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Executive Director (Part-Time), Spungen Family Foundation

Employer
Florence & Laurence Spungen Family Foundation
Location
Illinois, United States
Salary
Competitive Salary
Closing date
Feb 21, 2023

About the Spungen Family Foundation:

The Florence & Laurence Spungen Family Foundation improves the quality of life of individuals and families facing health challenges, and to address issues that particularly affect the Jewish community. This new position manages the grantmaking, strategic planning, Board involvement and Next Generation engagement for a Lake County, IL and Santa Barbara County, CA based family foundation.

 

This remote position is part-time, roughly 25 hours per week, working within proximity to Northern Cook and Lake Counties, IL. This position must be located near enough to this area to participate in face-to-face meetings as needed (potentially weekly, semi-monthly or monthly) and be interested in getting to know and support this community. Very limited travel is expected as part of this job with 1-2 trips per year to Santa Barbara, CA or professional conferences.

 

The Foundation is at a critical point of growth, having received a notable transfer of assets in 2022, which is increasing the giving budget each year. The grantmaking priorities of the foundation have evolved and currently focus on mental wellness, families experiencing poverty, specifically in the areas of homelessness and food insecurity, and Holocaust education and genocide prevention. This position is critical in helping the foundation define its sub-priorities within mental wellness and homelessness, identify local organizations working on these issues, and develop impactful relationships. Previous areas of interest have included a focus on health care, caregiving, and Jewish genetics.

 

In addition to a five-person Board of Directors, the Foundation has a broader Next Generation network to be supported, connected, and engaged with the hopes of bringing them into foundation participation and leadership in future years.

 

The foundation holds a significant Collection of Holocaust artifacts which is managed, in tandem, entirely by the Curator and Board. The Executive Director has very limited involvement with the Holocaust Postal Collection which operates parallel to the Foundation’s grantmaking.

 

Primary Responsibilities:

The Executive Director for the Florence and Laurence Spungen Family Foundation will provide strategic and operational leadership to a multi-generational family foundation with annual grantmaking of $1.25M. Key responsibilities include:

  1. Grantmaking: Identify, evaluate and recommend grant opportunities that align with the foundation’s strategic giving areas. Develop strong knowledge of the foundation’s focal areas and trends in the field. Manage inflow of new grant requests, conduct due diligence and site visits, and prepare proposals and funding recommendations for board review. 
  2. Liaising with grantees:  Maintain open and responsive partnerships with grantees. Prepare grant agreements and transmittal letters, develop protocols for grantee reporting and outcomes tracking, and maintain digital filing system for all grantmaking materials. Identify opportunities to learn from grantees and serve as a resource to them.
  3. Board Engagement: Prepare materials and trustees for board meetings, partner with board chair to facilitate board meetings, and perform follow-up actions related to the meeting, such as preparing minutes and tracking action items. Support ongoing learning and engagement of board members, including identifying opportunities for site visits, deepening expertise in the foundation’s giving areas, and providing direct support for board members in exploring opportunities to allocate their discretionary and general grants budgets.
  4. Strategic planning: Support the Foundation to develop annual goals and advance its grantmaking focus. Deepen expertise in the Foundation’s focal areas and refine the Foundation’s grantmaking sub-priorities and giving guidelines over time. Proactively identify opportunities to strengthen the Foundation’s work and improve systems and processes to ensure appropriateness for the Foundation’s size and needs.
  5. Next Gen Engagement: Maintain periodic communication with Next Gen family members to nurture their interest and future engagement with the Foundation. Support an annual gathering or retreat for next gen members that advances their philanthropic skills and interests.
  6. Fiscal management: manage basic day-to-day accounting needs of the Foundation including liaising with accountants and bookkeepers, develop and monitor the annual budget, support financial data gathering for tax preparation, and oversee FLSFF’s investments in coordination with the Finance & Investment Committee.
  7. Administrative duties: Provide administrative support for the Foundation such as scheduling meetings, managing records, and developing policies and procedures as necessary.
  8. Legal compliance: Ensure the Foundation complies with relevant state, local and federal requirement such as supporting tax filings and annual report. Maintain familiarity with private Foundation best practices such as avoiding conflicts of interest or self-dealing.
  9. Public, media, and sector relations: represent FLSFF to various stakeholders, responding to inquiries from the public and media, and ensure the website and social media are up to date.
  10. Stay abreast of developments and best practices in family philanthropy and help members of the Board do the same.
  11. Human resources: provide dotted-line oversite to employees, consultants, and volunteers.

Qualifications:

  • Commitment to Florence and Laurence Spungen Family Foundation's mission
  • Ability to be a thought leader and guide the Board of Trustees while being led by the Board's vision and direction
  • Proven ability to bring diverse perspectives together around a common purpose
  • Knowledge of Lake and Cook Counties’ nonprofit community OR issues in family philanthropy
  • Nonprofit leadership experience as a Program Officer, Program Manager, Program Director, or Executive Director.
  • 7 years of experience and a bachelor’s degree, or alternately 5 years of experience and a master’s degree in a related field such as nonprofit management, social work, public policy, public health, community development, Jewish studies, business administration, and/or humanities.
  • Independent with an ability to work relatively autonomously.
  • Ability to be flexible, adaptable, and to balance big picture and detailed work
  • Experience with reviewing and understanding organizational budgets and financial statements.
  • Integrity, thoughtfulness, and curiosity.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools and Outlook.

 

An Ideal Candidate will also hold:

  • Knowledge of mental wellness, homelessness, or the Jewish community with a demonstrated interest in Lake and Cook Counties.
  • Demonstrated passion for impacting change via nonprofit work.
  • Strong interpersonal skills, and leadership experience including communicating and working with internal and external stakeholders to build successful partnerships.
  • Ability to independently conceptualize and manage project plans, and work on multiple goals simultaneously.
  • Demonstrated problem-solving and strong analytical, written, and verbal communication skills.

 

Compensation & benefits:

The Foundation offers a competitive salary and the opportunity to lead a small foundation. This position is part-time, working roughly 25 hours per week throughout the year. A competitive part-time salary with a range of $69,000 - $87,500 commensurate with experience will be offered, with a benefits package that is actively being determined.

 

Office space is available, if needed, in Waukegan, Illinois with a remote work environment. The Executive Director is expected to be in meetings in the Northern Cook and Lake Counties area, as needed. At this time, the staff of the foundation is a team of three – the Executive Director, a Curator and Admin Assistant. The Curator and Admin Assistant report directly to a Trustee, with a dotted line reporting relationship to the Executive Director. We invite candidates without prior executive director experience.

 

Equal Opportunity Hiring Statement:

The Spungen Family Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. It is our policy to provide equal opportunity to all employees, applicants, and grantees. The foundation does not discriminate against any person because of race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or political affiliation. We encourage all qualified applicants, especially members of historically underrepresented groups, to apply.

 

How to Apply:

We welcome interested candidates to send a resume and cover letter outlining your skills and qualifications to Executive Director Search Committee: SpungenED@gmail.com

 

Please save and upload your cover letter and resume in one combined pdf document.

 

We invite applications by the deadline of February 24, 2023. Applicants will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early. Position is open until filled.

 

Inquiries may be directed to us at the email above.

 

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