Foundation overview

The James Irvine Foundation is a private, nonprofit grantmaking foundation dedicated to expanding opportunity for the people of California. The Foundation’s current focus is a California where all low-income workers have the power to advance economically. Since 1937 the Foundation has provided more than $1.87 billion in grants to organizations throughout California. With about $2.3 billion in assets, the Foundation made grants of $95.9 million in 2018. We have about 50 staff in our San Francisco and Los Angeles offices. The Irvine Foundation is committed, internally and externally, to the values of accountability, curiosity, empathy, equity, nimbleness, partnership, and transparency.

The opportunity

The Foundation has created a team to identify and develop new opportunities that advance our singular goal. This Program Development team conducts research, assess ideas, builds partnerships (with business, labor, nonprofit, and public sector leaders), and develops plans to pursue innovative opportunities in support of our overarching goal and current grantmaking initiatives. This new team, led by the VP for Program Development, works directly with the CEO, has significant interaction with the Foundation’s Board of Directors, and partners with portfolio team colleagues.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Program Development (DPD):

· Identifies opportunities for new projects and initiatives, utilizing multisector partnerships, grantmaking, and other Foundation assets, to advance Irvine’s singular focus on a California where all low-wage workers have the power to advance economically

· Builds relationships with leaders in other organizations (labor, private, public, and nonprofit) to develop opportunities into executable project/initiative pilot plans

· Assesses those opportunities, using rigorous data analysis, to determine their potential for impact, their alignment with our strategy, approach, and existing initiatives, among other criteria

· May lead pilots to understand potential impact of the opportunity, the partners, and the implementation challenges, including making grants to partner organizations

· Designs and facilitates multi-stakeholder sessions to develop new ideas and/or integrate and collaborate with program staff

· Works with the VP for Program Development, other senior staff (including the CEO), and the board, to determine whether and how to pursue opportunities

· Develops implementation plans when it makes sense to do so, in concert with the VP for Program Implementation and team members drawn from across the foundation (as needed)

· Synthesizes information and develops written summaries of new concepts and plans

· As part of the portfolio team, works in partnership with other grantmaking staff to integrate new opportunities into the overall grantmaking portfolio

This role reports to Amy Saxton, Vice President for Program Development, who guides, mentors, and oversees the work. The DPD interacts frequently with the CEO, who provides overall leadership for the exploration of new opportunities for impact. The DPD partners with a second Director of Program Development, the VP for Program Implementation, and Initiative Leads on the Program Team to assess, plan, integrate, and implement new impact opportunities. This role supervises the work of an analyst who will structure and execute analysis to support assessment and development of opportunities.

The ideal candidate will have a strong desire to contribute to the mission of the Irvine Foundation and experience working in either/both of the private and public sectors; operational management experience, as well as experience developing effective relationships with senior leaders in other institutions. The right candidate will have demonstrated:

· Strategy project management experience with cross-functional teams and external partners

· An ability to lead hypothesis and data-driven issue analyses

· Success developing talent

· Extraordinary emotional intelligence, an orientation to collaboration, and an ability to build relationships with diverse internal and external stakeholders across public, private, foundation, and nonprofit sectors

· Excellent synthesis, presentation, facilitation, and communication skills

· Experience and comfort with applying a racial equity lens to their work Experience with innovation, risk-taking, and a zest for learning from failure

· Passion, commitment to, and urgency for Irvine’s mission

· Curiosity, empathy, and courage

Application Process

Interested applicants should submit their cover letter and resume to:

Email: hr@irvine.org

Website: www.irvine.org

Mail: The James Irvine Foundation

Human Resources Department

One Bush Street, Suite 800

San Francisco, CA 94104

Application deadline: Open Until Filled

The James Irvine Foundation offers an attractive benefits package. The Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we encourage applicants who reflect the diversity of California. Qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (“FCO”).

The Foundation greatly appreciates all expressed interest.