**Application materials submitted through online job platforms or by email will not be considered.**
Position Overview
Baltimore’s Promise is seeking a Director of Funding Innovation (DFI) to lead critical operational and project management functions of Baltimore’s Promise. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) the DFI has a dual role of advancing innovative funding practices internally and externally.
Externally, the DFI will oversee a portfolio related to philanthropic innovation, inclusive of the administration of funding collaboratives including but not limited to the Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative and B’More Invested; the co-development of a participatory, youth-led grantmaking structure; and the incubation and development of new funding collaboratives as opportunities arise. Internally, the DFI will be the lead project manager and have significant implementation responsibilities related to Fee-for-Service (FFS) projects, a growing revenue stream for Baltimore’s Promise. FFS projects are time-limited engagements supportive to public systems or non-profit partners and may be team-specific or cross-cutting across Data, Operations, Funding Innovation, and Program teams. The central management of FFS projects will be the responsibility of the DFI. Over time, the DFI will support the Executive Leadership Team of Baltimore’s Promise in strategically cultivating FFS opportunities and setting FFS revenue targets as this body of work expands.
The ideal DFI candidate has held previous roles in philanthropy or philanthropy-adjacent contexts (e.g. allocation of public capital for non-profit and community partners), has experience directing funding and resources, and/or was responsible for the management and execution of processes to allocate resources, public and/or private. Other desired experience includes the proactive engagement of a diverse set of stakeholders, involvement in collaborative projects or initiatives inclusive of multiple entities and their staff, project management skills at the initiative level, budget development and oversight, and management of direct reports. Importantly, the DFI must have a strong understanding of inequitable practices that have long been a part of funding and resource allocation processes that have contributed to the systemic disinvestment in communities of color and leaders Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC)-led organizations, locally and nationally.
Organizational Values
To be an effective member of the Baltimore’s Promise team, the DFI must work in alignment with the Baltimore’s Promise’s organizational values, listed below, and our race equity and inclusion statement, linked here.
Foundational to all of Baltimore’s Promise’s work is ensuring it is developed, implemented, and evaluated in alignment with our organizational values, listed below, and our race equity and inclusion statement, linked here. It is of critical importance that all staff are fully aligned with our values and commitment to race equity and inclusion. This position must consistently live our values in the way they think about, approach, engage, and support Baltimore City’s young people.
In our fight for justice and systems change, our values as individuals, teams, and as an organization are the following:
-
Equity – Our efforts and initiatives are co-developed and driven by the lived experiences of those most negatively impacted by the outcomes we seek to improve. Race, ethnicity, gender, or other attributes should not have predictive power over support, resources, and opportunities that one can access.
-
Hustle – We are self-starters who take the initiative to strategically identify and advance solutions to address failures in achieving positive outcomes for children, youth, and families. We work efficiently, cross-functionally, and resourcefully – with a sense of urgency – to carry out the mission of the organization.
-
Humanity – We honor individuals and communities by holding ourselves and our partners accountable to act with integrity, compassion, kindness, and empathy.
-
Creativity – We are fun and innovative. Our first idea may not be the final strategy because we look for and embrace new ideas from diverse sources. We celebrate the accomplishments of staff and partners.
-
Shared Accountability – Shared Accountability is our collective responsibility for the work of the organization, not a threat of sanction. When we say we will do something, we will do it, and if we don’t, we will communicate our reasons why. We must be both supportive and critical of one another to ensure that we meet individual and team responsibilities that contribute to larger organizational goals.
Director of Funding Innovation Duties and Responsibilities
External Funding Innovation
-
Manage the philanthropic change portfolio by ensuring the successful development, implementation, and advancement of collaborative and/or participatory grantmaking structures, including but not limited to the Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative (SFC), B’More Invested, and the Youth and Young Adult Participatory Grantmaking Structure
-
Oversee the role of Baltimore’s Promise as an administrative backbone for funding collaboratives and ensure high-quality delivery of services in alignment with our organizational values
-
Manage staff and partners critical to the implementation of funding collaboratives, including but not limited to the SFC Program Manager and the Youth Leadership Coordinator
-
Serve in a co-development role and lead project manager for the Youth and Young Adult Grantmaking effort by ensuring a participatory body comprised of young people 16 - 24 receive relevant training and professional development, are prepared to develop and implement a decision-making structure allocating over $500,000 in funding and is in recruitment phase by October 2021 and fully operational by February 2022
-
Identify opportunities for funding innovation and philanthropic change in which Baltimore’s Promise can play a role (e.g. administrative backbone, facilitator, convener, data partner)
-
Serve as Baltimore’s Promise’s primary representative at relevant affinity groups and tables, such as Maryland Philanthropy Network, the SFC, and the SFC Governance Committee.
