Director of Grants Management and Strategy

ABOUT FOUNDATION FOR LOUISIANA

Foundation for Louisiana (FFL) is a social justice philanthropic intermediary founded in 2005 as the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation to invest in the immediate recovery of Louisiana’s communities after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. While FFL was established in the wake of these disasters, our founders recognized the need to both address the longstanding inequities faced by Louisianans who have been the targets of systematic discrimination and recognize the talent, opportunity, and power that reside in our people and communities. Our programs grew in response to these needs, and today FFL focuses on philanthropic leadership, racial justice, climate justice, and criminal legal reform via a three-pronged strategy:

• Invest: FFL makes grants to support organizations and movements throughout Louisiana in our key program areas. We attract and invest resources to support on-the-ground projects, many of which can’t access traditional philanthropy. Through fiscal sponsorship, we support innovative ideas responding to unmet needs throughout Louisiana.
• Build: We build power to effect change in Louisiana communities. We convene community leaders and provide training in organizing, policy change, leadership, public speaking, and facilitation to tackle issues of climate change, police accountability, health disparities, housing access, and more.
• Transform: By fortifying movements, we shift systems and shape regional and national narratives. We re-imagine how our communities are governed and funded to redefine how residents can thrive in them.

Since inception, FFL has invested over $55 million in more than 250 mission-critical nonprofit organizations working across the state towards building a more just Louisiana. As a social justice philanthropic intermediary, FFL’s work unapologetically advances racial justice while moving Louisiana forward. The foundation engages communities in both program co-design as well as its grant-making process to expand opportunities and move communities towards a more just future.

POSITION OVERVIEW

As the lead program staff for grants administration and strategy at FFL, the Director of Grants Management and Strategy provides comprehensive leadership for and oversight of FFL’s grantmaking processes and procedures with a strong emphasis on strategy, internal systems improvement, staff and organizational learning, and innovation. The director also provides supervision and support to program officers and other staff working in and across our issue-based portfolios. The Director of Grants Management and Strategy reports to the Vice President of Programs and collaborates closely with programs team staff as well as colleagues across FFL’s finance, development, communications, and operations functions.

All Foundation for Louisiana employees are currently working remotely. Office space is available in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Public health conditions and potential climate hazards are monitored closely, and FFL observes all municipal, parish, and state guidelines as well as Center for Disease Control recommendations to prioritize the health and safety of our staff, partners, and the communities we serve. This position can be based anywhere in the state of Louisiana. Regular monthly travel to New Orleans and/or Baton Rouge is required. Other travel in-state and conferences may be expected occasionally but is limited, flexible, and should not exceed 10% of total work hours.

WHO ARE YOU?

You may have worked in a grantmaking or a grant-funded organization or spent a significant amount of time organizing on the front lines of social justice causes. You have at least five years of experience leading small to mid-sized teams, advanced project management skills, and significant experience developing and implementing programmatic strategies. You are passionate about strategy, social justice, systems improvement, analytics and learning, change management, and working collaboratively across teams. You love Louisiana and are concerned about the most pressing issues facing this state.

You’ll fit right in if you love to:

• Work towards shared goals with multiple team members, stakeholders, and partners
• Use technology to set clear expectations, communicate, perform tasks, and meet critical timelines while maintaining accuracy and quality
• Use FFL’s core values (community wisdom, courage, integrity, and commitment) to serve Louisiana’s communities of color and low-income communities with an intersectional analysis of racism, specifically anti-Black racism
• Give and receive feedback to improve our work together

YOU’RE GOOD AT:

• Appreciating multiple ways of being and knowing, and centering justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in all areas of your work
• Seeing the big picture and strategic opportunity
• Evaluating, improving, managing, and maintaining systems and processes, including grants and/or contracts management software and processes
• Designing and implementing effective workflow processes and procedures, including continuous improvement processes
• Keeping up with knowledge and application of promising practices and emerging trends in progressive grantmaking and programmatic strategy
• Communicating verbally and in writing
• Working with diverse groups
• Providing person-centered supervision that focuses on providing feedback and developing staff
• Creating and facilitating trainings for both internal and external audiences

IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU:

• Are familiar with Salesforce, Submittable, online project management applications, and cloud data storage systems
• Possess significant field knowledge of progressive philanthropy in the South and nationally

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The following list of duties and responsibilities is representative and may be subject to evolution and change over time. FFL is committed to an inclusive workplace for all staff, including those with a disability, and is open to discussing disability-related accommodations to essential job functions for qualified applicants.

Grantmaking Administration and Program Design (50%)

• Own and manage FFL’s use of our grantmaking software, Submittable
• Develop clear guidelines for federal and state legal and tax requirements and ensure they are being followed
• Develop and keep updated the grantmaking policies and procedures manual
• Work with the VP of Programs to create and manage an annual grantmaking schedule including targets for funds moved per quarter and all timelines and processes associated with the open RFP process
• Conduct informational webinars and RFP trainings in partnership with program officers
• Work closely with the VP of Programs and programs staff to ensure evaluation, learning, and meaning-making tools and processes are operationalized inside of Submittable
• Develop and own annual plan/do/study/act (PDSA) cycle for all grantmaking activities, including evaluation, learning, and meaning-making pursuant to grantmaking
• Continually stay abreast of new developments in grant management best practices and technologies and their applicability to FFL and the communities we support

Leadership, Training, and Staff Management (25%)

• Partner with VP of Programs to develop a coaching and training program for FFL program associates and program officers, including onboarding as well as ongoing learning and improvement
• Provide person-centered supervision and support for the grants program associate to support their work on grants administration, logistics, and the management of the grants email account
• Provide person-centered supervision and support for program officers and other staff as assigned

Internal and External Reporting and Impact Measurement (15%)

• Work with VP of Programs to develop a portfolio analysis structure and reporting schedule to provide FFL stakeholders with high-quality data about our grant portfolio across and inside of program areas
• Create and monitor grantmaking dashboards, developing reports and visuals as needed
• Collaborate with communications staff to provide data for impact reports
• Collaborate with development and/or finance staff to provide grants-related data for outgoing proposals and reports for received grants
• Collaborate closely with the VP of Programs, Director of Fiscal Sponsorship, the Strategic Projects Manager, and Individual Giving Manager to coordinate assessment of key elements of portfolio analysis across impact area-based grants, grants made by fiscally sponsored projects, scholarships, and donor-advised funds

Thought Leadership & Field Building (10%)

• Use data collected via grants evaluation, learning, and meaning-making activities to collaborate with program officers and the fiscal sponsorship program staff on resources to strengthen the field’s ability to hold funders accountable to promising, equitable practices
• Work with VP of Programs to align grantmaking practices and, where possible, priorities with other Louisiana funders
• Collaborate with programs team and partners to present our work at conferences, in webinars, and on other platforms

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT POLICY

Foundation for Louisiana aspires towards freedom for all Louisianans and aims to create a fully inclusive and affirming workplace for all people. We welcome and encourage applications from people who have been involved with the criminal legal system.

Foundation for Louisiana follows an equal opportunity employment policy and employs personnel without regard to race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, physical or mental ability, veteran status, military obligations, criminal justice background, and marital status.

This policy also applies to internal promotions, training, opportunities for advancement, terminations, outside vendors, members and customers, service clients, use of contractors and consultants, grant partners, board members, and dealings with the public.