About The Kresge Foundation
The Kresge Foundation is one of the top 20 private philanthropic foundations in the United States and the only one focused exclusively on expanding opportunities for people with low income in American cities. With a $4.2 billion endowment and a staff of over 100 employees, the foundation deploys grants and social investments across arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services and community development. The foundation’s state-of-the-art headquarters maintains an array of energy-efficient, water-conserving and health-promoting systems. The foundation also operates an office in Detroit’s Midtown district.
To learn more about The Kresge Foundation, please visit the website.
The Opportunity
The Kresge Foundation is looking to hire a Program Officer to be a member of the American Cities Program, a dynamic, multi-disciplinary team working proactively to advance the resurgence and revitalization of cities across America. Our vision is that all people in cities across the nation experience holistic wellbeing, dignity, agency, and justice in the places where they live. We take a comprehensive and reparative approach to strengthening community and economic development systems to better serve all people living with low-income by focusing on the economic inequities experienced by Black and Brown people. We conduct place-based philanthropy in Fresno, Memphis, New Orleans, and other cities deeply impacted by economic and racial marginalization to facilitate change in place, to demonstrate what’s possible, and to inform national practice. The team manages its own grantmaking and also supports and integrates the work of Kresge’s Arts & Culture, Education, Environment, Health, and Human Services teams in the foundation’s cities of focus, including Fresno, Memphis, and New Orleans.
The American Cities Program Officer will be responsible for the implementation of a program strategy that builds upon the foundation’s national and on-the-ground experience in Detroit to strengthen the social, economic, cultural, and physical fabric of other cities. The work is rooted in increasing socioeconomic mobility and addressing the systemic inequities in our society. The Program Officer will manage and evaluate a portion of the program’s portfolio of grants; represent the American Cities team and the Kresge Foundation in cities; collaborate with partners at national and local levels; design and implement grantmaking initiatives; and lead select bodies of work associated with the program’s strategic priorities, as listed below:
- Stewarding the foundation’s place-based grantmaking in Memphis, New Orleans, Fresno, and a growing number of other cities.
- Seeding and scaling innovative approaches to community development by funding and supporting national multi-city initiatives.
- Harnessing the full multi-disciplinary power of The Kresge Foundation to holistically meet community needs.
- Engaging the national community and economic development ecosystem to be more responsive to needs and priorities of communities.
- Fostering cross-city exchange of knowledge between community development practitioners through research, publications, and convenings.
Primary responsibilities include:
In partnership with the Managing Director, establish, grow, and manage the Program’s place-based work in select cities.
- Perform site visits, conduct landscape analysis, and synthesize perspectives to develop an understanding of local and state context.
- Assess opportunities for impact and collaboration with local partners.
- Build and manage relationships with local partners.
- Develop place-based grantmaking strategies including work at the neighborhood, city, regional/county and associated state levels.
- Develop and manage grantmaking initiatives (i.e., external requests for proposals including RFP development, publication, and proposal review).
- Perform end-to-end grantmaking responsibilities.
- Identify social investment opportunities.
- Provide grantee & city partners with connections to other cities and non-financial resources.
- Build networks for cross-city exchange.
- Facilitate internal collaboration including cities-oriented working groups, co-learning, information exchange and shared accountability structures.
- Act as thought partner to other Kresge grantmaking programs.
- In partnership with the Learning and Evaluation team, evaluate outcomes.
Structure, recommend and manage a portfolio of grants related to multi-city initiatives, national community development, and thought leadership & convenings on cities.
- Perform end-to-end grant review responsibilities for sourced and unsolicited applications.
- Support grantee partners with resources including connections to communities of practice, technical assistance, and non-financial resources.
- Support the team’s use of program-related investment (PRI) and innovative capital tools to achieve program objectives.
- Develop grant outcomes and evaluation criteria for grants and initiatives.
Manage, execute and/or participate in projects and events intended to advance the fields of equitable community and economic development.
- Help manage the program’s convening, research, and knowledge exchange activities related to equitable development and inclusive growth.
- Participate in funder and cross-sector collaboratives to achieve program objectives.
- Represent the foundation publicly, sharing program approaches and grant making outcomes.
Support the program’s development.
- Stay current with effective and equitable strategies in the urban development field.
- Contribute to the development of the program’s overall strategies and objectives.
- Oversee the creation of associated strategy documents, workplans and board materials.
- Help evaluate the effectiveness of the team portfolio.
- Share collective responsibility for achieving strategic objectives.
- Work collaboratively, supporting and encouraging members within and across teams.
- Demonstrate a strong commitment to the foundation’s mission and values and demonstrate that commitment in daily interactions.
The Program Officer will report to the Managing Director and work in close partnership with colleagues across the foundation.
Please download the PDF to view the full position description.
Contact
Koya Partners, the executive search firm that specializes in mission-driven search, has been exclusively retained for this engagement. Please submit a compelling cover letter and resume to Erin Reedy and Christy Farrell by filling out our Talent Profile.