Board Relations & Engagement Manager

Foundation List; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 83,000; Part time

Job summary

Foundation List is seeking a part-time/contract governance staff member to own the operating system for the Board of Directors. The role handles member onboarding, recruitment, and ongoing processes to keep the board engaged and accountable, without CEO intervention.

The position focuses on board governance rather than fundraising or development, with duties including staff liaison, meeting coordination, and governance hygiene. Remote work is supported for approximately 15–25 hours weekly.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting a nonprofit board or senior leadership team with meeting management, materials, and follow-through.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to keep processes moving independently.
• Clear writing and comfort drafting expectations documents, agendas, and follow-up notes.
• Discretion with confidential information.
• Familiarity with basic nonprofit governance preferred. Fundraising experience is not required.

Responsibilities

• Own the board operating system to clarify expectations, recruit and onboard new members, and maintain governance processes.
• Serve as staff liaison for board activities, including scheduling, agendas, materials, minutes, and action-item tracking.
• Monitor engagement against expectations and surface issues for CEO and board leadership.
• Run onboarding and orientation for new members and manage term tracking and succession planning.

Skills

Board governance support

Nonprofit governance

Meeting management

Written communication

Education

Nonprofit governance familiarity

Tools

Procedural systems

Job description

Reports to: Founder & CEO

Type: Part-time / Contractor (approximately 15-25 hours per week), renewable

Location: Remote

PURPOSE

Own the operating system for the Board of Directors so members stay clear on expectations, actively engaged, and accountable. The role manages the reset of current members, recruitment and onboarding of new ones, and the ongoing processes that keep the board functioning without requiring the CEO to handle logistics or follow-up. This is a governance and board-engagement role, not a fundraising or development position.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Board Reset:

• Design and run the process to clarify written expectations, skills-and-networks needs, and recommitment with current members.
• Support one-on-one conversations that result in clear recommitments or clean off-ramps.
• Build and manage a candidate pipeline and recruitment process focused on the specific networks and expertise the organization needs next.

Ongoing Engagement & Accountability:

• Serve as primary staff liaison for board and committee operations: scheduling, agendas, materials, minutes, and action-item tracking.
• Monitor engagement against stated expectations and surface issues early for follow-up with the CEO and board leadership.
• Maintain simple systems so each member has clear, time-bounded ways to contribute.
• Run onboarding and orientation so new members understand their role and how their contributions connect to organizational priorities.
• Support term tracking, succession planning, and basic governance hygiene (records, conflict-of-interest forms, etc.).

What this role does not do:

• Lead or manage fundraising strategy, major gift solicitation, or development campaigns.
• Replace the CEO in relationship management with key partners or in high-level strategic decisions.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience supporting a nonprofit board or senior leadership team with meeting management, materials, and follow-through.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to keep processes moving independently.
• Clear writing and comfort drafting expectations documents, agendas, and follow-up notes.
• Discretion with confidential information.
• Familiarity with basic nonprofit governance preferred. Fundraising experience is not required.