Program Director, Policy and Advocacy

Rose Community Foundation; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 89,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan 403(b)

Paid time off

Professional development

Job summary

Rose Community Foundation seeks a Policy and Advocacy Program Director to develop and implement strategies across four impact areas: Community Wellbeing, Education and Economic Opportunity, Health, and Jewish Life. You will lead staff, partners, and campaigns to advance the Foundation’s mission through thoughtful policy work and grantmaking.

The role requires eight+ years in nonprofit policy, strong Colorado policy knowledge, and the ability to analyze budgets and data.

Qualifications

• Minimum eight years of nonprofit or policy experience.
• Strong knowledge of Colorado policy and advocacy landscape.
• Ability to analyze grant applications and budgets; data-savvy.
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills.
• Willingness to travel within the seven-county region.

Responsibilities

• Direct position-taking and policy/advocacy grantmaking aligned to four impact areas.
• Lead policy memos and presentations for the board and committees.
• Manage grants and relationships with aligned grantees.
• Identify opportunities beyond grants: convenings, donors, capacity-building.
• Collaborate with teams and provide support without direct reports.

Skills

Public speaking

Written communication

Organizational skills

Project management

CRM familiarity

Travel willingness

Microsoft 365

Autonomy

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

CRM systems

Grants management software

Job description

Job Details

• Location 4500 Cherry Creek Dr South, Suite 900, Denver, CO, 80246, United States
• Base Pay $89,000.00 - $110,000.00 / Year
• Job Category Policy and Advocacy, Grant making, Philanthropy
• Industry Non-profit, Community Foundations, Philanthropy & Grantmaking
• Employee Type Full Time
• Required Degree 4 Year Degree
• Manage Others No
• Minimum Experience 8 Years

ABOUT ROSE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

Rose Community Foundation s trives to strengthen local communities, expand opportunities and address critical needs in Greater Denver and beyond through values-driven philanthropy across a range of issue areas including health, economic opportunity, education, Jewish life and more. The Foundation envisions a thriving region strengthened by its diversity and generosity, and it utilizes the varied tools at its disposal – grantmaking, advocacy, convening, investments and philanthropic services – to advance this aspiration.

Rose Community Foundation originated from the 1995 sale of Rose Medical Center, founded by the Jewish community in the late 1940s at a time when Jewish doctors and doctors of color were denied hospital privileges elsewhere due to discrimination. Since the Foundation’s inception three decades ago, Rose Community Foundation has granted more than $450 million to nonprofit organizations and initiatives in the seven-county Greater Denver area and beyond. The Foundation has $433 million in total assets under management, with annual grantmaking and distributions of nearly $30 million – roughly $11 million of which are the Foundation’s annual discretionary grantmaking dollars and approximately $10 million of which are granted from donor-advised funds to nonprofit organizations of their choosing around the state, country and world.

SUMMARY

Rose Community Foundation seeks a Policy and Advocacy Program Director to develop and implement strategies in position-taking, grantmaking, and partnership-building that advance the Foundation’s policy and advocacy work across its four impact areas of Community Wellbeing, Education and Economic Opportunity, Health and Jewish Life. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker, skilled executor, and relationship builder with a passion for philanthropy as a tool to advance systems change.

