Managing Director, Community

The Skoll Foundation•Washington, DC

8d•$175,500 - $280,800•Hybrid

About The Position

The Skoll Foundation is hiring a Managing Director, Community based in Washington, DC. This role is eligible for a hybrid work schedule, including Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday required onsite in the Washington, DC office. The Skoll Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation that seeks to build a sustainable world of peace and prosperity for all by investing in, connecting, and championing social entrepreneurs and other social innovators. Together, we advance bold and equitable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. The Managing Director, Community leads the vision, strategy, and execution for how the Foundation serves, connects, and activates its community of Awardees and grantees year-round. This role owns the full arc of community engagement: from designing creative digital and in-person connection experiences to managing a portfolio of grants and programs that directly support Skoll partners. The Managing Director also leads the Community Convening at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford — shaping the content, agenda, and experience design for the Foundation’s annual gathering of its closest community members. The Managing Director, Community is the Foundation’s internal expert on community building. They translate deep knowledge of what the Skoll Community needs into strategic direction for convenings, programming, grantmaking, and tools to support community connections and peer support year-round.

Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience and a minimum of ten (10) years of progressive experience in community building, network stewardship, program management, or a related function within philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, international development, or the social sector.
Demonstrated success designing and leading community engagement strategies, including convening, digital engagement, cohort-based programming, peer learning, and community-driven content.
Experience designing participant experiences that foster meaningful connection, both in-person convenings and digital/virtual formats.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to communicate with empathy, clarity, and professionalism with a global audience of senior leaders.
Strong people leadership skills: building, managing, and mentoring small teams; navigating ambiguity with steadiness.
High proficiency with Salesforce, SharePoint, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and collaborative project management tools such as Asana or Microsoft Teams.
Ability to travel internationally, including extended on-site time at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford, UK.
Able to work onsite three days a week, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, in Washington, DC.

Nice To Haves

Experience managing grants portfolios or community investment programs.
Deep knowledge of the social innovation and social entrepreneurship ecosystem, with an active network spanning entrepreneurs, funders, and ecosystem builders.
Enthusiastic and flexible collaborator with humility, a positive demeanor, and exceptional service orientation, ready to roll up sleeves and collaborate across the Foundation’s small team.
A keen sense of integrity, professionalism, and commitment to creating a positive organizational culture.
Comfortable working and managing in a fast-paced environment and adaptable to change.
Interest in social innovation and alignment with the Skoll Foundation’s mission to catalyze transformational social change.

Responsibilities

Lead the strategic vision for how the Skoll Foundation serves, connects, and activates the Community, setting direction for year-round programming, engagement, and support
Design and implement creative approaches to connect community members to each other, both online and in person, fostering peer exchange, collective action, and meaningful relationships across geographies and sectors.
Manage community communications, including Foundation updates, newsletters, and responses to Community inquiries
Own the content, agenda, and experience design for the annual Community Convening at SWF; the Foundation’s signature gathering of Awardees during Forum week in Oxford.
Working directly with community members, shape the Community Convening to reflect the community’s most pressing needs, interests, and aspirations, designing sessions, facilitated conversations, and engagement moments that create genuine value for participants.
Collaborate with the Forum production team on logistics, scheduling, and execution to deliver a seamless experience.
Lead Community invitation process and support ongoing registration needs.
Provide community intelligence to inform broader Forum programming, including topics, speakers, and delegate referrals that reflect the Skoll Community’s perspective.
Identify and develop new programmatic and funding approaches to meet Community needs — bringing creativity and entrepreneurial thinking to how the Foundation supports its closest stakeholders.
Source and manage a portfolio of grants that directly support and/or extend the impact of the Skoll Community and its leaders.
Represent the Skoll Community perspective across Foundation teams and in cross-functional planning — ensuring Community needs and insights shape investment strategy, convenings design, and organizational priorities.
Develop and implement systems and data to measure the effectiveness of community engagement.
Mentor and directly supervise Community team staff, using a supportive and collaborative approach.