Internal Funding Innovation
-
Serve as lead project manager of Fee-for-Service (FFS) projects identified and approved by the Executive Leadership Team
-
Develop scopes and budgets for FFS projects that incorporate necessary team capacity, subcontractors, materials, and other resources
-
Develop project plans in concert with relevant staff and leadership that lead to high-quality deliverables or support within the timeframe and budget outlined
-
Serve in an implementation role as it relates to meeting facilitation, project plan development, staffing meetings, prepare relevant staff, creating meeting presentations, engaging external partners in service of the contract, supporting communication strategies related to FFS projects, managing media inquiries, and other scope-specific operational implementation duties
-
Identify, onboard, and manage subcontractors necessary to the implementation of FFS projects, as needed
-
Manage the budget of FFS projects
-
Prospect potential FFS opportunities and develop pitches or proposals for the Executive Leadership Team’s consideration
-
Other projects as assigned that are supportive of Baltimore’s Promise’s general operations and support cross-team efforts as needed, such as the facilitation or staffing of focus groups, events, and presentations
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Experience
-
A minimum of eight years of experience in the nonprofit, government, or philanthropic sectors with roles and leadership positions showing a progression of responsibility over time
-
At least three years of experience in philanthropic or philanthropic-adjacent contexts (e.g. allocation of public capital for non-profit and community partners)
-
Demonstrated commitment to working in service of youth from low-income families; BIPOC communities; and communities experiencing concentrated poverty
-
Excellent project management skills on efforts that require multiple individuals and partners to execute successfully, with demonstrated proficiency in project planning and meeting process targets and deliverable dates for complex projects
-
Baltimore City residency (strongly preferred)
-
Previous experience managing direct reports and building their capacity through management style, guidance, and professional development opportunities
-
Previous experience with contract scope development, budget projection, and budget management
-
Experience directing or supervising multiple programs or contracts and managing efforts supported by both public and private funding streams
-
Excellent writing and presentation skills with a successful track record of clearly communicating complex concepts to diverse audiences
-
Strong meeting and discussion facilitation experience
-
Strong analytical ability that can be applied in multifaceted ways, such as root cause analysis and assessing multiple sources of data that inform the development of new work or refinement of existing work and processes
-
Ability and willingness to apply race equity lens to all aspects of management, portfolio oversight, and organizational leadership
-
Ability to develop relationships with collaborators, decision-makers, practitioners, funders, resident leaders, community partners, and other key stakeholders
-
Understanding of Baltimore’s historical, social and political context, particularly issues facing children and youth and the local philanthropic context impacting Baltimore City non-profit organizations, grassroots organizations, and public systems
-
Familiarity with Results-Based Accountability and Results-Based Facilitation frameworks (preferred, but not required)
-
Alignment with Baltimore’s Promise values:
-
Organizational Values
-
Race Equity and Inclusion Statement
-
Compensation and Benefits
The salary range for this position is $90,000 - $95,000 This is a full-time position with full benefits, including CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield health insurance options, dental and vision insurance, paid vacation, and sick leave, cellphone and mileage stipends, and support for professional development opportunities.
To Apply
To apply, please submit the following materials as PDF files:
CV or resume
Cover letter
Names, titles, and relational context of three professional references. We will not contact references unless you advance in the application process, and you will receive advanced notice.
Writing Sample and Personal Statement: In no more than 750 words, please describe how you personally define the concept of race equity and inclusion and how you have applied a race equity and inclusion lens in your previous work. And, how can you envision applying this lens as a Baltimore's Promise team member based on our organizational values and the responsibilities of the Director of Funding Innovation?
We are reviewing application submissions and scheduling interviews on a rolling basis until September 24 and will close the position when it is filled. Please submit your materials as soon as possible to: https://baltimorespromise.formstack.com/forms/dfi
**Application materials submitted through online job platforms or by email will not be considered.**
ABOUT BALTIMORE’S PROMISE
Baltimore's Promise is a citywide collaborative composed of public, business, higher education, nonprofit, community, and philanthropic leaders. We serve as a catalyst for organizing efforts and resources around a shared vision: all Baltimore City youth will travel a safe, healthy, and successful educational path from cradle to career. Baltimore’s Promise uses data to report on outcomes for children from birth through their early careers in order to understand the complex needs our city’s children.
We promote a data-based approach to program and policy design--one that is informed by context and lived experience of the communities affected and conducted with the participation of all stakeholders. Recognizing enduring inequities resulting from persisting racism, ethnocentrism, sexism, and the intersections thereof, we employ a race equity lens to all aspects of data collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation.
RACE EQUITY AND INCLUSION STATEMENT
Too many Baltimore City children and youth face significant obstacles to achieving their full potential. Opportunity and paths to success are not equitably available to all of our children. Through generations of collective history in our city—confirmed by bodies of research—we know inequities in opportunity and disparities in outcomes are driven by race, gender, socioeconomic status, culture, disabilities, and other societal factors.
In Baltimore, systemic race-based barriers disproportionately affect Black children and youth and those in other communities of color. For Baltimore’s Promise to fulfill our mission of ensuring that all children succeed, we must apply an equity lens that allows us to better understand these barriers and the challenges faced by our vulnerable children, youth and the family supporting their pathway. Acknowledging these entrenched structural impediments, Baltimore’s Promise must commit to long-term strategies that will create opportunity and foster transformative change across Baltimore City.
A rigorous and sustained focus on eliminating systemic and institutional race-based barriers to opportunity is essential to achieving our objectives from cradle to career. Through this intentional approach, we can better shape targeted strategies that meet specific needs of our vulnerable children and youth while improving conditions and outcomes for all populations we serve, creating new pathways for opportunities for children, youth and families to thrive in Baltimore.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
Baltimore’s Promise is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity. It is our policy to recruit, hire, train, and promote individuals, as well as administer all personnel actions, without regard to race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin or ancestry, status as an individual with a disability who is otherwise qualified to perform the essential functions of his or her position, or any other protected characteristic in accordance with applicable laws. Baltimore’s Promise will not tolerate any unlawful discrimination, and any such conduct is prohibited.