The Jewish Community Foundation seeks an experienced, innovative, and collaborative individual to lead the Foundation’s philanthropic engagement and impact work at a pivotal and exciting moment of organizational evolution in shifting to a community foundation.

ABOUT THE JEWISH FEDERATION & JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington envisions an open, connected, and vibrant Jewish community that cares for each other, fosters Jewish learning and journeys, embraces Jewish peoplehood and Israel, and acts as a force for good in the world. As a mission-driven non-profit organization, we work to inspire, build, and sustain vibrant Jewish life in a changing world by mobilizing our community in common purpose, intentional innovation, and effective action. In 2022, The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington relaunched its longstanding successful United Jewish Endowment Fund as the Jewish Community Foundation: a model positioned to proactively support donors in community change and advancing their philanthropic goals.

As part of The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, the Jewish Community Foundation partners with and inspires Jewish philanthropists and the Greater Washington community to advance a thriving, equitable world where all people can reach their full potential. Combining Jewish values with personalized service, we inspire generosity, support philanthropists in maximizing their impact, and build and participate in learning and funding communities to make systemic, lasting change for generations to come, within and beyond the Jewish community. The Jewish Community Foundation manages more than $280 million in assets and has facilitated more than $175 million in grants over the last 15 years.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a team on the ground floor and help launch and build a newly reconstituted Jewish Community Foundation in Greater Washington.

The Jewish Community Foundation’s Director of Philanthropic Impact will work closely with the Foundation’s Executive Director, Deputy Director, and other Foundation and Federation team members to implement our new strategy for community impact and develop and launch our first learning and impact services.

SUCCESS FACTORS

The ideal candidate will be a thinker, planner and a doer, with a passion for mission-oriented community work, a true steward of donors’ interest and impact, a growth mindset, and a love of learning. Open-minded, innovative, collaborative, entrepreneurial, and willing to take risks, the Director of Philanthropic Impact must be able to translate vision into implementation, solve problems, effectively lead cross-functional teams, balance competing priorities, and be flexible and comfortable with the inherent uncertainty and opportunity of organizational evolution. A relationship builder at heart, self-awareness, empathy, humility, and strong interpersonal skills are key, as is personal alignment with Federation’s values and culture.

The ideal candidate will bring experience in grantmaking and learning as well as a community perspective and knowledge of the nonprofit ecosystem informed by both lived experience and professional engagement with community engagement, i.e., coalition building, participatory grantmaking, community organizing, or participatory action research. They will be both a leader and an active, hands-on team member, embracing an organizational culture in which all team members – including leadership – are driven and success-oriented.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership

Serve as a strategic thought partner for the Foundation’s Executive Director (ED), complementing traditional philanthropic perspectives and insights with those gained from lived experience.
Partner with ED to lead inclusive, collaborative, and efficient internal processes around the implementation of the Foundation’s new strategy.
Work over-time and in partnership with the ED to build and inspire a high-performing team through a period of growth and change, and to develop new value-added donor services, approaches, and organizational constructs to community learning, collaborative funding, and grantmaking.
Provide leadership in cross-department communication, coordination, and cohesiveness, identifying synergies and collaborative opportunities between organizational departments and functions, with specific focus on the Impact and Financial Resource Development (FRD) teams.

Delivery of Donor Services

Direct and implement donor learning programs focusing on building effective philanthropic practices that center community and promote equity, help facilitate connections to nonprofits, and deepen understanding of community needs. Our inaugural programming will focus on effective philanthropic practice with a Jewish lens, intergenerational philanthropic giving, and issue areas/hot topics for our community.
Lead and direct the Foundation’s collective giving opportunities for donors starting with the Women’s Fund, including building fund assets, shaping the impact agenda with donors and community, leading the steering committee, engaging donors in learning, and leading a participatory grantmaking process that includes those impacted by the issues in decision-making and leadership.
Structure and guide the Foundation’s effective philanthropic advisement services to select donors, including the delivery of support and advice that helps steward donors’ interests and achievement of desired impact; implement donors’ philanthropy plans in collaboration with donors or according to fund agreement instructions.
Collaborate with the FRD team to ensure donors are fully versed in the Foundation’s offerings for endowment and Donor Advised Funds, and to support donor engagement on critical community issues and opportunities for learning and collective giving through the Foundation.
Work collaboratively with Federation’s Impact and Jewish Leadership & Learning teams to share knowledge and drive benefits to donors and nonprofits across Federation’s community.
Develop specific goals and strategies for strengthening and growing donor relationships and sustaining donors through value-added services and continuous donor feedback.
Partner with the ED and Federation’s Marketing & Communications team to implement the Foundation marketing strategy and specific outreach efforts around donor services.

