Initiative Associate, Great Communities Collaborative

Initiative Associate, Great Communities Collaborative (GCC) 

The Semi-monthly (per pay period) compensation for this position in FY24 is: 

$3,466.66 per pay period

Location: San Francisco, CA  Department: Community Impact Type: Full-Time  Min. Experience:  Intermediate 

Organizational Result: 

All people living in the San Francisco Bay Area are economically secure, rooted in vibrant communities and engaged in civic life.  

We Value: 

Anti-racism, Boldness, Equity, Racial Justice, and being Rooted in Community 

The following sections are designed based on the Results Based Leadership for Racial Equity Framework that the Foundation uses to accomplish our work. As a learning organization we expect staff to incorporate learning into their core work in addition to the tasks related to the functional position. All staff should expect to devote time on learning activities related to our values and skillset development. People managers should expect to spend a significant amount of time coaching, developing, and managing people with the balance of the time for all staff spent on relationship building internally and externally and achievement of outcome goals of role and foundation.  

Position Summary: 

The Initiative Associate is key to supporting the coordination and convening of many partners, both internally and externally, especially across multiple convening groups. Additionally, the Initiative Associate will work with various staff across departments in the San Francisco Foundation (the Foundation) as it relates to work led by the Great Communities Collaborative (GCC). The Initiative Associate position requires excellent research, analytical, interpersonal, organizational, and writing skills as well as professional discretion, independent judgment, and diplomacy. 

Boundaries 

The Initiative Associate and the GCC team are part of a high-performing Policy and Innovation Division within the Community Impact Department at the Foundation. In brief, GCC aims to further goals in housing, transportation, land use, and climate resilience toward the outcome of a region that is made up of healthy, thriving neighborhoods that are affordable to low-income communities of color and well-connected to regional opportunities. The Initiative Associate will collaborate across diverse teams, including cross-departmental working groups, and work closely with the GCC Associate Initiative Officer and GCC Senior Initiative Officer & Director to administer various key elements of the GCC initiative. The Initiative Associate will lead administrative tasks and programs to help progress GCC’s initiative plan focused on advocacy, regional collaboration, local innovation, and multi-sector collaborative projects across the Bay Area. 

Authority   

The Initiative Associate supports GCC’s grantmaking and communications strategy and works in close collaboration with the Associate Initiative Officer and Senior Initiative Officer & Director to develop and execute on GCC’s strategic goals. The Initiative Associate primarily provides backbone administrative support at the initiative level of GCC, including budget management, grants administration, meeting documentation, calendaring, and coordinating logistics for in-person and virtual convenings, to achieve GCC’s strategic goals. 

This is an individual contributor on a start-up team, and the ideal professional is organized, flexible, efficient, and detail oriented. 

This position is term-limited for three years. This position reports to the GCC Senior Initiative Officer & Director. 

Role  

Tasks  

1. Administrative Support (35%) 

• Meeting management (including scheduling virtual and in-person meetings and convenings), communications, logistics, team calendar management, budget support, expenses and reimbursements processing, note-taking, and processing, contracts logistics, and drafting agendas. 
• Respond to internal and external inquiries, manage internal system to track team deadlines and critical action items, attend staff meetings, professional development activities, internal committees, and cross-departmental projects as appropriate.  

• Support the ongoing fundraising, grantmaking, and project budgeting processes for GCC. 
• Support annual budget forecasting and monthly budget reconciliation, help develop and manage consultant contracts, draft financial reports and budgets, and process invoices and payments. 

• Grant writing support tasks include responding to and tracking grant proposals and reports, generating and logging supporting documents, maintaining reporting schedule to ensure that proposals and reports are submitted on time with the proper supporting information. 
• Event planning & attendance, including planning convenings of project partners in the Bay Area; helping organize and potentially attend multi-day and out-of-town convenings, and provide convening logistical support. 
• Use Salesforce to manage and keep track of fundraising goals, key communications, and external relationships, often on behalf of the GCC team. 

• Coordinate the internal processes for opening, approving, and expediting grants to support grantees in applying to and reporting on GCC grants, including interfacing with the grants administration team and coordinating grantee check-in logistics. 
• Support the development and processing of funding applications. 

5. Working Groups and National Partners Coordination (5%) 

• Support in developing agendas, scheduling, and facilitating meetings of GCC working groups, including tracking follow-up between meetings. 
• Coordinate convenings on content-based issues and act as the team lead on special assignments which may include outreach, meeting planning, communicating with constituents, managing small projects or grant programs, and leading collaborative teams as assigned. 

Competencies & Qualifications  

• Undergraduate degree in sociology, urban studies, environmental studies, public health, public policy, or related field preferred. 
• Minimum of one-year administrative support experience or equivalent preferred.  
• Demonstrated success with managing complex projects to support team goals; ability to manage multiple competing priorities on tight deadlines. 
• Experience with Bay Area nonprofit organizations, private or community foundations, or philanthropic organizations; knowledge of local and regional politics, policy-making process, and policymakers; and familiarity with GCC priority areas (housing, transit, land use, climate resilience) and/or research, city planning, community development, policy advocacy, and/or organizing desired. 
• Ability to travel in the Bay Area regularly, and occasionally out of state, required. 
• Work well in a collaborative, team environment as well as work effectively under minimal supervision by taking initiative, making decisions, and ensuring successful completion of tasks.  
• Highest level of oral and written communication skills, including exhibiting diplomacy and discretion both in-person and online, public speaking, group facilitation and presentations, and interpersonal skills with diverse stakeholders including funders, community members, non-profit partners, and public sector staff. 
• Self-starter with the ability to effectively manage, prioritize, organize, and track multiple tasks and deadlines, with great attention to detail. 
• Interest and commitment to racial equity and economic inclusion, as well as motivation and enthusiasm about SFF’s vision and mission. 
• Experience with budgets and financial tracking is preferred. 
• Demonstrated ability to problem solve using analytical and reasoning skills to maintain, identify, and make recommendations to improve operational systems. 
• Capacity to work in a multicultural workforce and work context, including sensitivity and competency in working with individuals and groups of diverse socio-economic and lifestyle backgrounds, as well as personal integrity and the ability to engender trust, credibility, and confidence with a variety of constituencies. 

Technical abilities and skills 

• Intermediate to advanced computer/software skills preferred, including Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams), Zoom, Salesforce, PowerPlan (or similar budget planning and tracking platforms), FLUXX (or similar grants management platforms), Fathom (or similar AI notetaking platforms) and Concur (or similar expense reimbursement platforms)  

APPLICATION REVIEW CLOSING DATE: 11:59pm PST on May 20, 2024

We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align exactly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.  

Compensation: The San Francisco Foundation offers a competitive total compensation package including base compensation in alignment with our organizational budget size and rich medical and fringe benefits offerings. This position pays $3,466.66 per pay period. You may read more about our compensation philosophy and benefits on the career page.  

Remote Work Policy: The Foundation has adopted a long-term hybrid in-person and remote work policy. Dedicated to its employee health and safety, The Foundation will continue to make decisions in accordance with San Francisco County and California mandates. Employees must reside or plan to relocate to California if hired.   

Requesting Accommodations: The Foundation is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, The Foundation will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact [email protected].    

The San Francisco Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and encourages people of diverse backgrounds to apply.   

PM21