Venture Philanthropy Partners — Communications Director

BACKGROUND

Based in Washington, DC, Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP) is an innovative nonprofit organization focused on investing in programs to improve life outcomes of children and youth of low-income families of Greater Washington. VPP helps nonprofits build their organizational capacity to support strong programming with a focus on specific outcomes for youth by providing these groups with “growth capital.” With this unique type of organizational support – which ranges from in-house expertise to access to a network of consultants, resources and professional advisors – VPP is directly impacting these organizations’ ability to significantly improve the lives of youth in Greater Washington.

VPP seeks like-minded investors committed to our mission, to provide the financial resources required to have greater impact for the youth of our region. By building a community of investors, resources are leveraged or “pooled” to provide significant investments in the nonprofits we support.

VPP’s large-scale, cross-sector, multi-year funding efforts combine investment capital, strategic assistance and a network of talented professionals, with expertise in education, workforce development, social change, corporate philanthropy, government relations, outcomes, evaluation and finance. VPP also advises philanthropists, corporate and nonprofit leaders and policymakers on how to integrate VPP’s investment strategy approaches into their own philanthropic initiatives.

Over the past 16 years, Venture Philanthropy Partners has raised $100 million and supported 18 nonprofit partners to change the lives of tens of thousands of children by providing them access to quality education, health care, and career training. By investing in some of the region’s highest-performing nonprofits, VPP has enabled our nonprofit partners to serve 51 new neighborhoods, expand to 80 new sites and serve about 57,000 young people, annually, across the region.

In 2010, VPP was selected by the Social Innovation Fund (SIF) as one of eleven national organizations from around the country that were awarded SIF grants as part of its inaugural portfolio. The youthCONNECT model http://www.vppartners.org/investments/youth-connect/ is made up of high- performing nonprofits working collaboratively to serve vulnerable youth, ages 14-24, in a single location— like a school.

The six youthCONNECT Network Partner organizations are guided by a shared set of outcomes, and VPP functions as the Network’s backbone. Since 2010, nearly 22,000 young people in the Greater Washington region have benefited from youthCONNECT. For example:

• 9 in 10 youth applied for college, which is an important step for self-sufficiency.
• 8 in 10 youth completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)—enabling moreyouth to qualify for college scholarships, grants, and loans.
• 3/4 of youth obtained work experience—helping to prepare them for the workforce.The power and promise of networks to improve outcomes for vulnerable youth currently guides VPP’s work. The Capital Kids Porfolio (2014-2019), seeks to build and expand collaborative networks including, but not exclusively, VPP’s youthCONNECT model, throughout the region. For example, through Ready for Work – Champions for Career and College Ready Graduates in Prince George’s County – VPP is partnering with Prince George’s County administration, public schools, local business leaders, philanthropy and nonprofit organizations to ensure students graduate from high school career and college ready. Ready for Work is a six-year $15 million cross-sector initiative launched in 2016. http://www.vppartners.org/investments/ready-for-work/

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OPPORTUNITY
VPP is seeking a Communications Director to take a leadership role in helping VPP influence and achieve its goals. VPP offers a highly challenging and intellectually engaging environment, an opportunity to meet and interact with thought leaders in multiple disciplines and the chance to be part of a great team of people who are dedicated to improving the lives of young people in the National Capital Region.

The Communications Director will work directly with the President and CEO, senior staff, the board and outside consultants to develop and implement a strategic communications strategy to support the next phase of VPP’s funding strategy while pursuing additional opportunities to position VPP as a leader in the field and give exposure to VPP beyond traditional audiences.

KEY JOB FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES:

 ServeasastrategiccommunicationsadvisortothePresidentandCEO,andotherseniorstaffon organizational priorities.

•   WorkwithmembersoftheVPPteamtopreparecontent/materialsforexternalmeetingsand speaking engagements for the President and CEO (i.e., research briefings, speeches, talking points, etc.).
•   Participateinsenior-levelmeetingsandplanningsessionsonthedirectionandprioritiesofthe organization.
•   Workwithstafftoensureastreamlinedandopeninternalcommunicationsstructure.
•   DevelopgoalsandobjectiveswithregardtothecommunicationselementsoftheVPPoperatingplan, and provide guidance and support to achieve them.
•   Developstructureswithintheorganizationtoensurequalityandconsistencyinallexternalcommunications products and materials.
•   Manageallpubliccommunicationsincludingnewsletter,socialmedia(Twitter,YouTube,etc.),reports, collateral material, presentations and website.
•   Craftorganizationalandprogrammaticmessageswiththeboard,investorcommunityandotherkey audiences.
•   WorkcloselywithVPP’sdevelopmentstafftoplanandexecutecommunicationsfocusedonfundraising and strengthening funder relationships.
•   Overseealloftheorganization’smediarelationsandregularlyinteractwiththemediatoraisethepublic profile of VPP.
•   Developandmaintainrelationshipswithreporters(localandnational)whofocusonissuesrelated to children and youth, low-income communities and philanthropy.CANDIDATE PROFILE

  This Washington, DC-based position requires an individual with strong executive presence and experience. We are looking for a driven, high-energy performer who is resourceful and creative, and possesses a heartfelt connection to the social and community issues and causes that drive VPP’s mission.

  Specific qualifications include:

•   PassionforandcommitmenttoVPP’scoremission,valuesandphilanthropicinvestmentapproach.
•   Personalandprofessionalintegritywiththeabilitytoinstillahighleveloftrustandcredibility.
•   Minimumof8-10yearsexperienceinacombinationofphilanthropiccommunications,publicrelations, journalism or other relevant communications background.
•   Strongbackgroundinissuesrelatedtochildrenandyouthoflow-incomefamiliesandexperiencewith Washington, D.C. metro-area audiences strongly preferred – some knowledge of orexperience in the investment field a plus.
•   Experiencewiththedevelopmentandexecutionofacomprehensive,long-termstrategiccommunications plan to guide overall organizational planning.
•   Superiorcommunicationsskills,includingstrongwritingandeditingskills,andspeechwritingexperience.
•   Strongknowledgeofhowtoeffectivelyusedigitalmedia,includingwebsitecontentanddesign,tobuild and improve capacity of organizational communications.
•   Experiencedevisingandimplementingstrategicandeffectiveuseofsocialmediaoutreach(Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, e-newsletters, etc.).

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•   Experienceworkingwithpeoplefromdiversebackgrounds.
•   Experienceworkingwithallaspectsofanorganizationincludingcrossfunctionalteamsandprojects.
•   Enthusiasm,polishanddedicationnecessarytoleadadynamiccommunicationseffort.
•   Experiencesupervisingtheproductionofcommunicationsproducts(print,video,etc.).
•   Demonstratedskillinproactivelybuildingrelationshipswithtop-tierreportersandeditors,andinsuccessfully positioning issues and leaders with the media to achieve high-impact placements.
•   Experiencedevelopingandmanagingbudgetsforcommunicationsactivities.
•   Willingnessto“rollupyoursleeves”anddowhatneedstogetdone.COMPENSATIONCompensation for this opportunity has been designed to attract candidates with significant experience with a commitment to this community and the nonprofit sector.

  To Apply: Send resume, writing sample, salary requirements, and cover letter to settleson@gmail.com, subject line: VPP – Communications Director.

  For more information about VPP and its important work, check out: http://www.vppartners.org/