Position Summary: The Senior Grantmaking Director is responsible for directing Groundswell Fund’s grantmaking through its five grantmaking portfolios and two special initiatives.  They will lead the implementation of new grantmaking initiatives and ensure that the team is working towards meeting resource allocation targets through our grantmaking portfolios. They will support Grantmaking staff to research and incorporate new priorities and respond to timely needs in the field through grantmaking and other programmatic activities. The Senior Grantmaking Director will work closely with the Chief Strategy Officer, Directors of Capacity-Building, and other Department Directors to ensure cohesion of programmatic efforts and effective communication across departments.  They will also work closely with our Chief Strategy Officer and Communications and Funder Organizing staff to coordinate strategy within funder and donor networks and cultivate/maintain foundation and donor relationships. This includes taking a leadership role in being a spokesperson and fundraising for Groundswell’s reproductive justice and social justice work. Funder Organizing (fundraising) and generating increased visibility and resources for reproductive and social justice movements are integral responsibilities of this role, working in collaboration with other senior staff.  The Senior Grantmaking Director is responsible for providing accurate and timely data on Groundswell’s grantmaking impact, such as grantees’ needs, wins, and challenges to support Groundswell’s funder organizing efforts. The Senior Grantmaking Director will lead the effort to foster and support a  connected and joyful Grantmaking Department within a remote work environment.  

Responsibilities: 

Grantmaking Impact: Advance Groundswell Fund’s grantmaking strategy to award approximately $12 Million per year to Women of color-led and Trans people of color-led reproductive and social justice movements.   

  • Leads the Grantmaking Department in achieving its 5-year Blueprint (strategic plan) goals to advance Groundswell’s mission.  

  • Develops and manages annual department workplan and budget in collaboration with key Grantmaking Department staff and senior leadership and supervise Grantmaking staff to reach their individual and collective goals in line with Groundswell’s Blueprint plan. 

  • Approves grants and responsible for ensuring grantmaking funds and special initiatives disperse grants and capacity building support in a timely, supportive, and efficient manner to frontline movements. 

  • Ensures accurate evaluation of Groundswell’s programmatic impact, including managing the annual grantee RJ Impact Evaluation, in partnership with key stakeholders and consultants. 

  • Responsible for ensuring successful completion and reporting on Grantmaking Department deliverables to Groundswell’s funders and donors. 

  • Supports each Grantmaking program to live into Trust Based Philanthropy practices and supports each program to strike the balance between reaching long-term goals while staying responsive to emergent needs from grassroots movements.  

 

Department Stewardship: Manage a dynamic team in the pursuit of excellent, equitable, and sustainable results that serve and honor reproductive and social justice movements. This position is responsible for creating a departmental culture that is rooted in love and rigor. Groundswell is different in who we are: Many of our staff come out of labor, electoral, and community organizing and are new to philanthropy.  

  • This position supervises key staff and supports the learning and professional development of a brilliant team of Grantmaking Department staff who play an important role in supporting RJ and social justice movements and in holding philanthropy accountable.  

  • This position ensures that Grantmaking Department staff feel valued and have support to do their jobs boldly and well. This includes providing a supportive environment for team members to thrive in, including but not limited to: 

  • Leading annual planning, budgeting, and timely course corrections for the annual work plan;  

  • Making program workflows and decision-making lines clear and efficient and ensuring all team members understand their role in the Grantmaking Department;  

  • Facilitating weekly and quarterly department meetings and ensuring weekly supervisions are happening in a productive manner; 

  • Providing staff training and guidance as needed to ensure Groundswell is conducting solid Trust Based grantmaking;  

  • Hosting Grantmaking Department annual retreats;  

  • Encouraging a culture where joyful work, collaboration, open communication, professional growth, generative conflict and restoration are possible. 

  • Holding weekly supervision with direct reports and fulfilling management responsibilities in a timely manner.  

  • Remaining accessible daily to provide guidance and mentorship to direct reports to help live into Groundswell’s value of creating a leaderful organization.  

  • Support team building and morale within the Grantmaking Department, including supporting Grantmaking team staff within a remote working environment. 

Collaboration: Play a leadership role within Groundswell Fund, including serving on the Directors Table to help shape Groundswell’s overall direction 

  • Co-lead monthly alignment and collaboration efforts between Grantmaking Department and Capacity Building Department 

  • Partner with the Chief Strategy Officer and other Groundswell senior staff to shape and contribute to Groundswell’s overall strategy and impact.  

  • Work with Chief Strategy Officer to ensure effective communication and coordination within department and across departments. 

