Managing Director, Adults and Household Supports

About Robin Hood

Robin Hood is New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization. In addition to funding 200 of the most effective nonprofits serving New Yorkers experiencing poverty, we amplify financial support with a range of management assistance.

Building on our 30 years of experience, Robin Hood is expanding our impact with an explicit focus on lifting families sustainably and measurably out of poverty through influencing policy, raising our thought leadership profile, importing and exporting effective ideas and strategies nationally, and building new collaborations with strategic partners.

Position Overview

Overseeing a portfolio of around $23 million, the Managing Director, Adults & Household Supports will provide overall strategic direction and accountability for Robin Hood’s grantmaking activities focused on adults living in poverty. The portfolio’s work has three components: preventing and remedying the shocks that thrust New Yorkers into poverty; building the skills, careers and assets that enable economic progress; and addressing the systems and neighborhood-level factors that constrain mobility. Current investment areas include workforce development, legal services, immigration supports, healthcare, housing, and food security, among others.

In the next three years, the portfolio is looking to respond to the ramifications of Covid-19 while also building pilot programs that can enable intra- and inter-generational economic mobility. In general, the portfolio works with the city’s best performing nonprofits and government agencies and is equally open to testing new models or investing in programs with a track record of success. We also work with a variety of investment types, including grants, loans, or other impact investments. Some of our biggest successes have helped bring replicable ideas into practice and then to scale – all with a lens toward equity and reaching the most marginalized of our neighbors.

Responsibilities
Reporting to the Chief of Grant Strategy, the Managing Director will oversee the grants portfolio, serve as an external thought leader, and work closely with current and new community partners. The Managing Director will collaborate with other programmatic areas including the organization’s Policy, Partnerships, and Development teams, and provide counsel, support, guidance, oversight, mentoring, and general direction to program staff.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Strategic Vision and Leadership

• Direct grantmaking activities within subject matter areas of the portfolio including reviewing and advising on program design, understanding fiscal information and evaluation data, and helping implement partnerships with community-based groups and philanthropic donors.
• Identify, research, and pursue new models for poverty-fighting strategies and develop innovative program ideas into grants.
• Conduct due diligence including investigation of the financial stability of organizations and the development of metrics rationale.
• Direct a critical review of the docket on a quarterly basis, formulating assessment of program delivery and organizational technical assistance.

Community and Partnerships

• Represent Robin Hood in external forums to advance the field and share learnings about economic mobility and the role of education in achieving sustainable mobility from poverty.
• Communicate regularly with Board of Directors through written overviews, grant analysis and recommendation reports, and oral presentations, sharing general direction and trends.
• Build, maintain, and strengthen relationships with nonprofit, government and philanthropic partners in various ways including frequent communications, analyzing programmatic performance, and developing recommendations for efficiency, growth, and an increased social return.

Cross-Departmental Collaboration and Team Management

• Work in partnership with other Managing Directors and Chief of Grant Strategy to help lead the program team and the overall organization.
• Lead, manage, and mentor a team of program officers overseeing research, site visits, and proposal development. Edit grant recommendations.
• Work closely with the Policy, Partnerships, and Development teams on organizational policy priorities, building large-scale partnerships, and assisting with the solicitation of funds, respectively.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience with social service programs serving adults in New York City.
• Strong research, analytical, writing, and oral presentation skills
• Extensive management experience and insight about non-profit performance and operations including a basic understanding of statistics and not-for-profit accounting
• Broad knowledge of social problems, programs and policies, government programs, funding streams, and cost structuring
• 10-15 years of relevant, full-time working experience; senior operational responsibility in a non-profit and knowledge of grantmaking preferred
• Master’s or professional degree required along with minimum of 10 years post-graduate professional experience
• Commitment to poverty issues and to Robin Hood’s model of engaged grant making
• Ability to be both a long-term strategic visionary and to understand current on-the-ground realities
• Ability to articulate Robin Hood’s mission and approach to addressing poverty in New York City; conversant in key issues related to economic mobility and systemic racism
• Experience managing a team of seasoned, professional staff
• Highly effective interpersonal and relational skills, including a demonstrated ability to work successfully across complex, matrixed teams and with roles at multiple levels
• A good blend of entrepreneurial spirit and the capacity to work within a team
• Embraces ambiguity and has a willingness to “roll up their sleeves”
• High degree of self-awareness, humility, and diplomacy
• Sense of humor and skillful listener

Robin Hood Guiding Principles

As an organization committed to economic mobility, our work is grounded in the following Guiding Principles:

• Diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Proximity and humanity
• Risk-taking and innovation          

Our professional community reflects myriad demographic characteristics, perspectives, and backgrounds, which includes various identities that reflect diversity in gender identity and expression, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, ability, and socioeconomic status.  Our colleagues have access to opportunity and advancement, as we promote fair and equitable treatment and have encouraged participation by underrepresented groups. As a team, we promote a sense of belonging, high levels of engagement, and shared respect.

• Robin Hood puts people first.
• Robin Hood is unafraid to take action and create solutions.
• Robin Hood is data driven and heart led.
• Robin Hood works the coat check.

Salary and Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. Robin Hood has excellent benefits and encourages strong work-life balance.

To Apply

Please visit our website to complete our online application.

Robin Hood is an equal opportunity employer.  Applicants from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

To Apply

Please visit our website to complete our online application.

Robin Hood is an equal opportunity employer.  Applicants from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.