DESCRIPTION
Position Summary
The Portfolio Manager (PM) role is part of a four-person community impact team that actively coordinates, supports and guides teams of our investors (called “Partners”) to strengthen capacity in local nonprofits (called “Community Partners”). Our Partners and Community Partners work collectively to achieve community impact. The PM facilitates day to day delivery of this community impact through the Partners, who contribute time, expertise, money and influence. The PM manages and guides SVP’s investments in strategy, financing, infrastructure, and advocacy to build the capacity of our Community Partners (“Investees”). The PM is accountable to and supported by our Senior VP for Community Impact. This role also works closely with both the Partner Engagement and Talent Manager and the Director of Learning and Equity.
The goal of the Portoflio Manager is to ensure that SVP’s investments in programs, projects and/or organizations build individual and collective capacity to make significant, measurable and sustainable contributions to our Access to Preschool goal. This role supports the core of SVP’s engaged philanthropy model that works to build community capacity to solve community problems together.
SVP Overview and Context
Social Venture Partners (SVP) is a multi-generational community of professionals engaged in venture philanthropy, a model that mimics venture capital investing to make social impact. Rather than investing in for-profit businesses, venture philanthropists invest in nonprofit organizations, social businesses and community causes. We affect transformational change in our community by leveraging our money, professional expertise and influence. We partner across sectors—private, public, and social—to build community capacity to solve problems together. We partner with engaged citizens who invest their money, talent and connections for increased impact. We partner with key nonprofit players, helping strengthen their capabilities to deliver on our shared goal. We partner with change agents and leaders in the community to foster collaborative, enduring solutions.
For over 16 years, SVP has worked tirelessly to understand what leads to lasting, systemic change. The key is getting to the root causes. We focus relentlessly on one definable goal and go all in. We fund proven and promising programs and advocate for policies that fuel those solutions. Engaging donors and community leaders this way is unique in the world of philanthropy. And it’s the best way to make an impact that lasts. Our current ten-year goal is to ensure that all children in the Portland metro area enter kindergarten with the foundation for learning and life success. Getting to the roots of the R4K goal means prioritizing the children and families with the largest disparities in educational success. We are focused on ensuring Preschool for All: access to high-quality preschool experiences for 14,000 underserved kids.
As we refine our strategies and increase the complexity of our work, we have been growing our team and updating our infrastructure to support operational excellence. Current open positions reflect adaptive changes in our mission delivery system. Whether investing in individual nonprofit organziations, across our portfolio of community partners as a cohort, or in the efforts of community coalitions, our role is to build capacity in four areas: strategy, financing, infrastructure and advocacy.
Primary Responsibilities
There are three primary responsibilities for the Portfolio Manager:
Lead of Lead Partners role: Provide onboarding, ongoing coaching and development for our “Lead Partners” (currently 10-12 people) who serve as the primary liaisons with our nonprofit Community Partners as well as the leader of teams of engaged volunteers.
Team Sponsor role: Provide support, coaching and strategic insight to capacity building teams who are engaged with our Community Partners.
Porfolio Management role: Provide oversight, opportunity analysis, strategy and stewardship of SVP’s time, expertise, influence and dollars across the portfolio of community investments.
Essential Qualities for Success in this Role:
Dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; acts with customers in mind; maintains effective relationships with trust and respect.
Manages many kinds and classes of people equitably; deals effectively with various races, nationalities, cultures, disabilities, ages and sexual identies; supports fair treatment and equal
Is easily approachable and relates well to all kinds of people, listens well, and is trusted to present the constructive feedback in an appropriate and helpful manner; admits mistakes; represents individuals and situations accurately, can defuse even high-tension situations comfortably.
Understands how senior managers think and work; can determine the best way to get things done with them by talking their language and responding to their needs; can craft approaches likely to be seen as appropriate and positive.
A highly motivated leader and versatile learner; open to change and willing to adapt; analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement; quickly grasps the essence of a problem and creates effective solutions.
Designs practices, processes, and procedures which allow managing from a distance; can make things work through others and impact people and results remotely.
Spends time on what’s important; can quickly sense what will help or hinder accomplishing a goal; anticipates and eliminates roadblocks; creates focus.
Creates high performing teams with strong morale, commitment, sense of belonging, and open dialogue; assigns responsibility, sets clear objectives and measures; monitors results; designs feedback loops into work.
Knowledgeable about how organizations work; can organize resources and get things done through formal and informal channels; understands the cultures of organizations.
Accurately scopes out length and difficulty of tasks and projects; sets objectives; can discuss multiple aspects and impacts of issues, measures performance against goals; evaluates results.
Thinks globally, paints credible visions of possibilities and articulately projects future scenarios; can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.
Ideal candidates will bring the following combination of knowledge and experience
Eight or more years of progressive experience in program, project or portfolio management, consulting/coaching with organizational development and/or human resources focus.
Five or more years of experience establishing and managing interorganizational partnerships with nonprofits, government agencies, foundations, businesses and/or community stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to adapt leadership and communication styles to bridge corporate and nonprofit business models and work cultures.
Experience training and creating professional development program/curricula/tools to grow leadership capacity/capability; knowledge of adult learning theory preferred.
Experience working in, with and across culturally specific and responsive organziations; especially for the purpose of advancing equity, diversity and inclusion.
Ability to communicate cross-culturally and engage with diverse individuals and communities.
Strong professional writing.
Proficiency in an evolving technology environment that includes cloud-based collaborative document sharing and editing, project management, email and calendar systems.
Unwavering commitment to SVP’s mission as well as a commitment to racial, ethnic and cultural equity.
Work collaboratively in a team environment with a spirit of cooperation.
BENEFITS
Exchange
Salary and benefits package for this full-time (40 hours per week), exempt position includes:
The salary range for this position is $65,000-$75,000
Benefits: health insurance with alternative health benefits, IRA plan with employer match, medical flex plan, paid holidays and vacation, and monthly Flexible Spending Plan stipend
Annual professional development stipend
Travel expenses are covered by SVP for internal meetings and business-related out-of-area travel.
Training and connecting with other SVP international network staff is available electronically throughout the year, and with occasional out-of-town training opportunities.
Occasional work after business hours and ability to travel to local off-site venues for meetings and events is required.
SVP is a nonprofit committed to Equal Opportunity Employer standards. We are dedicated to the value of advancing equity and we seek to build an organization that reflects the diversity of our community. We strongly encourage applications from all persons from marginalized communities, including racial/ethnic groups and individuals with disabilities.
Application closing date: December 10, 2017
NOTE: We will be reviewing applications and qualifying top candidates on a rolling basis.
Preferred start date: January, 2018
PROFESSIONAL LEVEL
None specified
MINIMUM EDUCATION REQUIRED
No requirement
HOW TO APPLY
jobs@svpportland.org