Learning

Develop the Foundation’s learning agenda to advance effective and equitable philanthropic practices throughout the donor community. This agenda will help guide the development of donor services, learning programming, and how we support collaborative funding communities.
Spearhead the Foundation’s transition to a learning culture that includes reflective practices, piloting, adapting to new ways of working, and leveraging grantee expertise and community experience in our work.
Identify data and metrics to help the Foundation understand the impact of our work and support continuous learning and help systematize using metrics for learning.
Develop and use feedback loops with donors and nonprofits to continuously improve donor services and grantmaking processes.

Community Leadership & Relationships

Work collaboratively with the ED and Foundation team to frame overall strategy and goals for community leadership activities.
Develop strategies for strengthening and growing our community relationships, including respectful entry into communities, issues, and organizations that are less familiar to us.
Maintain a knowledge base of current trends and activities within the community that relate to the Foundation’s interests, the nonprofit sector, and the community at-large.
Build and maintain relationships with relevant peers in local philanthropy, government, nonprofit sector, and the business community that may lead to collaborations and partnerships to leverage our resources and increase our impact.
Represent the Jewish Community Foundation in coalitions and collaborations in pursuit of the Foundation’s goals.
Assess effectiveness of efforts and make alterations as needed.

Grantmaking

Partner with leadership to develop new structures for Foundation grantmaking that align with the Foundation’s philanthropic agenda and collaborative funding, including the Women’s Fund.
Lead the strategy to increase the Foundation’s assets under influence in order to ultimately increase distribution of dollars to the community.
Partner with the Impact team, ED, and trustees as needed to support effective grantmaking out of the endowment.

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE, AND SKILLS

Required:

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional and lived experience.
At least 10 years of professional experience, including at least five in the social sector (nonprofit, government, corporate philanthropy, community organizing, and/or foundations) with responsibility for building and sustaining organizational capacity.
Knowledge of the philanthropic field and various models of Foundation work and experience with a diverse range of grantmaking approaches and tools.
Community perspective and knowledge of the nonprofit ecosystem informed by both lived experience and professional engagement.
Experience with coalition and collaborative initiatives requiring broad buy-in.
Experience building learning communities and learning programming, doing so with an intergenerational lens and/or for family philanthropy or individual donors a plus.
The propensity to translate innovative ideas into action as a practical visionary with a penchant for implementation and measurable impact.
An inviting spirit of creativity and resourcefulness with the ability to quickly learn and absorb information.
Successful leadership and management in relevant nonprofit and community-based contexts as well as successful vetting, hiring, and management of consultants.
Strong public speaking and written communication skills.
Proven track record of building trusting relationships and working effectively across different settings, communities, and issues with people of diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and cultures.
The proven ability to lead others in a constructive and inclusive manner across different disciplines and/or departments while building sustainable, collaborative relationships.
Genuine respect for and understanding of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging practices and principles and a commitment to incorporating them into internal and external work.
Commitment to Federation’s core values and culture.

A People-Friendly Workplace

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington is an equal opportunity employer offering a people- friendly environment, including:

Excellent health care and retirement benefits
Generous time off
Opportunities and an annual stipend for continued professional development
Access to the JPRO Network, which connects, educates, inspires, and empowers professionals working in the Jewish nonprofit sector.

Candidates should be located in or willing to relocate to the Greater Washington (DC, MD, and Northern VA) region. This position is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement, with 3 days a week required in our headquarters. The health and safety of our professional team and community remains a top priority, and all Federation employees are required to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19.    

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington  envisions an open, connected, and vibrant Jewish community that cares for each other, fosters Jewish learning and journeys, embraces Jewish peoplehood and Israel, and acts as a force for good in the world. As a mission-driven non-profit organization, we work to inspire, build, and sustain vibrant Jewish life in a changing world by mobilizing our community in common purpose, intentional innovation, and effective action. Learn more at  shalomdc.org.

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