Program Officer-Racial Justice Fund (AF)

Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice; New York (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Office space in NYC

Flexible work arrangements

Job summary

Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice in New York seeks a Program Officer for the Racial Justice Fund to drive donor education, recruit institutional donors, and oversee grantmaking with rigorous evaluation.

You will join Astraea’s program team to advance grantmaking both in the U.S. and internationally, supporting grantees and coordinating communications across multiple channels.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in social-justice grantmaking.
• Demonstrated commitment to racial, economic, gender, LGBTQ, and social justice.
• Ability to build respectful, responsive relationships with grantee partners.
• Excellent writing, reporting, and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement donor engagement and recruitment plans for the Fund.
• Design and facilitate Fund member meetings (approx. 4 per year).
• Coordinate communications for website, emails, articles, and social media.
• Oversee grantmaking strategy, process, and implementation.
• Support grantees with capacity building and convenings.
• Plan panels/workshops and represent RJF at public events.
• Oversee budget processes and provide fiscal oversight.
• Conduct in-depth impact evaluation and reporting for donors.
• Write proposals and reports for institutional donors.

Skills

Social-justice grantmaking

Stakeholder engagement

Grantee relationship management

Communication skills

Project management

Travel willingness

Job description

Posted on October 08, 2017

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION

The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice is the only philanthropic organization working exclusively to advance LGBTQI human rights around the globe. We support brilliant and brave grantee partners in the U.S. and internationally who challenge oppression and seed change. We work for racial, economic, social, and gender justice because we all deserve to live our lives freely, without fear, and with dignity

The first grantmaker to hundreds of organizations, Astraea plays a catalytic role for LGBTQI groups around the world - particularly those led by lesbian and queer women, trans and gender non-conforming folks, intersex people, and people of color. Our grantmaking, capacity building, media and communications, and philanthropic advocacy programs support their work to challenge oppression and claim rights. A proud public foundation and one of the first women’s funds in the world, in our 40 year history we have granted over $40 million to LGBTQI activists and artists.

Housed at Astraea, the LGBTQ Racial Justice Fund is a landmark funder collaborative dedicated to addressing the root causes of injustice for LGBTQ people of color in the US. In its first four years of grantmaking, RJF awarded more than $3 million to grassroots organizations and strategic campaigns in the U.S. South, a region that under-valued but home to powerful multi-issue organizing led by LGBTQ people of color. RJF supports organizations working on issues such as mass incarceration, criminalization, homelessness, and LGBTQ youth of color’s rights at school and at home. The RJF strengthens cross-issue movement-building in the US in three key ways: yearly core grantmaking; building the capacity and leadership of grantees through additional funds and convenings; and donor education to expand the understanding of progress in the lived experiences of LGBTQ people of color. The sizeable, long-term, flexible funding and capacity-building support that RJF offers helps organizations stay the course and allows for long-term planning.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Astraea seeks to engage a experienced senior philanthropic professional to serve as a Program Officer for the Racial Justice Fund. The Program Officer will conduct field-level donor education; recruit institutional donors to the fund; raise the public profile of the fund; ensure clear, strategic and well-informed grantmaking and grantee support; and implement strong evaluation practices to demonstrate effectiveness and impact of the Fund’s grantmaking.

In addition to the primary responsibility of staffing the Racial Justice Fund, the Program Officer will participate actively as a member of Astraea’s program team to help advance our broader grantmaking and programs in the U.S.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement rigorous plan for the Fund’s donor engagement and recruitment
• Design and facilitate the Fund’s member meetings (approximately 4 per year)
• Coordinate the Fund’s communications efforts, including planning and creating content for website, e-blasts, original articles, and social media
• Oversee the Fund’s grantmaking strategy, process and implementation
• Support the Fund’s grantee cohort, including capacity building activities and convenings
• Plan panels and workshops in funder and activist spaces; represent RJF and Astraea at a broad range of public events
• Oversee budget process and provide fiscal oversight with Astraea staff
• Conduct in-depth impact evaluation and analysis of the development and outcomes of the Fund and its grantmaking
• Write proposals and reports for institutional donors

Key Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience in social-justice grantmaking
• Demonstrated expertise and commitment to working on racial, economic, gender, LGBTQ and social justice
• Demonstrated understanding of Southern racial-justice, LGBTQ, and philanthropic trends and politics
• Demonstrated capacity to cultivate respectful and responsive relationships with grantee partners
• Facility with oral and written communication
• Excellent relational and collaborative skills
• Ability to engage and manage diverse and multiple stakeholders
• Experience in working with grantee cohorts/portfolios
• Strong writing, reporting and project-management skills
• Ability to travel throughout the U.S. regularly

Additional considerations:

• People of color, gender non-conforming, transgender people, intersex people, and women encouraged to apply
• Office space available in NYC and potential to work elsewhere, particularly the U.S. South

Astraea is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse (multi-gender, cross-class and multi-racial), collaborative and sustainable work environment. For more information visit www.astraeafoundation.org .