Director, Advisory Services (AA)

Arabella Advisors; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Vacation time

Personal time

Volunteer time

Health benefits

Professional development stipend

Fitness benefit

Cell phone coverage

Job summary

Arabella Advisors seeks a Director to join the Advisory team, leading senior strategic efforts on client projects and cultivating high-value client relationships in a mission-driven firm. You’ll guide project scope, budgets, and outcomes while mentoring teams across practice areas.

The role blends strategy, management, and business development in a flexible, culture-driven environment that supports work-life balance and professional growth in philanthropy and social impact.

Qualifications

• Graduate degree or equivalent work experience in relevant field (professional services, philanthropy, public policy, nonprofit management, etc.)
• At least 5 to 7 years of professional experience with steadily increasing job responsibility
• Experience in philanthropy, nonprofit management, business and/or consulting
• Ability to manage and lead a complex project, to oversee and delegate to team members, and to meet deadlines
• Strong organization and research skills and an understanding of how to gather, analyze, and synthesize diverse information from written documents and interviews
• Excellent communication skills, including strong writing skills and demonstrated ability to synthesize large amounts of information on the page
• Proven ability to work with diverse audiences and stakeholders, including excellent customer service and strong facilitation skills
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team

Responsibilities

• Project Management & Oversight: senior strategist or project manager on complex client projects ensuring deliverables, meetings, and presentations meet client expectations
• Relationship Management: develop, manage, and grow client relationships
• Project Team Development: train project team members and help develop their skills and talent
• Partner with business development to qualify leads and pitch opportunities
• Stay abreast of field developments to hone services and strategy; represent the firm at conferences and events
• Management: supervise regional staff and contribute to team objectives
• Internal Strategy & Team Objectives: contribute to the firm's strategic plan and metrics
• General Management & Mentorship: coach teammates and promote firm culture

Skills

Project leadership

Relationship management

Cross-functional teamwork

Communication skills

Facilitation

Mentorship

Strategic thinking

Education

Graduate degree or equivalent

Job description

You are mission driven and action oriented. You love to get involved, and work as part of a team to accomplish something great. Any job is your job if it helps the team succeed, and you thrive on variety. Today, you're looking for a role where you can use those traits to make a real difference in the world by advancing the most important social issues facing humanity today.

Directors play an essential role on the Advisory team in both managing and/or serving as a senior strategist on client projects, developing client relationships, supporting business development, managing aspects of team or firmwide strategy, and developing team talent and culture. In some cases, directors will specialize in evaluation, program management, impact investing or other areas and contribute to leadership activities within that practice.

Client Service (~50-65%)

• Project Management & Oversight: Serve as senior strategist or project manager on complex client projects ensuring client deliverables, meetings, and presentations meet or exceed client expectations; specific duties will vary based on the type of project but are likely to include:
  • Developing and managing project scopes
  • Developing and managing project teams
  • Ensuring a project remains on time and on budget
  • Developing high-quality reports and presentations, including overseeing or leading the research and analysis process leading up to deliverable development
  • Designing and facilitating working sessions with clients and other stakeholders
  • Overseeing cross-functional teams
  • Facilitating client meetings and clearly communicating project progress and findings
  • Leading opportunities for renewal or scope expansion
• Relationship Management: Develop, manage, and grow relationships with clients
• Project Team Development: In the context of project work, train project team members and help develop their skills and talent

Business Development and Marketing (~10-25%)

• Partner with business development team to qualify leads and pitch new opportunities with prospective clients
• Serve as senior lead on universal services proposals, including advising or leading on scope design and pricing and closing the opportunity with the prospect
• Stay abreast of developments of the field and use this information to hone services and business strategy; represent the firm at select conferences and events

Management and Internal Strategy (~10-25%)

• Management: Supervise regional staff as needed, including flexibly providing leadership styles that support their continued growth and development
• Internal Strategy & Team Objectives: Contribute to the development, implementation, and management of key components of the team and firm’s strategic plan, annual objectives, and key business performance metrics
• General Management & Mentorship:Contribute to professional growth and satisfaction of junior staff by providing SLII-appropriate direction, support, guidance and mentorship on project work and by promoting firm culture; Develop and share relevant skills and issue-area expertise

To be successful in this role you'll need

• Graduate degree or equivalent work experience in relevant field (professional services, philanthropy, public policy, nonprofit management, etc.)
• At least 5 to 7 years of professional experience with steadily increasing job responsibility
• Experience in philanthropy, nonprofit management, business and/or consulting
• Ability to manage and lead a complex project, to oversee and delegate to team members, and to meet deadlines
• Strong organization and research skills and an understanding of how to gather, analyze, and synthesize diverse information from written documents and interviews
• Excellent communication skills, including strong writing skills and demonstrated ability to synthesize large amounts of information on the page
• Proven ability to work with diverse audiences and stakeholders, including excellent customer service and strong facilitation skills
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team

Our Core Competencies

• The ability to provide excellent service, including being able to address complex service matters, implement and communicate service changes to everyone involved, and to coach teammates on how to apply the firm’s service standards
• The ability to manage large-scale and cross-firm projects, including delegating and managing all resources, identifying and implementing improved processes, monitoring consistency across project teams, and providing direction and support to teammates
• The ability to facilitate and negotiate among stakeholders with conflicting needs and to generate consensus among decision makers
• The ability to help effectively communicate difficult messages; to adapt style, tone, and content to meet various needs; and to coach teammates on crafting content
• The ability to work cooperatively and inclusively with others to achieve shared goals, including encouraging and facilitating effective compromise, drawing on the capabilities of all team members, and leading team-level knowledge sharing
• The ability to use available resources and feedback to continually develop mastery in your role and facilitate team and project-level learning, including coaching others
• The ability to solve complex challenges by identifying innovative solutions and facilitating coordination with others

Arabella Advisors helps foundations, philanthropists and investors who are serious about impact achieve the greatest good with their resources. We work on issues ranging from the social and economic advancement of women and girls, and conservation of our climate and planet, to reducing poverty and inequity in the United States and around the world. Our staff members are mission-driven and action-oriented, and have a unique combination of experience in philanthropy, business, nonprofits, government, finance, law, and other fields. We combine creative, strategic thinking with knowledge and networks developed through decades of hands-on experience. The fastest-growing philanthropic advisory firm in the nation, Arabella is also a certified B Corporation.

Working with Us

We are committed to having a passion-driven, inclusive, transparent, collaborative, healthy, and fun culture. We invite you to visit our careers website to learn more.

To encourage work/life balance we offer flexible work options. Our office is an open space with cubicles and standing desks and informal work areas. Our salaries are closer to the range of a nonprofit and our benefits are excellent. You'll start with three weeks of vacation, 80 hours of personal time, and 20 hours of paid time to volunteer at an organization of your choice. In addition to six federal holidays, you get to pick four more from a list of inclusive religious holidays and your birthday.

We have a competitive health package that includes medical, vision, dental, and prescription insurance. We also provide funds for professional development, a fitness benefit, and cover part of your personal cell phone plan.

We value diversity and inclusion and encourage all qualified people to apply. If we can make this easier through accommodation in the recruitment process, please let us know.

While Arabella is open to individuals from various locations applying to join our team, please note that we generally are unable to pay for relocation expenses.

We will review applications as they are received and look forward to hearing from you.