Executive Director, Jenkins Foundation

Community Foundation for a greater Richmond; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

The Annabella R. Jenkins Foundation is seeking its inaugural Executive Director to chart the next chapter of its 31-year history. You will guide strategy, grantmaking, and relationships in partnership with The Community Foundation, focusing on impact rather than start-up tasks.

With a trusted board and grantee community, you’ll learn the grant cycle, earn trust, and then drive strategy, deepen partnerships, and elevate Jenkins’ voice across the Richmond region.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional leadership in nonprofit management, philanthropy or grantmaking with board accountability.
• Hands-on board governance experience and nonprofit regulatory compliance.
• Track record of building or reshaping an organization or strategy in changing circumstances.
• Experience owning a budget end-to-end and communicating it clearly to others.
• Bachelor's degree or 7+ years equivalent professional experience.

Responsibilities

• Set annual goals and budgets with Jenkins Board and The Community Foundation.
• Set grantmaking strategy with the Board and manage the grant cycle.
• Represent Jenkins externally and pursue co-investment with peer funders.
• Steward the Board relationship and ensure governance compliance.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Board governance

Grantmaking strategy

Relationship management

Health equity

Communication

Ambiguity navigation

Tech savvy

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Advanced degree (MPH, MPA, MSW, MBA)

Tools

Grants management platforms

AI tools

Job description

About Annabella R. Jenkins Foundation:

For 31 years, the Annabella R. Jenkins Foundation ("Jenkins") has advanced equitable access to healthcare across the Richmond region, with a focus on primary care, mental health, and substance use. As a supporting organization of The Community Foundation for a greater Richmond, Jenkins grants from a permanent endowment and doesn't fundraise. The Community Foundation handles our finance, HR, IT, compliance, and infrastructure, allowing Jenkins to concentrate fully on grantmaking and community relationships.

The Opportunity:

Jenkins is hiring its inaugural Executive Director, a rare chance to shape a 31-year-old foundation's future as its first dedicated leader. Our partnership with The Community Foundation supporting our back-office functions will allow you to focus on strategy, grantmaking, and relationships. You won't start from scratch. You'll redesign something that already works, alongside a trusted Board and grantee community. The role grows over time: starting with learning the grant cycle and earning trust; and then, you'll lead strategy, deepen partnerships, and continue building Jenkins' voice in the region.

What You'll Do:

• Set annual goals and budgets with the Jenkins Board and The Community Foundation
• Set grantmaking strategy with the Board, champion trust-based, low-burden practices, serve as the primary relationship-holder for Jenkins’ grantee partners, and manage the grant cycle.
• Represent Jenkins externally and pursue co-investment with peer funders
• Steward the Board relationship: support governance, ensure 509(a)(3) compliance, and prepare materials

What You Bring:

• A track record of building or redesigning something real, under ambiguity
• Comfort as a solo operator, equally strategic and hands-on
• Working knowledge of grantmaking, nonprofits, or philanthropy (any vista point)
• A commitment to health equity and trust-based practice
• Strong communication and board-facing experience
• Experience using technology, including AI tools and grants management platforms

Requirements:

• 7+ years of professional leadership experience in nonprofit management, philanthropy and/or grantmaking strategy, including time in a senior role with direct accountability to a governing board
• Hands-on experience supporting board governance and ensuring nonprofit regulatory compliance
• A track record of building or reshaping an organization, program or strategy, especially in changing and unpredictable circumstances
• Experience owning a budget end-to-end: building it, managing it, and explaining it clearly to othersA natural connector with a track record of building genuine and new external partnershipsBachelor's degree in a related field (public health, public administration, public policy, etc.) or 7+ years of equivalent professional experience.

  Preferred:

  • 3+ years of direct grantmaking experience, ideally in trust-based philanthropy
  • Experience managing an operating budget of $250k - $1M+
  • Knowledge of primary care, mental health, or substance use funding landscape in the Richmond region, with deep and diverse relationships across it
  • Advanced degree (MPH, MPA, MSW, MBA or related)

  Salary:

  $100,000 - $125,000

  Key Responsibilities:

  • Set annual goals and budgets with the Jenkins Board and The Community Foundation
  • Set grantmaking strategy with the Board, champion trust-based, low-burden practices, serve as the primary relationship-holder for Jenkins’ grantee partners, and manage the grant cycle.
  • Represent Jenkins externally and pursue co-investment with peer funders
  • Steward the Board relationship: support governance, ensure 509(a)(3) compliance, and prepare materials