Summary:

The SCIO leads the Higher Opportunity Neighborhoods (HON) Outcome Team and is responsible for investments in the Greater Hartford region supporting increased housing quality, stability and affordability, and increased growth and stability of BIPOC owned small businesses; and advancing increased investment in Hartford neighborhoods.

This position works collaboratively with the Community Impact Leadership Team (CILT), internal colleagues, and external community partners to ensure that the Foundation's grantmaking resources are effectively invested and monitored to produce positive, sustainable programming in the Greater Hartford region. SCIOs provide strategic leadership and subject matter expertise to grantmaking outcome areas and serve a significant collaborative role in the advancement of outcome teams, programs, and external partnerships while advising and mentoring Community Impact Officer (CIO) colleagues.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities: As lead of the HON Outcome Team

• Establish and manage HON strategy, workplans and budget.
• Supervise 2-3 direct reports. Provide mentorship and development of officers, managers and associate support staff. Ensure appropriate assignment of responsibility, goal setting, implementation of departmental workplans and effective cross-departmental collaborations.
• Oversee consideration of all new grant requests referred to teams, including assignment of grant requests.
• Lead HON team meetings. Invite the participation of external content-area experts and other staff as needed based on agenda, including members of the CILT, Public Policy, Communications, Development etc.,
• In collaboration with the Learning and Evaluation (L&E) team, oversee the learning and monitoring of all HON grantmaking; providing period reporting on progress towards outcomes and annual review of HON logic model, updating activities and approaches, and short and medium term outcomes.
• Communicate HON strategy and learning with relevant internal and external stakeholders.
• Participate in and represent the Foundation at relevant external and community coordination tables, including donor collaboratives, and networks with nonprofit and public sector partners.
• Maintain knowledge of current issues and trends in HON investment areas.

Duties and Responsibilities: All Senior and Community Impact Officers

Contribute to the work of one or more of the Foundation’s outcome-focused grantmaking/learning teams.

• Contribute to the annual planning and budgeting of outcome teams and the monitoring of plans.
• Review and analyze grant proposals from nonprofit organizations, assessing alignment with outcome team strategy and providing recommendation to management.
• Monitor assigned grants, tracking outcomes and partnering with nonprofits to adjust to changing environments and learnings as they implement grant-funded projects or programs.
• Participate in team meetings and other activities, collaborating on grants and shared activities of the team.
• Coordinate with external community partners and internal colleagues from L&E, Capacity Building and Nonprofit Support to integrate a learning, partnership and capacity building agenda into the work of outcome teams.

Maintain broad and in-depth knowledge and understanding of needs, concerns, issues, trends, best practices, innovations, and values of the community, and the nonprofit, government, business and other sectors.

• Carry out a critical role in the Foundation's assessment of community needs, and understanding the roles of other community stakeholders in determining appropriate grantmaking.
• Review and analyze grant requests in current and emerging areas of work, in response to emergency needs or new opportunities, as needed.

Consider and promote trust-based philanthropic practices, equity and inclusion in grantmaking, and learning alongside nonprofit and other community partners.

Provide grantmaking support and share information about grantmaking activities with other Foundation staff, and externally in collaboration with Communications and Development.

Competencies & Attributes:

• Deep commitment to the values of trust-based philanthropy, equity, diversity and inclusion and the ability to embed those values in all aspects of work.
• Ability to synthesize listening and learning into persuasive written rationales for grant recommendations.
• Knowledge of Greater Hartford, especially Hartford and the disparities in opportunity faced by its residents or of residents in a similar metropolitan area.
• Understanding of housing, small business and/or neighborhood economic development programs.
• Ability to mentor, guide and coach others as individual contributors and members of a team.
• Ability to build and sustain relationships with grantee partners and other community stakeholders.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, empathy and openness to new ideas and perspectives on a wide range of topics and proven ability to translate abstract ideas into actionable results.
• Solid record of collaborative and team-oriented approach to project design, implementation and/or grantmaking.
• Demonstrated working knowledge of basic and applied research, public policy development and analysis, strategic planning and nonprofit management.
• Demonstrated excellent communications skills for writing, speaking, listening for understanding, presenting and adapting content for a range of audiences and persuading and influencing.
• Demonstrated project management skills including overseeing internal and external staff, consultant teams and budgets.

Education & Experience:

Degree requirement can be substituted with equivalent practical experience.

• Bachelor's Degree in social sciences, public administration, public policy or other relevant area or equivalent relevant experience combined with educational training.
• Five or more years of experience in nonprofit or public sector in project management or implementation.
• Successful experience leading and/or contributing to collaborative, team-oriented programs and strategy development.
• Experience in a role requiring programmatic activities and/or critical and strategic thinking related to issues of equity and antiracism.

Preferred:

• Professional experience, lived experience or knowledge of fields related to the Hartford Foundation's strategic outcome areas.
• Knowledge of outcome-oriented budgetary planning and strong understanding of nonprofit budgeting.
• Experience supervising and/or leading other staff.
• Understanding of the role of the public sector and public policy in Connecticut or another state.
• Experience with different types of neighborhood development investments beyond traditional grantmaking.

Location:

Hartford, CT; Work assignment includes in-office work, remote work and occasional travel to community partners throughout the Greater Hartford Region.

For best consideration, application materials must be received by March 3, 2023, 5:00 pm EST.

For more information about the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, please visit our website: www.hfpg.org

HARTFORD FOUNDATION FOR PUBLIC GIVING IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER RELYING ON A DIVERSE GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE TALENTS TO ACHIEVE OUR MISSION

Any and all offers to external applicants are contingent on the candidate’s completion of a pre-employment background and reference check to the satisfaction of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.