Vice President of Programs

Job Title: Vice President of Programs

Reports To: President and CEO

Department: Programs

Average Hours Per Week: 40

FLSA Status: Exempt

As Rose Community Foundation prepares to implement a new strategic plan and celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2020, we are seeking a dynamic, innovative and collaborative individual to lead our grantmaking team at a pivotal and exciting moment of organizational evolution.

Since its founding in 1995, Rose Community Foundation and its funds have granted more than $300 million to nonprofit organizations and initiatives, primarily through programmatic grants in the seven-county Greater Denver area. The Vice President of Programs directs the staff of the programs department in granting approximately $10 million annually.

Historically, the Foundation has focused its grantmaking in the areas of aging, child and family development, education, health and Jewish life. While we remain committed to funding across a broad and holistic range of issues facing the Greater Denver region, and will continue a specific commitment to funding in our local Jewish community, the Vice President of Programs will work closely with the programs staff, President and CEO, and other members of the leadership team, to develop and implement new, integrated grantmaking strategies that advance equity and justice, inclusion and community engagement, and the growth of resources for regional good.

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 Programs must be an advocate, strategist and an executor – able to translate vision into implementation, solve problems, delegate, balance competing priorities, and be flexible and comfortable with the uncertainty that is inherent in organizational evolution. Self-awareness, empathy, humility, humor and strong interpersonal skills are key. A relationship builder at heart, the Vice President of Programs 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 active hands-on team member, a successful candidate will find personal alignment with the Foundation’s values and culture, ensuring that they and the Programs team contribute to a positive work environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Vice President of Programs reports to the President and CEO, serves on the Foundation’s leadership team, and leads a team that currently consists of five direct reports.  In addition to staff, the position will interact with committee members, board members, donors and external partners.

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 usage of data, metrics and evaluation.
• Manage, coach, mentor and inspire a high-performing team with range of experience levels 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 forthcoming strategic plan, maintaining continued focus on optimizing committee composition, roles, engagement and experience.
• Oversee diverse array of grantmaking, including capacity-building, program support and policy/advocacy, ensuring there is cohesion and alignment within the portfolio 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 $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 partners.
• Develop strategies for strengthening and growing our community relationships, including respectful entry into communities and issues 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.
• Create flexible, right-sized systems by which we use data and metrics to both inform our strategies and evaluate the impact of our work, communicating results to the Foundation’s internal and external stakeholders.
• Develop and utilize grantee feedback loops to continuously improve grantmaking processes.

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.
• 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 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 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 break down organizational silos and revamp systems and processes 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 philanthropic field and how foundations work, including relationships with (or knowledge of) national funders who may be aligned funding prospects.
• 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.

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.

Submission deadline is 11 p.m. on December 8, 2019.  Interested candidates should email their cover letter, resume and salary requirement to White River Strategy at search@whiteriverstrategy.com with the subject line “Rose – VP of Programs.”

No phone calls or email messages to Rose Community Foundation, please.

If you know of others who may be interested or qualified, please feel free to forward this job description and/or send their contact information to search@whiteriverstrategy.com.