Community Impact Officer

About the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving:

For nearly 100 years, generous individuals and families have trusted the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to help them make a lasting, positive impact in their community and in their own and future generations. Under its strategic commitment, the Hartford Foundation is poised to move to a greater level of impact and growth that will enhance our ability to support nonprofits and other partners to identify and serve community needs. We also seek to enhance our role as a trusted steward, collaborator and innovator.

Summary of Role:

The Community Impact Officer (CIO) works collaboratively with the CI leadership team, internal colleagues, and external community partners to ensure that the Foundation's grantmaking resources are effectively invested and monitored to produce positive, sustainable programming in the Greater Hartford Region.                  

As a key contributor to the Employment Opportunity Outcome Team (EOOT) and under the guidance and supervision of the Senior Community Impact Officer for EOOT, the CIO recommends and monitors investments supporting stable employment opportunities for Black and Latinx adults and youth in our region facing barriers to employment, postsecondary persistence and training. The CIO manages grants in support of workforce development with wraparound supports necessary to enable residents to engage in workforce training and sustainable employment as well as a portfolio of Foundation-directed Community Leadership (CL) investments.

Responsibilities include:

Consider and promote equity and inclusion in grantmaking and learning alongside nonprofit and other community partners; continuously seek to integrate equity and inclusion principles throughout all responsibilities.

Contribute to the work of one or more of the Foundation’s outcome-focused grantmaking/learning teams;

• Contribute to the annual planning and budgeting of outcome teams and the monitoring of plans.
• Review and analyze grant proposals from nonprofit organizations, assessing alignment with outcome team strategy and providing recommendation to management.
• Monitor assigned grants, tracking outcomes and partnering with nonprofits to adjust to changing environments and learnings as they implement grant-funded projects or programs.
• Participate in team meetings and other activities, collaborating on grants and shared activities of the team.
• Coordinate with internal colleagues and community partners to integrate a learning, partnership and capacity building agenda into the work of outcome teams.

Maintain broad and in-depth knowledge and understanding of needs, concerns, issues, trends, best practices, innovations, and values of the community, and the nonprofit, government, business and other sectors.

• Carry out a critical role in the Foundation's assessment of community needs and understanding the roles of other community stakeholders in determining appropriate grantmaking.
• Review and analyze grant requests in current and emerging areas of work, in response to emergency needs or new opportunities, as needed.

Provide grantmaking support and share information about grantmaking activities with other Foundation staff and externally, in collaboration with Communications and Development

• Support participatory grantmaking and community-advised grantmaking which may include programmatic support to the Community Funds program, Giving Circles and other grantmaking advisory groups.
• Provide technical assistance to community members to be effectively involved in grantmaking.
• Contribute to assessments or evaluations of grantmaking efforts, including participatory grantmaking.

Competencies and attributes:

• Deep commitment to the values of equity, diversity and inclusion and the ability to embed those values in all aspects of work.
• Knowledge of Greater Hartford, especially Hartford, and the disparities in opportunity faced by its residents.
• Ability to build and sustain relationships with grantee partners and other community stakeholders.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, empathy and openness to new ideas and perspectives on a wide range of topics and proven ability to translate abstract ideas into actionable results.
• Solid record of collaborative and team-oriented approach to project design, implementation and/or grantmaking, including the ability to facilitate group decision-making and bring groups to consensus.
• Demonstrated working knowledge of basic and applied research, public policy development and analysis, strategic planning and nonprofit management.
• Ability to attend to detail, digest and synthesize information presented in grant applications and other documents in developing recommendations.
• Demonstrated excellent communications skills for writing, speaking, listening for understanding, and presenting and adapting content for a range of audiences, persuading and influencing.
• Demonstrated project management skills – including overseeing internal and external staff and consultant teams, and budgets.

Education and Experience:

Degree requirement can be substituted with equivalent practical experience.

• Bachelor’s Degree in social sciences, public administration, public policy or other relevant area or equivalent relevant experience combined with educational training.
• Five or more years of experience in nonprofit or public sector, in project management or implementation.
• Experience in a role requiring programmatic activities and/or critical and strategic thinking related to issues of equity and antiracism.

Preferred:

• Knowledge of the Greater Hartford nonprofit community, particularly nonprofits working in youth development and/or in partnership with public schools and higher education and postsecondary training programs.
• Lived experience with overcoming barriers to education, employment, or as a first-generation college student, highly valued.
• Successful experience contributing to collaborative, team-oriented programs and strategy development.
• Knowledge of philanthropy and/or fundraising with an understanding of grant-funding as a partnership between funders and nonprofit program implementers.

Location:

Hartford, CT; Work assignment includes in-office work, remote work and site visits to community partners throughout the Greater Hartford Region.

To Apply:

https://hfpg.bamboohr.com/careers/36

For more information about the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, please visit our website: www.hfpg.org