Director, Creative Communities, William Penn Foundation

Posted by on November 12, 2012

Position Announcement

Title: Director

Specific Focus: Creative Communities

Reports to: Vice President, Philanthropic Programs

Direct Reports: 4-6

Location: Philadelphia

Travel: Regional/Domestic Travel -10-15%

Effective Date: November, 2012

The William Penn Foundation is a leading American Philanthropy located in Philadelphia.  With approximately $2 billion in assets and an $80 million annual grant budget, the Foundation is a vital part of the civic life in one of the country’s most important and historically significant regions. A recently completed strategic plan charts a vision for the next decade, consistent with the Foundation’s enduring focus on education, the environment and the cultural vitality of Greater Philadelphia, yet with a renewed sense of urgency, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

Three Grant Centers will lead the way.  Each Center will be guided by a measurable macro goal, baseline data, and articulated strategies. Each will be structured as a 10-year campaign.

The three core priorities for this time period are:

• Increase the supply of high-quality schools to close the achievement gap for low-income children.

• Ensure clean water by protecting the Delaware and Susquehanna watersheds.

• Make Philadelphia an even more creative community, from Center City throughout the neighborhoods, including investments in great public spaces.

These priorities will be integrated with two new philanthropic investment vehicles – a Transformation Fund and an Innovation Fund – creating new chances to invest in breakthrough ideas and to help key legacy organizations respond to changing conditions.

As the Foundation prepares to launch the new strategic plan, four new Directors will join the leadership team to implement the new vision and continue to shape it in the years to come.

Position Summary

The Foundation’s programmatic investments are led by the team of Directors, each with strategic, team, and initiative management responsibilities.  Directors play a key leadership role in managing team(s) working on program investment and execution of initiatives. They will work with other colleagues across the Foundation to identify and understand trends, issues, challenges and opportunities. Directors must be able to initiate and lead work that ranges across multiple sectors, topics and fields. Directors are also responsible for developing new initiatives.

This Director position is responsible for leading and implementing a portfolio of work that both contributes to broad institutional goals, and builds on and breaks new ground.  While the direct focus of the work will be regional, it is assumed and desired that its influence upon thought-leadership and policy be national.  Working closely with Foundation colleagues, the Director will lead the assessment of the portfolio’s direction, strategy, and results.  He/she will also generate new streams of work within the Foundation’s strategic framework and represent the Foundation externally.

This Center’s goal is to advance Philadelphia as a leading center of creativity by promoting sustainable arts organizations, funding creative works, growing audiences, and supporting vital urban spaces.

Artists, cultural organizations and great public spaces are at the heart of Greater Philadelphia’s identity.  Vibrant and creative communities also spur development and make the city more competitive in attracting employers and visitors. Great urban spaces and creative communities enhance the livability of the entire region.  Arts and culture are already a regional strength, ready to be leveraged for more. The Director will lead the Foundation’s efforts to launch a ten year campaign to advance Philadelphia as a world class center of creativity.  Specifically, the Director will lead a grant making team focused on the following areas of grant investment:

• A capacity-building program for arts organizations to grow audiences;

• Curatorial platforms in support of artistic works across disciplines;

• Place-based initiatives to advance the development of great public spaces and to accelerate momentum where the data demonstrate a dense concentration of creative sector activity;

• Support for arts education in schools.

These efforts will establish, within ten years a sense of artistic expression and appreciation, in young people; fortify a healthy cultural sector; advance vibrant neighborhoods; bring works of art from around the world to Philadelphia, and seed the next generation of great civic spaces.

Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Leadership

• Serves as a strategic leader, presenting annual strategic plans, portfolio reviews, evaluations, and new initiatives, managing a grant budget of approximately $20 million.

• Participates in and is accountable for key deliverables to the organization as part of the Foundation’s leadership team.

• Collaborates with other Directors to ensure integration and synergy of program investments.

• Leads initiative teams to develop and execute outstanding work within, and guided by, the strategic framework of the Foundation.

• Convenes stakeholders across a variety of sectors to drive programmatic investments and results.

• Represents the Foundation in diverse communities, including speaking engagements, attending conferences and participating in other key internal and external meetings.

• Serves as internal leadership voice – represents the Foundation’s decisions in a positive, encouraging, and motivating manner.

Initiative and Team Management

• Develops and executes work in all stages of programmatic investment.

• As a senior grant-maker, ensures grant-making advances the work of the Centers and supports the strategic framework of the Foundation.

• Responsible for and helps develop the less senior members on the team(s).

• Promotes and models excellent external relations with grantees and partners.

Expected Competencies

Strategic Agility and Ability: Ability to see opportunities, design innovative approaches backed by strong analysis and planning.

Outcome-Focused: Results-driven approach, supported by a focus on quality and strong project management skills, deadline management, sense of responsibility and accountability and the ability to effectively multi-task.

Decision-Making and a Sense of Urgency: Ability to evaluate risks and opportunities, using analytical and strong problem-solving skills.

Partnership and Relationship Building: Strong professional representation of the Foundation, interpersonal relationship abilities, intercultural knowledge and appreciation, strategic partnership building.

Influence and Management: Strong interpersonal and communication abilities; exceptional listening, written and verbal capabilities; skills in team building, coaching, mentoring, delegating, inspiring and motivating internally and externally.

Marketing Oriented:  Ability to market great ideas and great practices; smart values and effective solutions to expand philanthropy and highlight the best outcomes and methods.

Openness and Curiosity:  An awareness that excellent ideas can come from many sources.

Education, Training and Experience

• Advanced degree preferred, such as: PHD, JD, EDD, MA, MPP, MPA, MBA, MFA (Fine Arts, Art History, Architecture, Urban Planning and/or Design, Public Policy, Social Policy, Law, Business)

• Bachelor’s degree required

• A minimum of 12 years of relevant work

• Significant on-the-ground implementation experience in at least one of the relevant fields (e.g., artistic direction/art programming, organizational and audience building, public space development, urban design)

• Experience setting priorities in dynamic environments

• Experience developing, managing and implementing multi-party projects with defined objectives, deliverables, monitoring and evaluation of results

• Experience developing strategy

• Experience with evaluative research methods preferred

• Prior foundation experience is not required

Compensation and Benefits

The William Penn Foundation offers a competitive compensation and benefits packages. It employs a well-qualified, professional, and respected staff.  It is committed to creating and maintaining an organizational structure that enables all staff to do the work of the Foundation in the highest quality manner possible. The Foundation’s compensation strategy contributes to assuring a work environment that attracts and retains talented, high-performing individuals. In addition, comprehensive benefit programs are offered.

For Consideration

The Foundation is working with the search firm Machlowitz Consultants, Inc. on this recruitment. All nominations, inquiries, and applications should be sent to Marilyn Machlowitz at the search firm and will be held in confidence.

Contact:  [email protected] Subject line:  Creative Communities

We regret it will not be possible to communicate with candidates except those who most closely match our requirements.

The William Penn Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.