthesize ideas, and provide sensitive feedback.
• Ability to lead collaboratives of multiple funders and leaders, provide cross-sector learning opportunities for funders and grantees, and serve as staff lead for special projects or committees.