Portfolio Manager, Social Investment Practice

The Kresge Foundation is a $4.2 billion private, national foundation founded in 1924 to promote human progress. Today, Kresge fulfills that mission by expanding opportunities in America’s cities through grantmaking and social investing in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services, and community development – both nationally and in target cities including Detroit, Memphis, New Orleans, and Fresno. In collaboration with our partners, we help create pathways for people with low incomes to improve their life circumstances and join the economic mainstream.

THE OPPORTUNITY

In the shadow of the Great Recession, Kresge launched a Social Investment Practice which complements the foundation’s traditional focus on grantmaking with loans, deposits, equity investments, and guarantees. These investments creatively overcome traditional financing barriers, draw other investors to these issues, and demonstrate how capital can be made available in otherwise disinvested and excluded communities.

The Portfolio Manager will be based in our Troy, MI office and works closely with the Social Investments and Finance Department staff, other foundation employees, and the investee organizations in order to manage existing investments and support the ongoing learning, evaluation, and asset management of these transactions. Although this is primarily an asset management position, this role may ultimately support some origination work after their first year depending on interest, ability, and the needs of the team.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES & IMPACT

Success in the Portfolio Manager role will require a dedication to rigorous financial review, strong compliance management skills, regular assessment of the risk in the portfolio, the creation of quarterly reports, and a high degree of accuracy throughout all of those tasks. At the same time, there must be a dedication to patiently help investee organizations better understand their own financial position and reporting, and you will need to build strong working relationships with other teams within the foundation. At the heart of it, you will act as a steward of the portfolio, regularly assessing its health, synthesizing and reporting this information to the foundation, and acting as a trusted resource for program partners and investee organizations throughout the life of their financial agreement.

Financial Analysis and Reporting

• Closely manage an assigned subset of the portfolio, ensuring a high degree of accuracy for all information provided to internal collaborators.
• Ensure receipt and review of required investee reporting for material changes or requests; analyze financials and other information to ensure fidelity to investment terms, distill learnings, and to monitor the health of investee organizations.
• Participate in the periodic investment review and risk rating processes for all investments and make investment level and portfolio-wide reserve recommendations. Conduct the careful monitoring and intensive analysis sometimes required for watch-list investments.
• Work collaboratively with other functional areas of the foundation to maintain forecasts of disbursements, guarantee payments, and track new investment activity. Produce quarterly reporting including portfolio reports, cash-flow, disbursement, and guarantee payment projections. Act as the team-lead on ensuring investment actions are properly documented and recorded in the foundation’s internal systems.

Build/Maintain Relationships and Provide Technical Assistance

• Foster positive relationships with portfolio investees and internal partners that ensure a strong portfolio of investments and engender trust and collaboration across the foundation and with investees and other external partners.
• Build capacity in investees by providing consultation and technical assistance that strengthens their internal operations, financial reporting, and capacity to fulfill their mission.
• Approach investees with a deep commitment to Kresge’s mission and a collaborative and problem-solving approach, seeking pathways to successful outcomes and strengthened organizational partnerships.

WHAT SKILLS YOU’LL NEED

This position works with multiple collaborators, and it is critical this person has the right blend of hard and soft skills, analytical and people skills, grounded in a passion for Kresge’s mission. The ideal candidate will have a community development, finance, grants (PRI) management, or banking related asset-management background. Prior experience with social investing or private foundations is a plus, but not required. In this position, you will work with other foundation staff, grantees, borrowers, investors, consultants, and legal counsel.

The ideal candidate will also possess the following professional abilities, attributes, and experiences:

• B.A. in related field (advanced degree or additional years of related work-experience preferred).
• Five to seven years’ experience in banking, finance, community development finance or related fields.
• Understanding or expertise in non-profit financial statements and business models, an understanding of the social/impact investing sector, and a passion to leverage the use of capital for social good.
• Experience monitoring direct investments to ensure fiduciary and investment responsibilities are being met; strong investment acumen and successful track record of managing investments.
• Strong oral and written communications skills as well as an aptitude for visualizing data, identifying trends, and distilling details into an insightful high-level view.
• Strong interpersonal skills to effectively interact with a broad range of foundation colleagues, balanced with the ability to work independently and seek counsel or feedback as appropriate.
• Ability to cultivate positive relationships with the investee organizations, offering technical assistance and insight when needed in the course of their regular reporting to the Foundation.
• *Located in SE Michigan, or willingness to relocate by January 2023; limited travel (up to 10%) may be required when it is safe to do so.

TO APPLY

More information about The Kresge Foundation may be found at: www.kresge.org

This search is being led by Carolyn Ho and Rachel Burgoyne 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.

Kresge is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBT applicants. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability or other applicable legally protected characteristics.