Now Hiring: Director of Grantmaking and Programs
Background
The Grove Action Fund(The Grove) supports social justice organizing in North and South Carolina, focusing on donor organizing and making strategic investments in movement building. The Grove was created by individuals rooted in North and South Carolina who deeply believe that the best solutions for our communities are homegrown and led by southern folks impacted by the conditions on the ground. Grassroots community organizers and social justice leaders in the Carolinas direct the long-term vision and grantmaking within the Grove because these movement leaders are the experts in our community’s issues. The Grove believes everyone is vital in building power for marginalized communities across the US South, including everyday people and donors.
The Role
The Director of Grantmaking and Programs is responsible for the co-development of grant portfolios and ensuring all related activities (grantmaking, convening, thought leadership, evaluation, and grantee learning) focused on supporting issue areas of the Grove deliver on the larger organizational goals and strategies. The Director of Grantmaking and Programs assesses and analyzes the fields in which the Grove is focused; identifies key organizational fields or “ecosystems” to work in; identifies opportunities to work with various actors to shape agendas that would promote strategic outcomes, and plays a leading role in shaping specific grant activities. The Director of Grantmaking and Programs shares substantive knowledge with the Grove stakeholders collaborates broadly with the Grove team, and serves as a ‘connector’ of grantees. The Director is also responsible for managing all of the program officers. This is a full-time, temporary non-exempt position reporting to the deputy director.
Starting salary is $90,000. We offer a competitive and holistic total benefits package, including substantial vacation time and professional development.
General Responsibilities Include (But Are Not Limited To):
Grantmaking and Strategy (40%)
Manage grantmaking process for the funds, including generating and evaluating proposals and prospective grantees, developing written funding recommendations and presenting them to the Committees, and monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on grantee performance;
Lead the development of a coherent portfolio strategy, which evolves from setting ambitious portfolio goals grounded in analyzing growing market opportunities, trends, and gaps in the movement ecosystem and philanthropic landscapes.
Define a clear and differentiated position for the Fund within the portfolio strategy issue grounded in evidence, research, and investment efficiency.
Measure, evaluate, and capture lessons from investments to inform strategy iteration and build strong pattern recognition for providing strategic support to portfolio investments best to achieve stated goals.
In close collaboration with the Deputy Director, evolve Program strategy and approach on an ongoing basis to best achieve the Fund’s mission;
Develop and maintain a robust pipeline of best-in-class prospective grantees so that the Funds is always preparing for current and future grantmaking cycles;
Develop, implement, and constantly improve a system for monitoring and evaluating grantee impact through solicitation of reports, meetings, calls, site visits, and other methods;
Directly manage the program team, providing them with mentorship and investing in her professional development; and
Collaborate with the deputy director and colleagues on all organization-wide efforts, from Committee meetings to strategic planning efforts to organizational retreats and other events.
Engage in joint decision-making around grantmaking, including measurement, reporting, and monitoring targets.
Field Leadership and Knowledge (40%)
Stay abreast of relevant issues, trends, and developments in the Fund’s grantmaking areas, remaining current on fast-changing political and legislative developments and emerging funding needs and opportunities;
Prepare written and other communication as needed to educate colleagues and the Committee on developments relevant to the Programs Team and to share learning from our grantees and Programs;
Remain educated on best practices in philanthropy, in particular as they pertain to human rights grantmaking, and incorporate those best practices into the Fund’s grantmaking;
Generally served as an “ambassador” for the Fund and its programs, representing it with affinity groups and donor collaboratives and at conferences and other events; and
Leverage Foundation resources to develop funding pools and other partnerships with peer philanthropic organizations.
Donor Organizing (approximately 10%)
Represent the Fund and its work to the government, media, academic, business, philanthropic, and movement leaders through meetings, updates, speeches, briefings, and interviews, with guidance from the Deputy Director.
Bring creative approaches to engage and cultivate new/existing donors and donor advisors and build own relationships, keeping the Fund’s focus on racial equity, movement building, and donor organizing front and center.
Attend Committee meetings to present recommendations, provide information and updates, and interact with the Committee members throughout the year.
Support the learning of community members by sharing critical learnings from grantmaking.
Collective organizational work (approximately 10%)
Share facilitation of bi-monthly team meetings, coalition meetings, and meetings with consultants.
Participate in conferences, retreats, and collective work on organizational structure
Contribute to the organization’s overall success and sustainability.
Other related tasks, as identified by the Deputy Director
Requirements & Expectations:
5-7 years of professional experience working in the fields of not-for-profits, movement building, and/or philanthropy
Strong familiarity with the issues of human rights, pro-democracy, reproductive rights, and civic engagement in the United States, including an understanding of the key related issues and major players.
Ability to structure documents clearly and concisely to communicate key points to a variety of audiences;
Proactive, curious, independent, and eager and able to solve problems and manage multiple complex projects simultaneously; and
Experience working with and accountable to low-wealth people and communities of color in the South.
Ability to cultivate an energized and joyful group dynamic using strong oral and interpersonal communication skills and practices in remote online technology;
Strong facilitation skills, particularly the capacity to guide conversations to meet a group’s emergent needs;
Ability to imagine and build new systems that foster a more equitable, liberated world; An understanding of methods of change and a strong belief in community organizing as a strategic approach to systems change;
Ability to travel up to 10% time;
Spanish proficiency is a plus;
Must be based in North or South Carolina
Benefits:
We offer a competitive and holistic total benefits package, including substantial vacation days and time off, and professional development.
Application Deadline: September 15, 2023
Expected Start Date: October 1, 2023
How to Apply:
To apply, please share a thoughtful cover letter and resume answering the following questions and three references to info@cypressaction.org, with the subject line: Director of Programs:
What is your relationship to social justice organizing in South or North Carolina?
What is your understanding of Black Liberation in a Southern context?
What is your experience with grantmaking facilitation?