U.S. Racial Justice Director

About The David Lucile & Packard Foundation

The David & Lucile Packard Foundation is a family foundation dedicated to improving the lives of children, families, and communities—and restoring and protecting our planet.

We work with people and communities to create enduring solutions for just societies and a healthy, resilient natural world. Over our nearly 60-year history, we have worked with thousands of organizations and leaders in the U.S. and worldwide to advance progress in the critical areas of science, ocean and land conservation, climate change, women’s reproductive health and rights, and the well-being of children, families, and communities.

At a time of multiple, intertwined crises globally and here in the U.S., the Packard Foundation began in 2021 a long-planned review of our grantmaking strategies. The first step of our process was to rearticulate our vision and mission, reexamine our organizational values, and create a strategic framework that builds on and honors the Packard Foundation’s past while advancing justice and equity in all that we do.

Our Vision: A just and equitable world where both people and nature flourish.

Our new vision embraces a future where both people and nature flourish in a more just and equitable world. We explicitly acknowledge that the fate of people and the natural environment are inextricably linked. Solutions to the complex challenges we face must account for this interconnectedness.

Our Mission: We work with people and communities to create enduring solutions for just societies and a healthy, resilient natural world.

Our new mission takes on the critical work of addressing root causes of the challenges we face and mobilizing people for collective action. In addition to building on approaches that have guided our philanthropy for decades — working in partnership, committing to issues over the long-term, and grounding our work in science, knowledge, and data – we focus on understanding the systems that either accelerate or impede progress. It is only through just and equitable systems that we can find and sustain solutions to some of the biggest challenges we face today.

Our Values: Equity, Integrity, Belief in Individual Leadership, Thinking Big, Respect, and Effectiveness.

In addition to clarifying our long-held values, we added equity. We will champion equity by treating people with dignity, honoring a range of ideas and perspectives from those closest to the issues, creating inclusive processes, and funding people who have been historically excluded to spur progress for all. For more information, including our definitions of key concepts, please visit our website.

Our Priorities seek to:

Protect and restore our natural world: We champion bold climate solutions, an ocean that sustains us, and scientific innovation and discovery to secure the health and future of people and the planet.

Build just societies: We support a strong civil society and inclusive institutions and governance to build just and equitable societies for all people.

Invest in families and communities: We collaborate with leaders and organizations to promote resilient and vibrant communities where children and families thrive and have the power to shape their lives.

Position Summary

In June 2020, the Foundation established a five-year $100 million fund to address anti-Black racism and took the immediate step to provide a $20 million grant to the Solidaire Network’s Black Liberation Pooled Fund to support organizers and leaders in Black-led movement efforts. Since then, an additional $20 million have been invested in creative approaches to advance justice and equity, principally across the issues the Foundation supports.

Building on the momentum of this early work, the director will lead the U.S. Racial Justice initiative’s grantmaking -- specifically, developing a strategy for and overseeing an initial $60 million in grantmaking to address anti-Black racism while also collaborating with colleagues to:

• Identify and explore grantmaking opportunities that advance racial justice within the Just Societies goal area
• Advise and participate in opportunities to advance racial justice across the Foundation’s other grantmaking; and
• Lead the Justice and Equity collaborative to support Foundation-wide learning (to be developed).

Reports to:         Ruth Levine, Vice President, Just Societies and Chief Learning Officer

Location:             Los Altos, California

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Develop and Oversee Initiative Strategy

• Building upon early grants and incorporating input from the Vice Presidents, President, Trustees and colleagues across the Foundation, develop a multi-year strategy to advance the goals of the U.S Racial Justice initiative.
• Ensure that the strategy and its approaches align with the Foundation’s vision, mission, values and theory of change.
• Communicate written and verbal updates to the President, Trustees, and other stakeholders about the U.S. Racial Justice initiative, learning and evaluation, and progress against benchmarks.

