The Organization
The Raikes Foundation was launched in 2002 by Seattle based philanthropists, Jeff and Tricia Raikes, with a focus on both “what” and “how” philanthropy funds. Specifically, the foundation has had a deep commitment to youth through its long-term work in education and youth homelessness, and to supporting funders to give in more impactful ways. Over the years, the foundation has also embarked on a journey to understand and deepen its commitment to racial equity and how it serves as a through-line across all the foundation’s work. Given the multi-crisis context the country is facing, as well as a deepening awareness of the inequities baked into the systems that are supposed to support all Americans, the foundation is deepening its work on equity and justice.
Position Overview
With leadership from Executive Director, Dennis Quirin, the Raikes Foundation has refocused its structure to establish new opportunities to invest in the conditions necessary for a racially just society and to build upon important existing initiatives in Impact Driven Philanthropy which seeks to influence donors to invest in ways that center racial equity and justice. With this exciting focus, NPAG and the Raikes Foundation invite nominations and applications for the newly formed leadership position of Senior Director, Conditions for Racial Equity (CoRE) Programs.
Reporting directly to the Executive Director, the Senior Director will first and foremost be a mission aligned partner, collaborator, and bridge builder who is committed to nurturing long term shifts in the sector to push the boundaries of traditional philanthropy, including inviting more funders to embrace the complexity of change at scale and to recognize the unique set of systemic barriers that marginalize BIPOC communities and limit their access to philanthropic capital. The Senior Director will leverage a strong existing portfolio of work and have the unique opportunity to co-create expanded investments and call on colleague foundations and field leaders to advance work and practices that intentionally shift power to impacted communities and champion racial equity and justice. And finally, the Senior Director will work collaboratively with the senior leadership team both at the foundation and in the executive office, North Forty, to identify, clarify, communicate, and manage the foundation’s programmatic and operational goals and to ensure that resources, processes, staffing, and structures are moving toward more equitable systems and impact.
The ideal candidate will be a values-aligned, strategic, and innovative leader who will cultivate and strengthen relationships with other public and private funders to identify co-funding opportunities and to support efforts that advance CoRE and the foundation’s mission, vision, and values. Strong candidates will demonstrate insight and experience relevant to defining initial hypotheses and a learning agenda, conducting landscape scans to identify opportunities and gaps, and identifying the foundation’s Theory of Change for CoRE that includes short term and long-term outcomes and priorities. Expertise and experience supporting systems change and efforts that accelerate knowledge dissemination, connectivity, and coordination within fields and across disciplines is critical to the success of this role.
QUALIFICATIONS OF THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 7-10 years of hands-on experience and progressive leadership in philanthropy, community capacity building, nonprofit management, or a related field including the design and implementation of new programs, initiatives or strategies, data analysis, secondary research, and communicating and presenting program and policy information. The Director will ideally be a thoughtful connector, bridge builder, and strategist, who is action oriented and can adapt in a changing national landscape to identify priorities. While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications enumerated below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:
- Knowledge of racial justice, social equity, community organizing principles, racial and cultural differences; an understanding of systemic and institutional racial bias; sophisticated understanding of issues and concerns of communities of color and other diverse groups.
- Experience managing work across teams with a high degree of emotional intelligence; a leadership style that is driven by active inquiry and learning; an ability to creatively synthesize ideas and input from multiple sources; and a commitment to excellence.
- Ability to establish trust, understanding, and strong thought partnership in the development of the foundation’s vision for the CoRE portfolio combined with the adeptness to translate that vision into priorities and goals and align relevant resources effectively.
- Experience in the design and execution of effective strategies surrounding critical issues driving opportunity gaps, poverty, and inequality in communities across the country and the corresponding approaches adopted at the local, regional, and national level to address these issues.
- Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, including a personal presence that is effective and inspirational across a variety of settings and stakeholders.
- Experience and fluency in measurement, learning, and evaluation of their strategies and plans in motion.
- Proven ability to lead thoughtfully and intentionally, gathering input, acting on feedback, making appropriate yet at times difficult decisions, and demonstrating sound professional judgment, maturity, and self-awareness to know when to step into the spotlight and the humility and team orientation to know when to let others take the lead.
The compensation range for this position has been set at $204K – $240K and commensurate with candidate experience.
How To Apply
More information about the Raikes Foundation may be found at: raikesfoundation.org
This search is being supported by Katherine Jacobs, Chaz Chapman, and Carolyn Ho of NPAG. Due to the pace of this search, candidates are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Candidates may submit their cover letter, outlining their interest and qualifications, along with their resume via NPAG’s website.
The Raikes Foundation’s ability to achieve its mission is enhanced by a diverse team, an inclusive culture and programmatic strategies that apply an equity lens. We seek candidates who possess the knowledge, skills, and lived experience that contribute to the diversity of our team and share a commitment to equity.