Job Description
ABOUT GREENLIGHT FUND
Founded in Boston in 2003, GreenLight Fund helps transform the lives of children, youth and families in high-poverty urban areas by creating local infrastructure and a consistent annual process to:
- Identify critical needs;
- Import innovative, entrepreneurial programs that can have a significant, measurable impact; and
- Galvanize local support to help programs reach and sustain impact in the city.
In addition to the founding site in Boston, GreenLight Fund now has sites in Philadelphia, the Bay Area, Cincinnati, Charlotte, Detroit, Kansas City, Atlanta and is currently launching in the Twin Cities. Since our founding, GreenLight has launched and supported 28 innovative organizations in our sites that reached more than 110,000 children and families last year, providing them with proven, life-changing programs.
Since its founding in 2015, GreenLight Cincinnati has made investments in three innovative organizations (First Place for Youth, Family Independence Initiative and Center for Employment Opportunities) totaling
$1.8M to impact children and families. GreenLight Cincinnati’s portfolio organizations have served 846 children and families in 2018-2019.
To learn more about GreenLight Fund’s work, please visit http://greenlightfund.org/.
THE OPPORTUNITY
GreenLight Fund is currently seeking a dynamic, passionate, and collaborative Executive Director to lead the next phase of GreenLight Cincinnati’s growth. The Executive Director will work with an Advisory Council that includes private sector entrepreneurs and investors, nonprofit leaders, philanthropic leaders, social entrepreneurs and issue experts to identify critical needs in Cincinnati and vet, select, fund and launch the highest-performing national solutions that directly fit the needs of the community.
Reporting to GreenLight’s Managing Director, Sites, this entrepreneurial leader will continue to build a strong, diverse coalition to support GreenLight Cincinnati and its portfolio organizations. This is a fantastic opportunity to work at the intersection of social entrepreneurship and community need, to build and support a portfolio of high performing nonprofits to confront the community’s most pressing challenges.
The Executive Director will lead autonomously in Cincinnati to deliver GreenLight’s Method of impact, partner with peers across the country to find and spread what works, and support the national GreenLight network.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Manage a community-wide Selection Advisory Council to advise on identifying high priority community needs in Cincinnati and the vetting and selection of portfolio organizations that can powerfully address them
- Run an annual selection process to identify organizations with potential to have a significant impact on community needs, conduct rigorous diligence and deep landscape analysis on prospective partner organizations, and select one organization annually for GreenLight Cincinnati support
- Engage the voice of community members with lived experience navigating poverty in determining priority needs and solutions
- Represent GreenLight Cincinnati externally and cultivate a network of relationships with community leaders, entrepreneurs, the private-sector investor community, philanthropic partners, government officials, and nonprofit and business leaders
- Actively steward GreenLight Cincinnati investors, secure event sponsorships, and lead all stages of the fund-raising cycle
- Provide support to a portfolio of, currently three, organizations GreenLight Cincinnati has brought to the city.
- Secure critical resources, financial and otherwise, for GreenLight Cincinnati and portfolio organizations, and actively and thoughtfully steward these relationships over time
- Serve as an active local board member for portfolio organizations
- Act as a strategic thought partner to and connector for local portfolio organization Executive Directors and boards on a broad range of strategic and operational issues
- Create and manage events to launch new portfolio organizations in the region and build awareness of and support for portfolio organizations
- Participate actively in the GreenLight network of city Executive Directors and local and national staff to share best practices, knowledge of promising social innovation, and strategies to build the network and collaborate to find and support GreenLight organizations
CANDIDATE PROFILE
The Cincinnati Executive Director will be an experienced, innovative, and collaborative leader with compelling presence and exceptional communication and relationship-building skills. While no one candidate will possess every quality outlined for this position, the successful candidate will bring many of the following professional qualifications and personal attributes:
- Authentic passion for GreenLight’s mission and commitment to the Cincinnati community
- A successful track record in entrepreneurial environments holding positions of increasing complexity and responsibility
- Demonstrated experience developing effective working relationships with people from a wide array of backgrounds, leading groups and developing talent, all with a collegial and team-building approach that puts others at ease, engenders trust, and is grounded in community needs
- A track record of securing financial resources from a variety of sources, building awareness of and support for important endeavors, and successfully cultivating and stewarding donors over time
- Strong analytical skills and experience with due diligence and/or grant-making processes
- Experience and relationships in the Cincinnati philanthropic, nonprofit and/or business sectors, as well as knowledge of the critical social issues affecting low-income residents in the area
- Experience building and managing pipelines, especially with donors and/or programs
- Superb verbal and written communication skills and the ability to represent GreenLight Cincinnati and portfolio organizations in a professional, engaging and dynamic manner
- Creative, collaborative, entrepreneurial, and action-oriented with an eagerness to roll up one’s sleeves and work hands-on to grow organizations
- Familiarity with nonprofit and/or philanthropy sectors, ideally with knowledge of the social innovation world and results-oriented, evidence-based program design; passion for and demonstrated commitment to social entrepreneurship and social change
- Bachelor’s degree strongly preferred but not required.
CONTACT
Cassie Scarano of Koya Leadership Partners has been exclusively retained for this search. To express your interest in this role, please submit materials here. Materials should include a thorough resume and compelling letter of interest. All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.
Greenlight Fund is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBT applicants.
ABOUT KOYA LEADERSHIP PARTNERS
Koya Leadership Partners, a member of the Diversified Search Group, is a leading executive search and strategic advising firm dedicated to connecting exceptionally talented people with mission-driven clients. Our founding philosophy—The Right Person in the Right Place Can Change the World—guides our work as we partner with nonprofits & NGOs, institutions of higher education, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.
Koya is an equal opportunity employer fully committed to creating an environment and team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, styles, and experiences. We encourage all to apply because we believe a diversity of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone.
For more information about Koya Leadership Partners, visit www.koyapartners.com.