Funder Organizing: Supporting Groundswell’s funder organizing efforts to increase foundation and donor investment in and accountability to BIPOC-led reproductive and social justice movements. This includes acting as a spokesperson for the organization; providing timely grantee updates and written reports; participating in earned media, panels and conference presentations; giving grantmaking updates in funder and donor meetings and events; etc. 

Qualifications:  

Essential 

  • This is a remote position and applicants must be able to work from home.  

  • Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively via phone and email with a range of stakeholders. 

  • 7 to 10 years of experience in social justice philanthropy or social justice movements.  

  • Five years or more of grantmaking experience.   

  • Five to ten years of managing a staff team. 

Preferred 

  • Bilingual Spanish/English preferred.  

  • Strong ability to read and understand financials. 

Strongly Preferred 

  • Five or more years of senior organizational management experience desired.  

  • Five or more years of fundraising/funder organizing experience desired but not essential.  

  • Familiarity with Reproductive Justice/Gender Justice.  

  • An analytic and decisive decision maker with the ability to prioritize and communicate to staff key objectives and tactics necessary to achieve organizational goals.  

  • Experience with and knowledge of 501c3 compliance and lobbying rules.   

  • Unwavering commitment to excellence and data-driven organizational and programmatic evaluation. 

  • Ability to acknowledge the power dynamics inherent to philanthropy while building authentic relationships with grantees, funders and field partners. 

 

Virtual Organization: Groundswell is a completely virtual organization and has been for many years before the COVID-19 pandemic. We are committed to building a strong identity and thriving culture that is exemplary in the nonprofit world and in the greater landscape of fully remote organizations.  Our work is virtual but we will also have the opportunity to travel and see each other in person for retreats, conferences, and events. To succeed as remote workers, applicants should have a dedicated workspace, a commitment to clear and frequent communication, and comfort utilizing technology to increase collaboration and connection. Those with previous remote work experience are preferred, but we also welcome those who are new to remote work and understand the requirements of working in a thriving virtual organizational culture.  

Work Schedule: Groundswell is currently piloting a 4 day, 32 hour work week, with the intention of making it a permanent schedule. We are a completely virtual organization, allowing for flexibility in work schedules for our staff across differing U.S. time zones. Groundswell is a completely virtual organization, allowing for flexibility in work schedules for our staff across differing U.S. time zones. While work can usually be completed during standard business hours of the applicant's time zone, there may be times where early morning, evening, and weekend work may be needed to ensure organization-wide collaboration, to staff or attend events, and/or to meet organization workload needs during busy times of the year. Staff whose jobs require travel can expect longer hours, as travel may happen outside of business hours and on weekends.    

  

Computer Skills:  To perform this job successfully, an individual should have proficiency with Microsoft Office suite of programs including Excel and Word, Microsoft Office 365, Outlook, SharePoint, GSuite, Zoom, Neon, Slack, Fluxx, Bill.com, ASANA, and Concur.      

Travel: Candidate must be available to travel ​at least 10 times a year​ for overnight events/meetings across the U.S. Travel needs will be evaluated and determined on an ongoing basis with an eye toward staff safety as we continue navigating COVID-19. 

Compensation/Benefits: Annual salary is ​$145,000-$160,000 or commensurate with experience​. Groundswell Fund is currently in the midst of salary benchmarking study. The salary for this position may increase in the future. Very generous benefits include fully paid for employee and family health, dental, vision, matching 401K plan, as well as additional employer-provided reimbursements for fertility expenses, gender tranisition health care costs and midwifery/doula expenses that are not covered by insurance. Three weeks of vacation upon hire and a generous holiday schedule including a week during the summer and the last two weeks of December, as well as a flexible 4 day, 32 hour work schedule 

To Apply: Please include a resume, three professional references, and a cover letter that includes your salary expectations and describes why you feel you are a strong candidate for this position. Accepting applications on a rolling basis until the position has been filled. If you have questions, please email hr@groundswellfund.org (please do not reach out to individuals). Due to the high volume of applications, only those selected for further discussion will be contacted. Please, no phone calls.   

Equal Employment Opportunity: The Groundswell Fund is a 501(c)(3) public charity incubates new and innovative public-interest projects and grant-making programs. We are committed to attracting, developing and retaining exceptional people, and to creating a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding and that enables each of us to realize our potential. Our work environment is safe and open to all employees and partners, respecting the full spectrum of races, ethnicities, national origins, ages, sexual orientations, gender identities, beliefs, religions, faiths and ideologies, cultures, socio-economic backgrounds and levels of physical ability. 

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