Chief of Staff
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION:
Fundamental Philanthropy, Inc. (FPI) is a boutique philanthropic and political consultancy based in Los Angeles. For more than a decade, the firm has worked with individuals, families, and organizations to help them use their resources (financial and otherwise) to drive social change. Our expertise lies in: developing grant making strategies, staffing foundation operations, mapping new trends, collaborating with thought leaders, and devising creative solutions to complex problems. Current key clients include: The Hearthland Foundation (Hearthland), the Righteous Persons Foundation (RPF), The Vera R. Campbell Foundation (VCF), and the Rosenzweig-Coopersmith Foundation (RCF).
Fundamental believes philanthropy is both a process and practice. We understand that it requires time, learning, partnership, intention, and invention to create new possibilities. We center equity in how we work and what we do. We engage staff and stakeholders with differing identities and experiences. We understand community is not a monolith but an ever-evolving constellation of practitioners, organizations, and neighbors who together can address problems and envision creative solutions.
ABOUT OUR TEAM:
At Fundamental, we seek colleagues who are:
- Passionate about working for a company and clients that are committed to doing good in the world. You align with our creative principles and want to build a shared democracy that works for all.
- Comfortable working in a nimble, fast paced environment with developing and changing needs. You enjoy reviewing and making sense of a high volume of complex, sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems. You are adaptive and able to work in an organization that is iterative and growing.
- Deeply relational and excel in collaborating with multiple stakeholders. You love being part of a team, are a bridge builder, with low ego. You are kind and have the capacity to imagine how the world looks to others and to build bonds of trust even in difficult circumstances.
- Solutions oriented. You approach your work with an asset-based frame focusing on strengths and opportunities not only problems or limitations.
- Genuinely curious. You ask questions, listen deeply and see yourself as a life-long learner.
- Highly creative. You value artistry, beauty, and imagination as deeply human needs and not a luxury.
ABOUT THE ROLE:
In a time of significant growth for the firm, Fundamental seeks an experienced strategic leader to work closely with Fundamental’s President, Rachel Levin and the company’s senior leadership team. The Chief of Staff (CoS) is responsible for the effective day-to-day and long-term management of the President’s Office, with a focus on client strategy and programs, as well as executive and internal administration.
The President’s Office is a new department within the company and this role serves as one of the inaugural team members. The CoS serves as analyst and decision-framer, project manager, staff manager, cross-organizational collaborator, mentor, and organizer. The CoS unifies the President’s vision with a detail-oriented approach to aligning the operations of her office and the company, her organizational directions, and the strategic use of her time and resources. A successful candidate will strive to keep the President at the top of her game.
While this role will have touch points across all client accounts, it will be heavily focused on The Hearthland Foundation, for which Rachel Levin is also President of Philanthropy. Hearthland was founded in 2019 to make grants and co-create projects that help build a shared democracy; tell a generative narrative about this country; and foster a culture of accompaniment. With a belief in the power of art, storytelling, and working together for the common good, Hearthland’s mission is to champion justice, equity, and connection, one creative act at a time.
JOB DUTIES:
Strategic Counsel and Support:
- Partner with the President to set strategic priorities, and identify areas where the President most needs to direct her time and attention, both internally and externally. Continually evaluate priority levels and help the President make room for evolving and changing priorities.
- Serve as a thought partner to the President. Offer feedback and new perspectives in the pursuit of excellence and impact, with care and creativity.
- Steer projects and initiatives generated by the President from genesis to fruition to completion, providing skillful oversight and support, including cross-program initiatives and collaboration with the Senior Program team.
- Offer insight and expertise in business operations, collaborating with and advising the Director of Operations and Grants Management on strategy and planning.
- Serve as the internal communications hub for the President’s Office, laddering up/down relevant news, decisions, and next steps between staff and the President. Ensure the President’s involvement in projects or decision-making processes takes place at key times, where her input and authority are most needed.
- Coordinate and manage aspects of internal and external Presidential communications. Draft reports and presentations on the President’s behalf. Coordinate with Communications, Design, and speechwriting consultants as needed.
