Managing Director of Programs

About Kataly Foundation

Kataly Foundation, a family foundation based in the San Francisco Bay Area, is committed to supporting restorative economics, environmental justice, mindfulness and healing justice, and racial justice. Founded in 2018 with the intention of spending out a $445 million endowment over a ten-year time horizon, this growing organization intends to support movements around these issues and serve as a progressive leader in philanthropy.

Kataly’s mission is to support and provide resources to communities and social movements that are exploring new solutions to persistent, systemic problems. Kataly does this while embracing its role and responsibility in changing systems that led to wealth extraction from these communities in the first place. We move resources to support the economic, political, and cultural power of Black and Indigenous communities and all communities of color. By transforming its own relationship to capital, the planet, and each other, the Kataly Foundation will redistribute and redefine wealth in a way that leads to transformation, abundance, and regeneration.

The Opportunity

At this pivotal moment in Kataly's history, the Foundation seeks its first-ever Managing Director of Programs to support and amplify efforts across programmatic areas and within the organization broadly. As Kataly continues to engage actively in the process of distributing its resources, the Managing Director will serve as a critical connector and advocate for opportunities to collaborate across program teams in alignment with organization-wide strategic goals. As a thought partner and collaborative problem solver, the Managing Director will support Kataly's program teams to execute thoughtfully on their programmatic strategies, identify best practices and creative solutions for program-related issues, and serve as a voice and conduit to the Foundation's leadership team for needs, concerns, and questions that arise within the grantmaking areas.

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, this inaugural Managing Director will employ a flexible approach to managing program needs and work alongside the program team to promote the goals of the Environmental Justice Resource Collective, Mindfulness and Healing Justice work, and the overall Capacity Building program of Kataly. Acting as a guide and partner to the leaders of each program area, the Managing Director will manage the Foundation's programmatic initiatives with the expertise needed to directly engage in program-related work as needed.

As part of Kataly's leadership team, the Managing Director of Programs will provide clear, actionable thought leadership around program implementation, inspire program staff to achieve the Foundation's complex agenda, and broaden the organization's reach and impact. The Managing Director will serve as the central aggregator and generator of ideas around strategic implementation across all program areas.

They will have a tremendous impact by focusing on the refinement and optimization of day-to-day program leadership throughout the organization. Their strategic leadership will support Kataly's spend-down process, ensuring that emerging grantee needs are prioritized while also supporting the needs of program staff internally. Moreover, the Managing Director will actively partner with the autonomous grantmaking leadership of each program area to advocate on behalf of staff, ensuring that capacity and communications needs are met internally among staff and externally for grantees and the movements Kataly supports. 

Key responsibilities for this role include:

• Acting as a thought partner and strategic advisor to the CEO and leadership team;

• Managing and supporting three direct reports–Senior Program Officers for Mindfulness and Healing Justice and the Environmental Justice Resourcing Collective, and the Director of Capacity Building.

• Championing a spirit of collaboration and open communications across the Program team to help advance organizational goals and ensure continued trust and alignment among the staff;

• Managing, updating and executing on implementation plans in coordination with the Programs teams, CEO and leadership team;

• Coordinating the execution of key projects and initiatives, including Rapid Response grantmaking.[A1] 

• Analyzing key data and reports to identify opportunities and challenges;

• Helping to address any culture/personnel issues, and keeping the CEO and People & Culture lead abreast of organizational climate;

• Coordinating programmatic related information and sharing with the Finance and Operations staff to shape organizational budgets and strategies;

• Representing Kataly at events and meetings to knowledgeably speak about the Foundation's work.

• Partnering with the CEO, leadership team and program teams to coordinate Kataly’s funder advocacy efforts, to share Kataly’s approach, and highlight our grantee partners with other funders.

Candidate Profile

While no one candidate will possess every quality outlined for this position, a successful candidate will bring many of the following professional competencies and personal attributes:

Passion for the Mission

The successful candidate will reflect integrity and commitment towards fulfilling the Foundation's mission of truly supporting communities to exercise their power and voice and moving the needle on critical issues facing the United States. This leader will believe deeply in the power of philanthropy, social justice, and the common good and demonstrate a passion for Kataly's program areas and organizational values. Through experience, whether professional and/or lived, the Managing Director will deftly demonstrate familiarity with and commitment to social justice concepts and frameworks such as racial equity, gender analysis, economic justice, and structural bias, consistent with the values and vision of Kataly. Through values-aligned practice, action, and communication, this leader will bring a demonstrated commitment to supporting and uplifting the expertise of Black, Indigenous, and people of color-led groups and formations.

Strategic, Adaptable, and Creative Problem Solving

The ideal candidate will lead with an entrepreneurial mindset, along with the knowledge, foresight, and clarity to inform decision-making around programming and strategy toward social change. This leader will act nimbly in adjusting to shifting priorities and deftly balance multiple tasks efficiently and effectively. Using keen analytical skills and excellent judgment, this individual will consistently take the initiative to anticipate needs and address them with complex and concrete, resourceful strategies - all while engaging fully alongside the CEO, leadership team, and staff. Within Kataly, this leader will be skilled at effectively driving toward consensus to enact operational change and optimize organization-level impact.

An Inclusive Collaborator Leading with Humility

Driven by a deep, relational understanding of a collective approach to movement-centered action, the ideal candidate will utilize strong emotional intelligence, demonstrable humility, and an orientation to listening to effectively engage and empower all communities within and beyond Kataly. Leading with humility and trust, the Managing Director will adeptly gain the confidence and respect of the Kataly team by fostering relationships and developing processes to ensure staff at all levels and from all backgrounds feel authentically welcome, that their contributions are valued, and deeply included as part of a diverse team. This leader's ability to inspire trust and build relationships with a diverse range of perspectives and collaborators, including senior leaders, team members, and external partners, will support collective action toward producing meaningful, impactful, and lasting change.

An Engaged Manager and Connector

With demonstrated success in building relationships and weaving connections within and across ecosystems of organizations, this individual will skillfully navigate complex landscapes with nuance and a keen understanding of various perspectives. Employing a keen ability to identify team and individual strengths as well as capacity gaps, this leader will work to motivate, manage, and lead the team to realize individual and collective goals and outcomes aligned with overall organizational strategy and vision. The ideal candidate will be a supportive and empathetic leader with the ability to provide constructive feedback to empower staff and cultivate an effective and collaborative culture that operates seamlessly across teams within the organization. Moreover, this individual will act as a supervisor, coach, and mentor to staff, creating and identifying opportunities for growth and development.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary for the role is anticipated to range from $240,000 to $260,000, commensurate with experience. Kataly offers a comprehensive benefits package.

• Group Insurance Benefits: Fully paid premiums for group health, dental, vision insurance, long-term disability, life insurance, and a supplemen...