Program Director for Sustainable Environments Program

The Surdna Foundation, a New York City-based national family foundation seeks to recruit a Program Director for the Sustainable Environments Program.

Founded in 1917 by John Emory Andrus, the Surdna Foundation (Foundation) has a distinguished record of accomplishment as an innovator and catalyst in the philanthropic sector. In keeping with its entrepreneurial background, in October 2009 the Foundation adopted a new mission - "to foster sustainable communities in the United States-communities guided by principles of social justice and distinguished by healthy environments, strong local economies, and thriving cultures."

In order to support the newly framed mission statement, the Foundation named 3 new programs - Sustainable Environments, Strong Local Economies, and Thriving Cultures - to replace the 5 programs that were in place at the Foundation. The Foundation also identified 2 core values to guide their work:

• Advancing an agenda of justice and sustainability in U.S. communities.
• Advancing national action on sustainability.

In order to enhance the interactive alignment among the programs and professional staff, the Foundation recently made some important organizational changes. Sharon Alpert, current Director of the Sustainable Environments Program, has been named to the newly created position of Senior Director for Programs and Strategy. In addition to this promotion, the Foundation created a new Senior Staff team to oversee the operations of the foundation. This team works closely with President and is comprised of the Chief Financial Officer, Marc de Venoge, and Sharon in her new role as Senior Director. Sharon oversees the program side of the foundation, while Marc oversees the administrative functions of the foundation. The creation of a Senior Staff team represents the next step in a process of program and operational development which emphasizes an environment of creative, collaborative engagement across program platforms and professional staff.

Moreover, the Foundation is focused on potentially adding some critical new functions around communications, evaluation, and program/ mission related investing. As thought leaders in their respective fields, the Foundation's professional staff work "beyond the money" to help grantees find additional resources and support, to connect key players to each other and connect good projects to other funders, to build strength and capacity in its fields of interest, and to promote collaboration among diverse stakeholders. The exciting work to bring the Foundation into a new era reflects the collaborative spirit of the organization and builds on the important personal and professional interaction between staff and Board.

In addition, the value of the Foundation is not simply found in its leadership as a catalyst and innovator the philanthropic sector. The Foundation is committed to creating an environment which rewards innovation, experimentation, and balance in work and life goals. The spirit of the people who guide the work of the Foundation reflects their commitment to honor the social compact between the Foundation and those they serve.

For FY2011 (ending June 30), the Foundation had assets of approximately $800 million. They approved 467 grants totaling $33.7 million. The average grant, excluding discretionary grants and a major annual grant to the Julia Dychman Andrus Memorial Andrus Children's Center, was $138,000, and the grant amount ranged from $20,000 to $1.55 million. Approximately $21 million of the total grant budget will be allocated to the three program areas, with the remainder budgeted for board discretionary grants, the Andrus Family Fund, and research and development. Additional information about the Foundation may be found at www.surdna.org.

Position Overview:

The Program Director for Sustainable Environments Program (SEP) will serve in a strategic and timely leadership role in the Foundation. With a change in the national political landscape, the Program Director will need to suggest new pathways to address core programmatic issues impacting the SEP portfolio. With a focus on energy efficiency, smart growth, transportation policy, green jobs development, etc., the Program Director will need to be grounded in an understanding of the interplay between the environment, the economy, culture, and social equity.

Moreover, the Program Director will need to promote innovative policy approaches and strategic solutions to complex issues at the local, regional and national level. Overall, the Program Director should be an individual who seeks to invest in leaders and organizations whose efforts create just and sustainable communities where consumption and conservation are balanced and innovative solutions to environmental problems improve people's lives.

The new Program Director will work on building collaborative, strategic partnerships and initiatives to engage in 3 overarching themes of work. While each of the themes has distinct goals and strategies, it is the alignment among them which creates the capacity to transform how Americans work, consume, and move. The 3 themes include:

• Climate Change
• Green Economy
• Transportation and Smart Growth

The Program Director should possess a proven ability to think strategically, and have a demonstrated record of success working with a diverse constituency of partners and stakeholders to achieve specific policy and programmatic outcomes. The Program Director must also possess an outcome based orientation to goal setting and thrive in a workplace environment that values transparency and is filled with the exploration of new ideas to solve complex problems. In this role, this individual will serve as a catalyst, convener and director of strategy - bringing together environmental and other public and private sector leaders to address critical and timely environmental issues.

In this role, the Program Director will also bring together groups and leaders necessary to, but not typically engaged in, environmental policy issues. He or she should have experience working with leaders from grassroots organizations and campaigns to national leaders of large multi-faceted organizations. Because so much of this role involves articulately communicating the Foundation's vision and building relationships with grantees, foundation colleagues, and leaders in the public sector, nonprofit sphere, and community, the Program Director must have the presence, humility, and interpersonal skills to work effectively and professionally with a diverse range of people from different environments and sectors of society.

SEP is the largest grants program in the Foundation with an overall FY2011 grants budget of $9 million. In FY2010 the program received approximately 283 grant requests and made 55 grants. The SEP is staffed by a Program Officer and a Program Associate. Additional support is provided by the Foundation's Grants Administrator. The Program Officer reports directly to the Program Director, and the Program Director and the Program Officer jointly supervise the Program Associate.

Qualifications:

The Program Director should ideally embody the following professional qualifications and personal attributes:

• Recognition as a strategic and tactical leader with a proven track record of success in implementing a complex program strategy at the national, regional and local level.
• Substantive background and professional experience in at least 1 and ideally 2 of the Sustainable Environments Program areas with a diverse network of resources in the field.
• Demonstrated success as an inspirational manager and team builder who has considerable experience attracting, developing, evaluating, and retaining professional staff.
• The capacity and desire to work with a dedicated and involved family foundation board.
• Proven success working on policy issues at city, state and federal levels and with the private sector - ideally possessing a keen sense of the complexities of working to address critical public policy matters.
• Proven team player and leader able to motivate and inspire staff as well as colleagues to work well as a team.
• Exceptional managerial, analytical, strategic, and tactical ability.
• Experience working within a philanthropic organization or as a grantee a plus.
• The ability and flexibility to travel extensively throughout the US.
• Graduate level academic degree in a related field would be desirable.

Personal Attributes:

• Commitment to social equity and principles of healthy environments, strong local economies and thriving cultures.
• Articulate, with proven ability to write effectively and speak persuasively.
• Superlative interpersonal skills, including a willingness to listen to internal and external constituents and learn from their best ideas.
• Intellectual curiosity, approachability, and openness to input from all levels of staff.
• Openness and a comfort working with ambiguity and change.
• High energy level, personable, humble, trustworthy, diplomatic, and in possession of impeccable integrity.

Compensation: Compensation for the Program Director for Sustainable Environments Program includes a competitive base salary, and an excellent employee benefits package.

To Apply:

Please refer to the Surdna Foundation in the subject line and send a cover letter and resume in confidence to:

Daniel A. Sherman, President
Explore Company

The Surdna Foundation is committed to an inclusive work environment and welcomes a diverse pool of candidates in this search.