POLICY AND ADVOCACY AREA

Rose Community Foundation weighs in on systems and policies that impact our region, whether as a thought leader, convener, advocate or funder. The Foundation takes positions on legislation, ballot measures and other policy efforts and dedicates grant funding to organizations that leverage policy and advocacy tools to strengthen communities, expand opportunities, and address critical needs in Greater Denver and beyond. As a nonpartisan organization, Rose Community Foundation engages with a broad range of policy and ideological perspectives in aiming to support values-aligned partners and positions. The Foundation’s Jewish roots and longstanding commitment to supporting the local Jewish community inform all of our work, and we combat antisemitism, anti-Jewish misinformation, and hate/harm/exclusion in any form against any community.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Direct position-taking and policy/advocacy grantmaking that advances the Foundation’s goals in our four impact areas – Community Wellbeing (including fiscal policy work), Education and Economic Opportunity, Health, and Jewish Life – in alignment with established priorities and strategic objectives and in partnership with colleagues overseeing these impact areas.
• Advance recommendations for the Foundation to take positions on relevant legislation, ballot measures and other policy efforts – analyzing policy and political considerations within the context of the Foundation’s mission, values and partnerships, managing the Foundation’s state lobbyist and administering grant funding for select campaigns.
• Serve as lead staff person for the Policy & Advocacy Committee and related partner funds and initiatives and help to prepare policy-related memos and presentations for the board of trustees.
• Manage grants and relationships within the policy and advocacy portfolio, serving as the principal point of contact for aligned grantees and prospective applicants and developing grant opportunities, including applications, scoring rubrics, and evaluation.
• Identify and pursue opportunities to further the Foundation’s strategic goals through methods beyond grantmaking including by convening partners, engaging donors, fundraising, impact investing, connecting organizations, offering or facilitating capacity-building and professional development opportunities for grantees, elevating community voices, and providing thought leadership.
• Cultivate and steward relationships with aligned funders, locally and nationally. Learn about and stay up to date on trends in the field, models and best practices.
• Monitor federal tax policies related to community foundations, charitable giving and philanthropy – engaging with relevant peer organizations, the Foundation’s federal lobbyist, colleagues in Philanthropic Services and the Foundation CEO to determine and help execute our engagement/advocacy/education strategies.
• Monitor and manage compliance with Foundation 501(h) election reporting and thresholds.
• Provide as-needed support/consultation to Philanthropic Services and/or donor-advised fundholders on questions related to grantmaking to policy/advocacy organizations.

SUPERVISORY

The Policy and Advocacy Program Director reports to the Chief Impact Officer. The Policy and Advocacy Program Director is part of the Community Impact Team and, while they do not manage any direct reports, the team benefits from support from the Community Impact Coordinator and Grants Management team.

REQUIRED

• A minimum of eight years of experience in nonprofit or mission-driven policy work (lobbying, policy coalitions, position taking, etc.)
• Strong working knowledge of Colorado’s policy and advocacy environment, preferably in the Foundation’s areas of impact
• Ability to analyze and evaluate grant applications, nonprofit budgets and financial statements, as well as comfort with quantitative and qualitative data analysis for program evaluation
• Excellent organizational, project management, and time management skills with the ability to prioritize and track against multiple deadlines and deliverables with attention to detail and accuracy
• Proven ability to work autonomously to manage a significant portfolio of work, while also collaborating effectively as part of a team
• Strong public speaking and written communication skills with the ability to craft and deliver presentations, write clear memos and summaries, and adjust messaging for different audiences
• Technologically adept with proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams) and the ability to quickly learn new systems and technology, including customer relationship management (CRM) databases and grants management systems
• Willingness to travel within the seven-county region for meetings and events, including evenings and weekends, and to occasional out-of-town conferences (the hired candidate must reside in the Greater Denver region).

PREFERRED

• Bachelor's or associate degree or equivalent life and work experience
• Strong working knowledge of Colorado’s philanthropic sector
• Experience managing grantmaking processes at a foundation and/or applying for grants on behalf of a nonprofit
• Experience deploying a range of grantmaking tools and approaches (grants, capacity building, convenings, collaborative funding, Program-Related Investments)
• Proficiency with designing and facilitating community engagement methods (e.g., stakeholder convenings, focus groups, surveys) to inform policy and/or philanthropic strategy

SALARY AND BENEFITS

This full-time, exempt position’s hiring range is $89,000 - 110,000. Offered salary is commensurate with internal parity and salary ranges, local and national sector benchmarks, and candidate’s relevant qualifications, experience and skills.

Rose Community Foundation offers a competitive benefits package including employer-supported health, dental, vision and life insurance; short- and long-term disability coverage, a 403(b)-retirement plan (including an annual employer contribution after one year of employment), flexible spending account, employee assistance program (EAP), generous paid time off including holidays, professional development opportunities and a matching gift program.

WORKPLACE

Fully renovated office with a collaborative environment located in a building with a café, gym, secure indoor bike parking, covered employee parking and convenient access to parks and trails. We operate on a structured hybrid model where staff work in the office/community at least three days per week and have the option to work remotely up to two days per week. Please note that the Foundation expects all team members to be fully vaccinated (including boosters, if eligible) against COVID-19.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

At Rose Community Foundation, we are committed to fostering a workplace that embraces equal opportunities for all, including an inclusive and diverse workforce. Our hiring practices aim to reflect our values of fairness, transparency, and merit-based selection, ensuring every candidate has equal access to opportunities.