Executive Director at Confidential Family Philanthropy

On-Ramps Services LLC; New York (NY); On-site; USD 300,000 - 375,000; Full time

Job summary

On-Ramps Services LLC is supporting a philanthropic client in New York as they establish a new foundation and executive leadership team. The Executive Director will guide the start-up process, preserve the legacy, and integrate health investments with arts, culture, equity, and democratic initiatives.

The role requires deep experience in family philanthropy, advanced governance skills, and the ability to align endowment strategy with mission across generations.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of professional philanthropy experience.
• 5+ years in family foundation leadership.
• Proven ability to coach multigenerational family leaders.
• Experience in grantmaking lifecycle and foundation operations.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the grantmaking portfolio and governance, balancing legacy focus with new program areas and investments.
• Design and implement evolving grantmaking strategy across two generations of family leadership.
• Translate Principals' vision into actionable program areas, advise on grant structures, and support strategic planning for endowment management.
• Lead transition activities to preserve legacy while embedding new strategic direction and impact investing considerations.

Skills

15+ years experience

Family foundation leadership

Grantmaking lifecycle

Due diligence

Foundation operations

Intergenerational coaching

Job description

Our client is a philanthropic enterprise undergoing a transformative generational evolution. Building on a rich history of multi-generational grantmaking, this new entity bridges tradition and innovation—honoring proven strategies while developing new program areas and approaches to drive impact.

About the Organization

For decades, our client's philanthropy centered on health, sustainable agriculture, and Jewish life and continuity. Since establishing their philanthropic work, they have distributed more than $160 million in grants to over 300 organizations supporting these missions. As the family grows, they are shifting course to build on newer program areas, grantmaking structures, and investment vehicles. Their philanthropic approach is grounded in humility, seeking to be of service while continuously working toward a deeper, more holistic understanding of the areas they support.

The emerging foundation will operate a growing endowment, with approximately $100 million at launch. The foundation's focus areas will include expanded investments in environmental sustainability, along with a deeper commitment to arts and culture, equity and wealth creation in marginalized communities, Jewish continuity and sustaining democracy. The new enterprise, along with its Board and committees, will benefit from the shared services of a relatively new family office that is building the infrastructure to support its grantmaking and impact investing operations.

About the Role

As Executive Director, you will support the family as they navigate a thoughtful start-up process and partner with them to co-create a strategic vision for the new entity. Central to this start-up will be preserving the sunsetting foundation's legacy, embedding Jewish community life and health investments from the current entity into the new strategic direction for the start-up.

As the new entity takes root, you will work closely with its Principals to design and implement an evolving grantmaking strategy across two generations of family leadership. You will be responsible for translating the Principals' vision into actionable program areas, advising on grant structures, and supporting strategic planning around the management and investment of foundation capital. This is an ideal opportunity for a leader steeped in family philanthropy and/or family impact investing organization to play a strategic role in building a new and impactful institution.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Grantmaking & Strategy

• Oversee the distribution and administration of the foundation's grant portfolio, balancing legacy focus areas with expanding programs in arts and culture, environmental sustainability, wealth equity, and sustaining democracy.
• Working closely with the Principals / Trustees, co-designing strategy, core programmatic focus areas, and long-term impact goals.
• Evaluate and explore a range of modern grantmaking structures (e.g. multi-year general operating support, recoverable grants, and PRIs) to maximize impact.
• Translate the Principals' and Board's vision into actionable, high-impact programmatic frameworks, establishing clear metrics for learning and evaluation.
• Facilitate the development of the overarching frameworks for the generational transition, helping the family build a sustainable approach to philanthropy that honors tradition while embracing innovation.
• Embed a continuous learning agenda into the foundation's DNA, staying ahead of emerging trends in philanthropy to continuously refine giving strategies while staying current on the institutions and research within each programmatic field.

Operations, Finance & Compliance

• Oversee the full lifecycle of grantmaking, including rigorous due diligence, financial vetting of grantees, and the creation of high-impact agreements.
• Serve as liaison to the family office, leveraging and helping to further develop shared services for streamlined accounting, HR, IT, and legal support.
• Direct external partners, legal counsel, tax advisors, and philanthropic consultants to ensure seamless execution during the entity transition and ongoing operations.
• Manage the annual operating budget, grant payout compliance, regulatory filings, and tax reporting in full compliance with federal and state private foundation regulations.
• Establish clear operational policies, workflow processes, and governance practices tailored to the emerging foundation's scale.
• Partner with the Principals, family office, and investment advisors to align the foundation's $100M endowment with its mission through ESG, mission-related investments (MRIs), and impact investing strategies.

Relationship Building & Board Engagement

• Act as a trusted advisor to the Principals, providing coaching and education to empower trustees—particularly rising generations—in their philanthropic development and decision-making.
• Facilitate meaningful engagement across two generations of family leadership, fostering alignment, shared vision, and effective family dynamics.
• Cultivate strong, collaborative relationships with grantees rooted in humility, learning, and mutual respect, positioning the foundation as a supportive partner rather than just a funder.
• Represent the foundation within the broader philanthropic sector, collaborating with peer funders and network partners to share learnings and co-invest.

Who You'll Work With

• You will report directly to the Family Chair of the Board of the Foundation and share responsibility for regular reporting to the Principals / Trustees.
• You will supervise foundation vendors, consultants, and staff.
• You will frequently collaborate with:
  • The Family Office staff and impact investing professionals to align hybrid capital strategies.
  • External Philanthropic Networks and subject-matter experts to curate family learning journeys.

Required Skills and Experience

Philanthropic Leadership & Family Governance

• Significant professional expertise: 15+ years of experience, with 5+ years of experience in family foundation leadership, demonstrating comprehensive mastery of the grantmaking lifecycle, due diligence, and foundation operations.
• Intergenerational coaching and facilitation: Proven ability to navigate complex, multigenerational family dynamics with high emotional intelligence (EQ), transparency, alongside the capacity to coach and develop emerging family leaders.
• Service-oriented leadership: A deeply collaborative approach characterized by a supportive, low-ego mindset, with the desire to amplify the principals' vision rather than centering their own agenda.
• Systems building: Experience developing new programs and strategies and successfully guiding an organization through a major strategic pivot. Experience launching and/or sunsetting a foundation is a plus.

Strategic & Operational Sophistication

• Capital fluency: Strong financial acumen with a working understanding of impact investing, family office structures, or blended finance/hybrid philanthropic models.
• Talent & network management: Demonstrated success identifying, managing, and convening external experts, boards, and vendors across disparate issue areas.
• Values-driven synthesis: Outstanding critical thinking, with a track record of translating high-level values into rigorous, structured, and impactful strategic plans.
• Mission alignment: Passionate commitment to driving positive global change, with an intellectual curiosity eager to explore diverse, generalist funding areas.

Additional Details

Location and Work Environment

Based in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area, this position operates on a hybrid schedule, requiring regular in-person collaboration at the family office alongside remote work. Travel for site visits and family meetings will be required as needed.

Compensation

The base salary for the Executive Director is $300K - $375K and commensurate with experience, reflecting the unique dual-scope nature of this executive transition leadership role.

Benefits

Our client offers a comprehensive benefits package, and more detailed information will be shared with candidates advancing in the process.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Our client is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, or current employment status.