The Organization
Northern California Grantmakers (NCG) is a dynamic, growing membership organization that brings the philanthropic community together to shift resources, capital, and power back to historically marginalized communities leading transformative change. Northern California has a rich cultural legacy and commitment to social justice. NCG’s membership is made up of stakeholders across philanthropy including program officers, board members, donor trustees, movement organizers, communicators, visionaries, advocates, dreamers, and believers. We started as the “Lunch & Bunch” in the 1960s, a group of philanthropic leaders committed to growing together. We formalized ourselves in the 1980s with the goal of supporting a base of philanthropic members. Currently, we have more than 220 institutional members and over 4,000 individual members. For the past forty years, we have been working to gather, mobilize, and transform philanthropy. We believe in our collective power for good. Learn more about NCG at www.ncg.org
Position Overview
NCG seeks an equity-centered, relationship-oriented leader as Director for Member Engagement to oversee membership engagement, emergent partnerships, and key programming that strengthens our strategic focus on addressing inequities and increases our ability to transform philanthropic practices. The Director ensures that the organization addresses the range of audiences (family, public, private, and corporate foundations and beyond) that comprise the dynamic and diverse people in our philanthropic community. The Director will also work in close partnership with the President and CEO, supervise membership staff, and provide thought partnership across the team as they develop and implement strategies for effective member engagement. This will require a collaborative leader who is excited about NCG’s role in the field and is able to relate to, inspire, and bring together a wide range of stakeholders in a way that helps move philanthropy forward.
We prioritize equity, diversity, and inclusion, and welcome applicants of diverse race, ethnic culture, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, and physical abilities. Our Director should embrace racial equity as a core value and have the emotional intelligence to effectively work with people of all backgrounds and positively contribute to NCG’s culture.
Essential Job Functions Strategy (~40 percent)
● Leads the organization in the area of membership operations; provides the membership perspective to work and project teams; and ensures alignment of membership work with overall strategic and operational goals.
● Designs, implements, and manages a short- and long-term strategy for the recruitment of new members to meet identified strategic, numeric, and revenue goals.
● Supplements efforts of the development team to contribute to resource development, securing support for general operations and program specific activities.
● Develops and implements an annual plan for member retention and accompanying budget management.
● Creates and maintains new partnerships and opportunities for NCG engagement, including with statewide and national collaborative efforts such as
Philanthropy California and United Philanthropy Forum.
● Assists the President and CEO with special assignments as requested.
Member Experience (~25 percent)
● Serves as a primary contact to field inquiries from members and the general public; responsible for evaluating and appropriately routing requests and responding in a manner that reflects NCG’s customer service values.
● Provides primary oversight for the NCG Annual Conference, including overall conference design, project management, and coordination of the team tasked to deliver the event.
● Ensures linkages between member service activities and program development.
● Oversees annual membership renewal drive.
● Supervises the Membership Coordinator in the delivery of NCG”s membership services.
● Ensures that NCG has the appropriate mix of services, programs, and activities to meet the needs of the range of audiences that comprise its membership.
● Provides strategic management of electronic relationships through e-communications; database and website interface; and functionality and data integrity.
Membership Development (~20 percent)
● Cultivates and nurtures relationships with current and potential members.
● Develops strategies to get members involved and engaged through leadership and volunteer opportunities.
● Leads the Member Engagement Committee in quarterly meetings aligned with board meetings; identifies committee members; and develops agendas and priorities for the committee.
● Leads orientation of new and prospective members on member benefits and opportunities for engagement.
Donor and Trustee Engagement (~15 percent)
● Provides strategic oversight of the NCG efforts to engage philanthropic leadership through its 5 Shifts initiative, including supervision of the Senior Manager for Donor and Trustee Services.
● Manages Senior Fellows engaged via 5 Shifts for specific assignments on behalf of NCG.
Core Competencies
NCG works with great intention to build an organizational culture rooted in equity; inclusion; diversity of experience and perspective; and belonging. As we shift into a more hybrid work environment, we refined and affirmed the core competencies necessary to succeed in this role in alignment with our values. These competencies, in priority order for this role, include:
● Relational. Ability to cultivate and maintain relationships with colleagues and members. Excellent interpersonal skills with an ability to work with diverse people and in diverse groups.
● Weaver. Demonstrated ability to weave diverse elements of the network together for collective benefit.
● Strategic. Ability to collect, review, synthesize, and present information and findings and influence project trajectory.
● Emotionally Intelligent. Is self-aware and reflective, and able to read and respond appropriately to the energy in a room.
● Effective. Experience leading signature strategic initiatives and developing/executing successful plans to achieve strategic goals.
● Self-Directed. Have a natural curiosity to find solutions amidst uncertainty and use evidence-based data in all decisions.
● Results-Oriented. The ability to organize, prioritize, and manage complex, multidimensional projects and the commitment and ability to meet work goals on time.
● Joyful. Brings joy, humor, and possibility, and positivity in the face of challenges.
● Adaptive. Responds intentionally and effectively to changing conditions and needs.
Relevant Experience and Qualifications
The following qualifications serve as a guide to the ideal experiences and knowledge the Director might bring. However, NCG encourages candidates to submit their applications even if they do not meet all of the requirements stated below. Applicants should feel free to lift up additional relevant experience or transferrable skills that would contribute to their effectiveness in this role.
● Stellar interpersonal and relationship-building skills with a collaborative style and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of diverse stakeholders.
● 5+ years of increasing relevant responsibility in a membership development or related association.
● Outstanding project management skills with the ability to organize, prioritize, and manage complex, multidimensional projects to successful completion within desired timeframes and to define goals.
● Strong alignment to the values and mission of NCG and clear commitment to the principles of social justice and racial equity.
● Must be located in the San Francisco Bay Area with the ability to travel throughout the region as necessary.
● Appreciation for a collegial and learning work environment and capacity to manage, inspire, and develop staff.
● Experience managing staff or high value volunteers to ensure the necessary support, motivation, and development to meet goals.
● Technical acumen across Salesforce and Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook with the ability to learn and adapt quickly to virtual communications and collaborative applications.
Compensation, Benefits, and Work Environment
The salary range for this position is $110,000 to $125,000, commensurate with experience. NCG also offers competitive benefits that reflect our values and commitment to our team members, including:
● Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
● Flexible Spending Account
● Vacation, Sick, and Holiday pay
● 403b Voluntary Plan
● Short and Long-Term Disability
● Life Insurance
● Employee Assistance Program
● Staff Development and Wellness Funds
You would be joining a joyful team of individuals committed to social impact, a healthy working culture, and respect for the many different aspects of life. Racial equity, belonging, diversity, equity, and inclusion are baked into everything we do, and we encourage applicants of diverse races, ethnic cultures, gender expressions, ages, sexual orientations, and physical abilities to bring their lived experiences along with their professional selves.
For health and safety, NCG requires all employees to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. If you receive an offer and are unable to get vaccinated for religious or medical reasons, you may request reasonable accommodation.
How To Apply
To apply, please email your cover letter (not to exceed two pages) and resume (not to exceed two pages), answering the questions below, as well as a list of three references (who will not be contacted without advance notice) to ncg@walkeraac.com by no later than Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at 5 pm PT including “Director for Member Engagement” in the subject line:
1) What motivates you to offer your time, skills, and gifts
working with philanthropy, business, government,
nonprofits, and/or community to tackle our region’s most
pressing social issues?
2) Share a brief example of an experience or program you
led that illuminates your interest in NCG’s work around
racial equity. What is a key lesson learned that you
would bring with you to this role?