| Position | Director - Education, Sexuality, Religion |
| Date Posted | 24 Mar 2008 |
| Application Deadline | until filled |
| Location | New York, USA |
Summary Description
The Foundation’s grant making work is organized into a Program Division which is overseen by three Vice Presidents who each lead one comprehensive global area of work: Asset Building and Community Development; Knowledge, Creativity and Freedom; and Peace and Social Justice. Under the leadership of the Vice President for the Knowledge, Creativity and Freedom Program (KC&F), there are two program units. One is focused on Education, Sexuality, Religion, and the other unit covers the Foundation’s work in Media and Arts and Culture.
Under its new President, Luis Ubiñas, the Foundation now seeks a Director for its Education, Sexuality, Religion (ESR) unit. This Director will be a critical manager in the KC&F program and, more broadly, the emerging leadership team of the Foundation. She/he will be expected to build upon the traditions and values of the unit, Program and the Foundation.
The Role
Reporting to the Vice President for Knowledge, Creativity and Freedom, Alison Bernstein, the Director for ESR is responsible for managing annual grant making of more than $100 million in the U.S. and the 12 Ford offices outside the United States. The Director supervises ESR unit staff on a day-to-day basis in the U.S. and helps to coordinate the work of ESR staff overseas with the Foundation’s 12 Representatives.
The ESR unit themes include encouraging access to high quality public education for disadvantaged students, promoting a more inclusive curriculum which takes account of the diversity of human experience, supporting research and policies focused on understanding human sexuality, and sexuality education and utilizing the progressive moral resources of religious communities in making societies more just and pluralistic.
The Director of ESR will have the opportunity to work with the leadership of the Foundation as it defines the areas of focus for the Foundation’s next generation of work in ESR. Over time, the Director will have the opportunity to build a team of program officers to execute that strategy. Working closely with the Vice President for KC&F, the Director for ESR has responsibility for ensuring that the Program Officers in ESR have clear programmatic objectives with a direct link between those objectives and their grant making and definable goals. She/he is also responsible for fostering within-Program learning, and collaboration and communication among overseas offices and U.S.-based staff.
Responsibilities Include
Specific responsibilities include:
Program Strategy and Leadership
Work with the Vice President for KC&F in developing unit goals and related matters;
Assist the VP in strategy development, implementation, communication, evaluation and dissemination of ESR unit and plans, strategies and outcomes to demonstrable and sustainable impact;
Assist the VP in ensuring that ESR’s grantmaking has global reach through the work of overseas offices;
Help ensure that the unit’s strategic and operational objectives are aligned with those of the Foundation overall;
Manage day-to-day unit operations and programming budgets in the U.S.;
Build the Program Officer team in ESR, leading hiring, appraisal and extensions in close collaboration with the VP;
Work day-to-day with Program Officers to ensure that their efforts are clearly aligned with the Foundation’s objectives in ESR.
Collaborative Management
Manage and promote a collaborative working environment across units and areas of expertise that capitalizes on diverse backgrounds, perspectives and skills to accomplish Foundation goals;
As part of the Program management team, contribute to the development and implementation of the organization’s mission, policies, strategies and operations;
Work hand-in-hand with Program Officers to build a team dedicated to developing and implementing the Foundation’s overall strategy in ESR;
Work closely with the VPs and President to develop the strategy for and implementation of cross-divisional efforts.
Qualifications
Specific competencies include:
Setting Strategy and Achieving Results: The successful candidate will have the strategic vision to develop and implement a unit that is focused on outcomes that align with the mission and values of the Foundation. In this endeavour, she/he should have a track record in innovation and strategic thinking in the areas of urban education and education reform; knowledge development and dissemination in sexuality and/or religious institutions’ and leaders’ roles in a progressive society.
Leadership Style: The successful candidate will demonstrate a collaborative leadership style. Likewise, she/he will have the desire and ability to build bridges within the unit, the Program and across Programs.
Building Teams: She/he will have a demonstrated track record in building collaborative teams that can partner to accomplish major initiatives both with internal partners and external partners, such as grantees and other organizations. The position requires a person of high intelligence with a proven ability to recruit, retain, motivate and develop talented individuals and engage them in an intellectually-rigorous environment. She/he will be a person of good judgment and sensitivity, and will be able to listen, value and leverage the skills of people with different perspectives and styles from a range of backgrounds.
Judgment: She/he will work with the VP to make timely and clearly communicated decisions and take appropriate risks to achieve results. Likewise, she/he will be thoughtful about deploying the unit’s budget in a way that maximizes outcomes aligned with core institutional values while managing risk. She/he will be a person of unquestioned personal and professional integrity. She/he will listen to and learn from key stakeholders inside and outside of the Foundation and will be an inclusive and independent thinker who can manage ambiguity and devise solutions even when a clear path is not evident.
Passion and Shared Values: Evidence of such passion and commitment should be demonstrated through significant contributions to reducing inequities through public service, the nonprofit sector or other appropriate venues. The successful candidate will have demonstrated expertise and interest in global issues with great cultural awareness and sensitivities to the inequities that exist in the U.S. and internationally.
Preferred Qualifications
Candidate Profile
The Foundation is seeking an individual dedicated to and successful in solving problems of educational access and equity in the U.S. and overseas. The successful candidate will have specific experience in the areas of educational access and reform to enhance the development of thinking.
As such, she/he will have knowledge and appreciation of economic disparities, cultural differences, and the role education plays in promoting social mobility as well as preparing informed citizens. The successful candidate will be a highly skilled educational professional capable of building constructive dialogue and collaboration across the fields of education, sexuality and religion. The candidate must have the capability to manage for results within a large, decentralized organization in a fiscally responsible manner. She/he will have outstanding communication skills, both written and oral, and the ability to represent the Foundation effectively to many audiences.
Contact
Applications and nominations should be submitted for consideration to the attention of:
G. Angela Henry,
Phillips Oppenheim
521 Fifth Avenue, 29th Floor,
New York, NY 10175,
Fax: 212-953-1775,
E-Mail: FordFoundation@PhillipsOppenheim.com.
Salary
Compensation for this opportunity has been designed to attract a candidate of significant accomplishment.
Equal employment opportunity and having a diverse staff are fundamental principles at the Ford Foundation, where employment and promotional opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/affectional preference, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established under law.
Please apply for this position in writing.