Program Director, Grantmaking

Weinberg Foundation•Owings Mills, MD

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation strives to fight poverty and build strong, vibrant communities where everyone can thrive. Collaborating closely with the Jewish and broader community, the Foundation provides grants to nonprofits in the United States and Israel that equip people to secure safe and affordable housing; lead healthy lives; obtain and keep good jobs; engage in high-quality educational and developmental opportunities; and, later in life, remain independent and age with dignity. These efforts primarily focus on places with ties to the lives and legacies of Harry and Jeanette Weinberg. The Foundation seeks individuals interested in helping to drive change. If you want to contribute toward advancing our mission, values, and work, we want to hear from you! The program director, grantmaking, will support the Foundation’s grantmaking efforts in the United States, assist grantees in successfully using the Foundation’s grant management system, and work with the Program team to advance staff development, training opportunities, and collaboration. The program director will play a central role in helping Program team members, grantees, and nonprofit leaders identify and strengthen networks and the use of emerging practice models across communities. Additionally, the program director will work closely with grantees to ensure they have the resources to measure, document, and share their data. Regular travel is required for site visits and meetings throughout the Mid-Atlantic. Occasional travel is required to other locations as needed.

Requirements

Ten or more years of leadership experience in the nonprofit sector and has built grantmaking or poverty alleviation strategies agencies.
Superior planning skills with ability manage multiple projects simultaneously.
Knowledge of one or more of the Foundation’s focus areas: housing, health, jobs, education, or aging.
Skilled facilitator with knowledge of community and capacity building best practices.
Experience managing complex systems-change efforts.
Familiarity with the organizational challenges facing community-based nonprofits working on poverty-related issues, including capacity constraints, leadership pipeline and development needs, and financial sustainability.
Strong experience with Microsoft Office Suite, including skills in document and presentation development.
Experience designing and leading learning experiences, retreats, or team development processes, including working with external facilitators or consultants.
Analyzes information carefully and synthesizes key insights to inform decisions.
Identifies issues proactively and recommends thoughtful, practical solutions.
Applies critical thinking as appropriate to the role.
Manages priorities effectively while advancing work independently and collaboratively.
Works respectfully with colleagues across teams.
Builds productive relationships with external partners, grantees, and other stakeholders.
Contributes to a positive, welcoming, and solution-oriented team culture.
Accepts constructive feedback and demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement.
Exercises sound judgment in complex or sensitive situations.
Maintains strict confidentiality and handles highly sensitive information with discretion and professionalism.
Communicates clearly and professionally in written and verbal formats.
Demonstrates attention to detail and accuracy.
Listens actively and engages thoughtfully with colleagues, partners, and community members.
Brings a professional background and experience that resonate with the Foundation’s values and guiding principles: respect for every individual, care, collaboration, commitment, community, and curiosity.
Demonstrates emotional intelligence and self-awareness in interactions with colleagues and partners.
Adapts to changing priorities and navigates ambiguity with flexibility and composure.

Responsibilities

Advance grantmaking goals by reviewing grant proposals, conducting due diligence and site visits, and producing clear, consistent assessments aligned with the Foundation’s priorities.
Develop and maintain a strong understanding of the Foundation’s grantees, including their models, areas of focus, and community contexts.
Document and identify trends, gaps, and emerging organizations to inform both grantmaking decisions and strategic priorities.
Track patterns and outcomes across geographies, helping the Foundation identify and expand effective practices.
Support the development of collaborative networks among organizations working to address poverty.
Assess and synthesize capacity-building needs across the Foundation’s grantee portfolio, identifying priority areas for investment.
Help inform the broader nonprofit field and peer funders about emerging capacity-building needs and opportunities.
Build trusted relationships with grantees that allow for honest assessment of organizational needs and opportunities.
Strengthen grantee capacity by identifying, coordinating, and supporting access to training, technical assistance, and external resources.
Strengthen grant reporting and evaluation frameworks to better understand grantee impact and community change.
Serve as the primary liaison to the vice president, programs, and managing directors to coordinate Program team members’ professional development opportunities, skill-building, and peer learning activities.
Support the vice president, programs, and managing directors with designing and facilitating team retreats that help program staff implement consistent and high-quality grantmaking approaches.
In partnership with the managing directors, identify places where program staff need support implementing strategic priorities and develop an annual plan/calendar to address gaps.
Manage external facilitators and trainers brought in to support staff development.
Establish clear processes for documenting, sharing, and acting on peer learning across the Program team — ensuring that what is learned in one geography informs the broader team.
With the managing directors, track patterns in grantees across geographies and support the team in documenting and acting upon insights related to strategic planning and Foundation-wide grantmaking initiatives.
Serve as a liaison between the team members making grants and the team members focused on strategy, evaluation, and learning.
Coordinate the development and delivery of training, tools, and resources related to evaluation and learning across geographies.
Actively contribute to the strategy, evaluation, and learning work by surfacing what the grantmaking side is learning and where the team is still developing its understanding.