Senior Program Officer - Caring Through Community

ORGANIZATIONAL VISION, MISSION, AND FUNCTION:

The Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund (the Federation) of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties is a philanthropic catalyst, connecting Bay Area Jews – of all ages, backgrounds, and perspectives – to the power we have as a community to improve the world. We partner with donors, organizations, and foundations to address the pressing issues facing our community, and develop innovative strategies that result in deep and lasting impact.

Our vision is a vibrant, connected, and enduring Jewish community that is a force for good locally, in Israel, and around the world. Our work is guided by the timeless Jewish values of kehilla (community), tzedakah (giving with just intention), and tikkun olam (repairing the world).

The Federation is looking for highly motivated and qualified individuals with a variety of skill sets who want to join a team working to build a new model of 21st century and next generation Federation engagement. We are especially interested in candidates who are committed to excellence, forward-thinking, open-minded, willing to take risks, and model a positive attitude that inspires confidence.

The Federation’s Community Impact is broadly organized in three areas:

• Caring Through Community: Working with our partners to bolster the social safety net, support innovative approaches to aging well, and enhance service and volunteerism in the Jewish community locally, as well as caring for community members facing vulnerability abroad.
• Inspiring Jewish Life & Learning: Broadening and deepening engagement by helping Jews explore and connect with the rich diversity of Jewish life in the Bay Area.
• Strengthening Israeli Society: Advancing a just, pluralistic, and shared society in Israel with equal opportunity for all citizens.

POSITION SUMMARY 

The Senior Program Officer will refine and implement Caring through Community local impact goals and strategies in partnership with professional and lay leadership, convening nonprofit and other thought leader partners, catalyzing or amplifying collaborative efforts in the community, running grantmaking processes in the $2M range annually, managing relationships with nonprofits in the Caring local portfolio, taking lead on evaluation efforts, supporting the department’s work and junior program officers, and helping articulate the story of our impact. This is a full-time role, with 65% dedicated to Caring through Community and 35% dedicated to Capacity Building, in collaboration with the Federation’s Director of Strategic Consulting. The capacity building role now consists of heading the Student Debt Relief Pilot, a pilot program subsidizing educators’ student loan repayment as a hiring and retention tool for nonprofits; the role may develop further to include new functions in the year ahead.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE POSITION

• Further refine and implement Caring local strategy and goals, including updating the Caring through Community impact framework by integrating outcomes of the Federation strategic planning, analysis of Portrait data, and discussion with professionals and lay leaders, potentially vetting a revised framework with the Federation’s Board
• Manage relationships with organizational partners in the Caring through Community local portfolio (includes broadly defined social service providers including those serving older adults, organizations in the social activism, volunteer service and social justice arenas and more)
• Manage grantmaking processes, from helping define new approaches, strategies and opportunities, to creating, releasing, assessing and funding RFPs
• Serve as professional lead for the Distribution Committee overseeing five restricted funds – leading a brainstorming process with lay and professional partners to begin to implement new focus for the over $1M in funding locally
• Continue to advance impact goals, with roles including but not limited to:
  • Continuing to convene partners and thought leaders around Economic Vulnerability in the Bay Area, assessing opportunities for collaborative action
  • Managing efforts to serve older adults in Bay Area Jewish communities, including:
    • Overseeing grantmaking, analyzing the direction, and adding more robust lay leader oversight to the Senior Mobility Fund’s grantmaking
    • Furthering Aging Well strategy through a work group/community of practice and/or new grantmaking as well as a collaborative pilot program
    • Continuing to implement new messaging around aging well and tapping older adults as assets
  • Continuing to plan, vet, and implement a strategy for Social Activism and Service pilot programs, including:
    • Volunteer days in Sonoma County (coordinating with the Concierge in Sonoma, professional leadership of the Wildfire Recovery Task Force and other program officers as relevant)
    • Mobilizing participants including young adults to join JPAC Advocacy Day, in partnership with the Federation’s NexGen team, the JCRC, and JPAC
    • Defining and implementing a more robust lay leader process to oversee Social Activism and Service efforts
  • Analyzing pilot outcomes and feeding learnings through department and greater Federation planning purposes, creating criteria and helping determine the Federation’s role in the local Social Activism and Service field (such as funder, catalyst, collaborator, amplifier, volunteer manager in narrowly defined circumstances, volunteer clearinghouse, or etc.).
• Take lead on evaluation efforts, including:
  • Help review and evaluate grantee programs
  • Oversee evaluation projects by external consultants of Federation programs, currently underway for the Campus Initiative and for internal Community Building efforts
  • Take the lead on bringing an evaluative lens to the work, articulating goals and outcomes and creating new evaluation processes
  • Plan evaluation training for staff, raising the Federation’s capacity in this realm
• Coordinate the Student Debt Relief Pilot program, including:
  • Ongoing project and grant management, tracking information and trouble-shooting challenges
  • Communications and relationship management with participating nonprofits, the third-party benefit provider and the program funders
  • Systematizing processes in this second pilot program year
  • Evaluation, including survey design and analysis
• Other Capacity Building work to be determined
• Consult and partner with colleagues on other teams to help advise giving circles, donors, and other collaborative efforts that touch the Caring through Community area
• Document and communicate achievements in coordination with Marketing and Development

EDUCATION OR TRAINING EQUIVALENT TO

• An advanced degree is preferred

SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS (SKILLS, ABILITIES, LICENSE)

• Flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances and needs
• Having a growth and learning mindset
• Experience in developing and managing grant programs, especially new initiatives
• Background in program design and evaluation of program activities
• Background in local grantmaking and community activities
• Experience working closely with donors and volunteers
• An excellent communicator verbally and in writing
• Strong interpersonal skills and team player

TO APPLY

For additional information on the opportunity, please send a copy of your resume with a cover letter. All applications and inquiries will receive a response and will be kept strictly confidential.

Excellent benefits — medical, dental, vision, vacation, sick pay, holidays (including Jewish), and retirement plan.