- Maintain an active understanding of peer philanthropic organizations and social change matters, anticipating relevant conversations and offering the President advice and recommendations.
Supervision of a President’s Office Program Associate to:
- Research potential new grant partners.
- Manage active grants, assess progress, respond to financial and programmatic reports from grantees, create progress reports for President, and create memos for clients.
- Steward the President’s grantee/partner relationships with care; prepare communications or arrange meetings to support ongoing relationship-building.
Supervision of the President’s Executive Assistant to:
- Orchestrate the President’s schedule and plan essential travel itineraries.
- Review the President’s inbox to assess and create prioritization; manage timely responses with clear communications on behalf of the President.
- Prepare for and follow up on meetings: prepare President for upcoming meetings by ensuring she has all the information necessary to be productive and engaged.
- Maintain a comprehensive, accurate, and updated database of the President’s stakeholders, and partners.
- Research potential new stakeholders whom the President would benefit from engaging with.
Internal Leadership:
- Serve as a member of, and mentor for, the firm’s Senior Leadership Team, a group which provides counsel and guidance to the President on issues that impact the firm’s strategy and culture.
- Staff Senior Leadership Team meetings on behalf of the President. Establish the agenda, ensure decisions and action steps are recorded, conveyed, and implemented.
- Support and participate in internal efforts to create an inclusive, diverse, and equitable work environment. Contribute to creating a culture in which all staff on the team are safe, respected, heard, and heeded.
- Manage performance of all President’s Office staff and liaise with related consultants.
This role may include other duties as assigned. In Fundamental’s moment of growth, and given that this role and its office are inaugural, we anticipate the duties of the CoS to evolve collaboratively with the candidate and based on the needs of the organization.
PREFERRED EXPERIENCE & SKILLS:
- 20+ years of professional experience, the majority of which is in a leadership role.
- 7+ years of experience managing a small team of direct reports.
- Ideally 3+ years of experience as a Chief of Staff for a principal with multidimensional responsibilities.
- Ideally has basic familiarity with philanthropic sector and grantmaking processes.
- Ideally has experience with organizational growth, change, and scaling.
- A bachelor’s degree in the social or political sciences, journalism, organizational development, or related area of study.
- Exceptional verbal and written communicator in English. Can demonstrate compelling storytelling abilities and the summarization of complex information.
- High level of interpersonal, mentoring, and leadership skills with the ability to communicate effectively at multiple levels, across internal teams, and with various partners, communities, audiences, and stakeholders—particularly across intersecting identities such as race, class, age, and geography.
- Experience as a project manager, with a demonstrated ability to successfully manage projects full-cycle with competing stakeholders.
- Ideally someexperience working with artists and creative people who use their vision to shape narratives and social change movements.
- Excellent judgment and discretion in handling confidential or sensitive situations and matters, as well as proven diplomatic, problem-solving capabilities.
- Proficient with Microsoft 365 applications (Outlook, Word, Excel), and comfortable working on a Mac.
- Basic experience using—or willingness to learn—shared document platforms (such as Dropbox), office communication platforms (such as Slack), presentation and design platforms (such as Adobe Acrobat and Miro), virtual communication platforms (such as Zoom), and donor databases (such as Salesforce).
This combination of experiences and skills is ideal to be successful in this role, but we do not require or expect to find a candidate with everything. If you possess many of these experiences and skills, we invite you to apply. We value candidates with a range of backgrounds and abilities, and recognize that everyone brings a unique professional and lived experience into the workplace. In all of the job function areas, reasonable accommodations are available, as needed.
FPI is an equal opportunity employer. FPI provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identification, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, FPI complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
LOCATION & HOURS:
This is a full-time, exempt position, based in the Los Angeles, CA-area.
Fundamental is currently working via a hybrid model (three days in-person, two remote). Our offices are located in Culver City, CA. Core office hours are Monday through Friday, 10am – 4pm PT.
In addition, the CoS should anticipate work hours that shift in support of the President’s schedule and travel, and may be asked to support and/or represent the President at evening or weekend events. Travel is anticipated to comprise approximately 10-20% of this role (with flexibility).
