Senior Program Officer

Department: Community Investment and Partnerships
Starting Salary: $105,000 – $120,000

Position Summary

Founded in 1928, EBCF is one of the nation’s first community foundations. With a geographic focus on Alameda and Contra Costa counties, EBCF works so that everyone has the economic freedom to dream, heal, and belong. We advance our work through leadership, grantmaking, strategic partnerships, and building solidarity between donors and community. We deploy our resources in service of our mission, pushing beyond industry norms to offer uniquely impactful opportunities for our fund advisers and the communities of the East Bay. EBCF manages more than 500 funds, with total assets in excess of $500M.   

Joining EBCF means a commitment to advancing racial equity and transforming political, social, and economic realities. We do this by creating spaces that center joy and opportunities for dreaming and reimagining a future for all who call the East Bay home to have the freedom to thrive for generations to come.  

About the Position  

EBCF seeks a thoughtful, collaborative, community-oriented Senior Program Officer to lead the Foundation’s grant-making and programmatic strategies focused on economic power building to advance our north star, “An East Bay where everyone has the economic freedom to dream, heal, and belong.” This entails transitioning ownership of labor, capital, and land from corporations to communities and creating a transformed economy that builds and sustains community wealth. It also requires shifting power from a concentrated few to an expansive majority, ensuring that working-class people have the self-determination, voice, and authority to make decisions about the issues that shape their lives and future. 

EBCF strategically invests in organizations working at the intersection of building a regenerative economy, moving from access to ownership, building communities’ capacity to govern, equitable economic development, and building the people power needed to bring forth a transformational economic agenda. Our economic power building grant making and programmatic strategies include: 

• Community Ownership & Stewardship, including community land trusts, worker-owned cooperatives, and community governed funds.
• Power-Building & Governing Power, including base-building, coalitions and alliances, collective governance models, and policy & advocacy.
• Small Business Resiliency, including small business grants and coordinated technical assistance network.  

The Senior Program Officer will partner closely with a Program Officer to co-steward the economic power building work and collaborate with and support colleagues across other program areas, including capacity building and arts and culture for social and racial justice. 

Strong candidates will have experience in community organizing and civic engagement strategies and networks, community ownership models, and small business support, particularly efforts led by and rooted in Black, Indigenous, Latinx, AAPI, and SSWANA communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.  Candidates will be familiar with and committed to Trust-Based philanthropy values and practices.  Candidates will have a deep understanding of racial, economic, and gender justice, and their intersections and applications. 

We seek a leader who will: 

• Build trust and work collaboratively with team members to implement and refine program and grant-making strategies towards EBCF’s north star of economic freedom to dream, heal, and belong 
• Partner with a Program Officer to co-lead the grantmaking and programmatic approach focused on economic power building, including community organizing, community ownership, and small business support
• Launch and implement a redesigned small business support program, including a small business grant fund and coordinated technical assistance network  
• Partner with Managing Director of CIP and Program Officer to support direct and grassroots lobbying, particularly related to community-driven policy and legislative campaigns
• Manage, monitor, and coordinate grants portfolios and consultant contracts, including grant planning, identifying and working with prospective grantees, carrying out an application process, undertaking periodic reviews of progress with grantees, reviewing financial and narrative reports, and managing and coordinating with consultants
• Build and sustain relationships with grantee partners using Trust-Based Philanthropy principles and practices; develop creative and respectful ways to partner with grantees to inform EBCF strategies and learning goals
• Communicate effectively, intuitively, and passionately with multiple audiences about economic power building as a core EBCF priority; produce, compile, and amplify stories of community organizing, community ownership models, small businesses, and social movements
• Fundraise to augment and leverage the Foundation’s discretionary resources through partnerships with donors, philanthropic allies, and corporate partners
• Approach your role with an organizing mindset, raising and directing financial and community resources in alignment with organizing and movement partners
• Support donor engagement and donor organizing by building relationships with donors, developing opportunities for political education, recommending grantee partners, in partnership with the Philanthropy team
• Partner with aligned social justice funders on shared goals, and represent the Foundation and its work to government, business, philanthropic and community leaders  
• Organize and support convenings for grantees, funders, and other stakeholders
• Perform other duties as assigned. 

You are a leader with: 

• Deep knowledge, understanding, and at least 5-7 years of experience in one or more of the following areas: community organizing, power building, and movement building rooted in BIPOC communities; community ownership models, such as community land trusts, worker-owned cooperatives, and/or community governed funds; small business funding and support. 
• At least 3-5 years of experience in grant-making and/or philanthropic/community collaborations
• At least 3-5 years of experience in fundraising. Ideal candidates will have a demonstrated track record of raising funds from foundations, individual donors, and corporate partners
• Some experience, knowledge, and/or interest in impact investing or integrated capital strategies preferred
• A deep commitment to and demonstrated experience in racial, economic, and gender justice and equity.
• Excellent persuasive communication skills (written, visual, oral) with grassroots and grasstops audiences.
• A strong base of experience and relationships in the East Bay or Bay Area region.
• Strong interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to build trusting relationships among diverse individuals, organizations and communities; with a high impact/low ego orientation
• Demonstrated humility, flexibility, and emotional intelligence; a sense of humor and excitement for the work.