Director, Latin America

Director, Latin America

𝗜𝗣𝗢 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.ABOUT LUMINATE

Luminate is a global foundation working to ensure that everyone – especially those who are underrepresented - has the information, rights, and power to influence the decisions that shape society. The foundation is focused on enabling people to fully participate in civic and political life, to safely challenge power, and to access accurate, trustworthy information. It was established by philanthropists Pierre and Pam Omidyar and has worked for over a decade on issues related to governance and citizen engagement.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION YOU SHOULD KNOW

Luminate is a high performing, diverse and inclusive organisation where people can do their best work. We believe in matching individuals to a role that best suits their skills, experience, and career aspirations so that people can successfully fulfil their potential and continue to develop throughout their career with the organisation.

Luminate believes that diversity and inclusion make us more successful in our work, and we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, gender identity or expression, or any other basis protected by local, state, or national law.

ROLE

Luminate is seeking a strategic leader to manage and contribute to expanding our funding and operational work in Latin America. The Director, Latin America will be based in Luminate’s São Paulo office.

The Director, Latin America will support the Latin America team’s efforts across the region, with a primary focus on Brazil and additional work in Argentina, Colombia and Mexico. The Director will oversee the efforts to build and manage a portfolio of grants; work closely with existing partner organisations to monitor performance and maximise social impact; contribute to research and advocacy work related to key issues associated with Luminate’s strategy and efforts in the region; and contribute to internal and external communications efforts for the Latin America team.

Luminate’s strategy in Latin America focuses on the impact of technology (such as social media platforms and artificial intelligence) on the rights and civic participation of historically underrepresented groups, on information ecosystems, and on democracy more broadly.

OPPORTUNITY

Luminate is seeking an experienced professional who is knowledgeable about the intersection of technology and democracy in Latin America and who is passionate about countering disinformation, fostering healthy information ecosystems, and protecting human rights. Candidates who have deep knowledge about technology policy would be highly preferred.

Success in this role requires maturity, analytical ability, creativity, strategic insight, and business/investment acumen, including the ability to manage an end-to-end grant making process, as well as interest in working collaboratively and managing people in multicultural, global environments.

TEAM

The Director, Latin America will be based in São Paulo, Brazil reporting to the Vice President, Latin America. The Director will be a key member of both the Latin America team and the São Paulo office. Successful candidates must be based in and have the right to work in São Paulo, Brazil.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The individual in this role will be expected to primarily focus on the following priorities:

Manage and Execute Luminate’s Strategy in Latin America

• • Contribute to the development and on-going refinement of Luminate’s strategy in Latin America.
  • Contribute to the creation of annual plans for Luminate in Latin America. Ensure the delivery and full execution of those annual plans, including by establishing timelines and workplans for the team and monitoring progress.
  • Manage the execution and deployment of Luminate’s capital in the region, tracking budget execution, conducting budget forecasting, and ensuring that disbursements are completed in a timely manner.
  • Monitor news, policy proposals, political statements, and legislative developments connected to Luminate’s strategic themes in priority countries and in the region. Analyse and determine the implications of those developments on Luminate’s strategy.
  • Build relationships with other funders in the region and explore opportunities for aligned funding/co-funding.

Grow and Manage the Latin America Portfolio

• • Lead the oversight of Luminate’s existing portfolio of partner organizations and engagements in the region, including by managing the team that monitors and executes disbursements, collects partner reporting, and evaluates the portfolio’s social impact.
  • In line with Luminate’s org-wide priorities, define potential growth areas for the portfolio in Latin America. When identified, manage the team that will systematically build and nurture a pipeline of funding opportunities.
  • Manage and provide feedback to the team draJing and submitting funding recommendations for Luminate, ensuring those recommendations fit within Luminate’s strategy and meet Luminate’s standard for quality and due diligence.
  • Provide support to funding leads in the Latin America team as they respond to complex developments in the portfolio – such as those related to risk, reputational exposure, programmatic challenges, etc. As needed, coach and accompany funding leads in the journey to address and resolve those matters.
  • Provide strategic direction for Luminate’s approach in Latin America to Partner Support (or beyond-the-grant support), ensuring that Luminate supports its partner organizations in a scalable and effective manner. In addition, determine when it strategic to convene partner organizations and set the agendas for those meetings.
  • As needed, serve as a key point of contact for other teams at Luminate – including but not limited to Strategic Communications, Risk Management, Grants Management – on matters related to Luminate’s Latin America portfolio.
  • Trial and test innovative approaches for Luminate to achieve the greatest possible social impact in Latin America.

Lead Research, Learning and Advocacy Efforts in the Region

• • Lead processes for learning and evidence collection across the Latin America team. Ensure knowledge and learnings are shared robustly within Luminate and across the organizations in its portfolio.
  • Regularly provide updates to Luminate’s Leadership Community on the impact of the organization’s work in Latin America.
  • Work on the conceptualisation and refinement of relevant research that informs Luminate and its partners in their work. As needed, manage the publication of the research products and communicate those with external stakeholders.
  • Contribute to Luminate’s policy and advocacy efforts in Latin America, including supporting external outreach and influence activities that Luminate conducts in the region.
  • Represent Luminate in external events that provide an opportunity to shape public debates, set agendas, and spotlight partner organizations. In addition, represent Luminate's perspectives with a broad array of stakeholders in government, civil society, academia, media, and private sector in order to contribute to the expansion of Luminate's profile/influence in the region.

Manage and Develop Staff / Contribute to Luminate’s Org Culture

• • Manage, coach and develop funding principals and associates in the Latin America team.
  • Jointly with staff, develop goals & objectives and learning & development plans for each staff member. Monitor and support staff in the implementation of those plans.
  • Contribute to building Luminate’s organizational culture, in alignment with Luminate’s org-wide values and policies, and while ensuring a safe and inclusive workplace for staff.
  • Contribute and participate actively in team- and culture-building activities for staff in the São Paulo Office and across Latin America.
  • Engage regularly with other Luminate programmatic teams to explore areas of collaboration, jointly shape strategy, provide inputs on specific investments, and work on common areas of interest and impact.

Requisitos

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS

Note: we view this section as a guide, not a checklist. We encourage you to apply even if you don’t satisfy every single bullet on this list

• • Considerable experience in a senior management role, ideally with exposure to grantmaking and work with non-profit organisations.
  • Proven track record of experience recruiting, managing and developing talent. Experience managing team members across multiple locations and comfort working in an organizational structure that is geographically distributed is highly preferred.
  • Deep knowlegde and interest for working at the intersection of technology and democracy, including related policy expertise. Direct professional experience in this area is a plus.
  • Demonstrated ability to formulate a clear funding thesis and make thoughtful judgment calls on funding decisions.
  • Prior demonstrated interest in/experience with creating positive social impact in Latin America and beyond.
  • Strong analytic, strategic thinking and project management skills
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills.
  • Full proficiency in Portuguese and English. Spanish-language proficiency is highly preferred.
  • Lived experience working in Brazil. Experience working in Argentina, Colombia and Mexico is highly preferred.
  • Flexibility to travel both within Latin America and globally.

The ideal candidate is aligned with Luminate's values, including Luminate's diversity policy.

Contract conditions

• • Contract model: CLT
  • Work model: Hybrid
  • Salary: A/C
  • Benefits: Attractive Benefits Package

HOW TO APPLY

Applications made on our website will be received via the link https://ipoinstituto.peoplenect.com/ats/external_applicant/?page=view_jobs_details&job_id=1425

Applications are due by November 10, 2024- 11:59pm BRT

We appreciate your interest and application. If you need support, please contact us at

ipo@ipoinstituto.com.br