Grantmaking

• Implement the strategy through sourcing grantees, making grants, and maintaining relationships with grantees and other funders.
• Explore opportunities for collaborative work to advance racial justice within other Packard Foundation domestic programs (reproductive health; democracy, rights and governance; climate; families and local communities, Packard Fellows, etc.)
• Review and approve the initiative’s grantmaking decisions, and manage the budget for the U. S. Racial Justice initiative.
• In cooperation with the Evaluation and Learning team, set evaluation and learning goals for the initiative, collect data, and regularly reflect on the results, making changes as appropriate.
• Effectively represent the Foundation with nonprofit partners, academics and journalists.
• Communicate field knowledge through briefings, written materials, thought leadership and interviews.

Team and Practice

• Mentor and manage a small team to include an Associate Program Officer and, via dotted line, a Program Associate.
• Collaborate on critical cross-Foundation work that seeks to embed equity and justice in all grantmaking practices and processes, to include participation on the cross-Foundation Justice and Equity collaborative learning group.

Qualifications

Experience should ideally include:

• A minimum of 8-10 years of experience in a related program or field.
• Facilitating and guiding racial justice initiatives in philanthropy, nonprofit, organizing/coalition-building (or another related field) that has required active listening and engagement with communities that have been historically marginalized.
• Developing programs, initiatives and/or strategies that have led to positive social outcomes.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Commitments

• Alignment with the Packard Foundation’s mission and values.
• Deeply committed to inclusion and creating a workplace that is supportive of difference; at ease navigating cross-cultural communications and diverse teams.
• Strategic thinker and problem-solver accustomed to planning, prioritizing and using evidence/data in decision-making and to allocate resources.
• Familiarity with levers of social change (research, advocacy, convening, etc.) and how they work together and/or interact.
• Skilled written and oral communicator; an engaged and active listener who can facilitate meaningful, collaborative work, and thrive in a team-based workplace. 
• Comfortable with ambiguity and change. Can move start-up projects from concept to completion and adapt as needed based on learningand input from others while also demonstrating initiative, responsiveness, pragmatism and thoughtfulness.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a focus on possibility within the strategic guidance provided by the Board of Trustees.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office products (e.g., Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and a willingness to learn and become proficient with Foundation systems.

Compensation:  The position is full-time. The starting salary range for this position based in California is $210,000 - $300,000 USD annually. This salary range is an estimate, and the actual salary may vary based on various factors, including without limitation individual education, experience, tenure, certification, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data. Offers are based on the candidate's years of experience and our practice of upholding salary equity within the foundation.  

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation offers excellent benefits for eligible employees. Current benefits include medical (HMO and HDHPs), dental and vision coverage; 15% employer contribution to employee retirement plan; life insurance, disability insurance, vacation, and sick leave; an adoption benefit; fertility benefit; a financial wellness program; health advocacy services, paid time off to volunteer for nonprofit organizations; matching grants for employee contributions to tax exempt organizations; commute assistance; and tuition assistance. 

To apply: Nominations and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Please send a resume and cover letter to: PackardUSRacialJustice@viewcrestadvisors.com

COVID-19: The David and Lucile Packard Foundation requires that all staff be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, except as required by law. Any employment offer will be contingent upon satisfactory proof that you are fully vaccinated from COVID-19, subject to reasonable accommodations for medical or religious reasons, and/or as otherwise required by applicable law.

Hybrid Work Policy: The Packard Foundation’s current Hybrid Work Policy is that staff are expected to be in the office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays each week and may work remotely on Monday, Thursday and Friday.

EEO Statement

The Foundation is an equal employment opportunity employer, which means we recruit, hire, assign, train, promote, compensate, provide benefits, discipline, and discharge (and all the other terms and conditions of employment) based on merit, qualifications, job requirements, and other legitimate business factors.

We do not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race (including traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), creed, sex, gender (including pregnancy, child birth, breast feeding, and/or related medical conditions), marital or registered domestic partner status, age (over 40), national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition (as defined by California law), military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, taking or requesting statutorily protected leave, or on any other category protected by applicable law. We also do not discriminate based on whether a person is associated with someone else who is in any of the protected categories or is perceived to be in any of the protected categories.   

Viewcrest Advisors is supporting this critical search and is committed to social justice and access to opportunity; the organization actively cultivates relationships with leaders who have varied life experiences as well as the skills needed to lead strong, innovative programs and organizations. To view Viewcrest Advisors’ privacy policy, please visit www.viewcrestadvisors.com.