Community Investment Associate/Officer, Economic Opportunity
Dogwood Health Trust
Full Time
WHO WE ARE
Dogwood Health Trust (Dogwood) is a private health foundation based in Asheville, North Carolina. Our purpose is to dramatically improve the health and wellbeing of all people and communities of Western North Carolina. We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We uphold three values that inform our purpose, our strategies, and our decisions, and define the core identity of Dogwood. They are:
- Compassion with Courage. We will be bold in pursuing our commitment to the people and communities of Western North Carolina by taking smart risks and investing in opportunities for profound impact.
- Sustainability with Integrity. We will bring transparency and humility in stewarding resources to support and strengthen Western North Carolina for generations to come.
- Partnering with Purpose. We will foster collective impact by promoting collaboration and advancing shared learning.
In alignment with our vision to create an impact in employment, priority will be given to applicants who live in and/or have deep connection to Dogwood's home in Western North Carolina.
SUMMARY
Dogwood seeks to fill a role in our Economic Opportunity team within the Community Investment area. This posting is for an Associate or Officer level position and Dogwood will consider applicants across career stages.
The position will foster and maintain relationships with communities, nonprofits, and other partners to advance Dogwood’s evolving grantmaking and community investment strategies. They will be passionate aboutequitableconomic opportunity outcomes for the region’s population. This role reports to the Vice President of Economic Opportunity and will be responsible for supporting new ideas and partnerships, partnering with the team and strategy groups on refining strategic goals, and implementing measurable, impactful results.
OUTCOMES
What you will do:
INITIATIVE LEADERSHIP & STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT In collaboration with the Community Investment team, contribute to the development and execution of effective grantmaking and impact investment strategies for initiative(s)
Translate economic opportunity goals into objectives, design, and metrics, with a focus on continually evaluating and improving tactics.
- Implement the priorities for an assigned grantmaking area through a combination of grantmaking and community engagement.
- Identify and disseminate emerging trends in the sector, relevant case studies, and other topics of interest related to our work.
- Consult and coordinate with colleagues in exploring new grantmaking and investment opportunities.
- Identify organizations with strong potential for partnership; conduct due diligence and recommend grantee partners with effective track records, internal capacity, and strategic skills.
- Participate regularly as a key community investment team member in Board, Board committee, and staff meetings to provide open communication about our initiative strategies and efforts.
EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT
- Build and enhance relationships with community leaders, organizational leaders, and funding partners across the state.
- Serve as a primary partner and point of contact for grantees and other collaborators in your initiative area.
- Articulate Dogwood’s purpose, values, and programs with external stakeholders, leveraging a partnership with the Sr. Director of Community Engagement to tell effective stories.
- Represent Dogwood to a diverse array of partners including grantees, community leaders, business leaders, government officials, affinity groups, and collaborators in the region.
- Remain well informed of current research, activities, and trends in Economic Opportunity, the issues addressed by our partners and serve as an informal thought partner.
GRANTS & COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
- Review and analyze grantmaking investments to ensure legal / regulatory compliance.
- Evaluate grant proposals and develop funding recommendations.
- Prepare strategy memos, briefs, reports, and presentations in a variety of formats to engage a broad range of constituents (e.g., board members, community leaders, grantees, allied funders).
- Support the development and implementation of initiative evaluation plans to track the impact of the work and allow for continuous learning.
- Prepare and contribute to written materials that communicate the alignment of grantee activities with portfolio goals and strategies, including grant recommendations and context papers.
- Collaborate with colleagues, board, and staff to coordinate with and contribute to projects and relationships where you can combine efforts for mutual success.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
- Monitor grant and reporting statuses and initiate appropriate action(s) to ensure timely, accurate and thorough processing.
- Collaborate with team members to manage internal processes, portfolio progress, documentation, grant budget information, and evaluation metrics.
RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
- Gather and continually update your knowledge of the health-related needs and equity efforts in the community and non-profit ecosystem related to Dogwood’s core strategic areas.
- Leveraging team research and program data, collaborate with our internal communications team to build effective impact stories for a variety of internal and external audiences; ensure impact results are communicated to the Board of Directors, staff, and partners on a timely basis.
CAPACITY BUILDING & IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT
- Coordinate learning opportunities focused on Dogwood’s priorities for Board members, staff and partner organizations using various tools, e.g., external speakers/content experts, lunch and learns, internal speakers, and online delivery methods.
- Assist with the preparation and editing of funding documents, as appropriate.
- Develop methods to enter and manage each portfolio in the grants management database.
- Propose and execute continual process improvements.
- Partner with impact officers to develop and administer surveys to access needs and gather feedback from grantees and partners.
COMPETENCIES, ATTRIBUTES, and EXPERIENCE
What you will bring to the team:
EDUCATION
- An Associate's degree, with 4-6 years relevant work experience, or
- A Bachelor’s degree, with 2-4 years with relevant work experience.
WORK EXPERIENCE
- Demonstrated leadership of a transformational initiative or project with measurable impact.
- Experience convening or facilitating local, regional, state, and/or national economic development aligned stakeholders toward actionable, impactful, and/or measurable change or growth.
- Experience establishing and managing complex internal and external relationships.
- Budget management experience.
KEY COMPENTENCIES
- Demonstrated commitment to equity across ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural lines.
- Displays the highest level of personal integrity & transparency.
- Able to think strategically about an issue that is outside their realm of expertise.
- Experience addressing and simplifying complex problems and creating a strategy to solve them.
- Able to analyze complex data, make assumptions, and proceed with imperfect information.
- Ability to build successful relationships with local leaders and organizations and engage people from diverse backgrounds in a variety of settings.
- Experience or ability to facilitate meetings, synthesize ideas, and provide sensitive feedback.
WHAT WE OFFER
Dogwood’s purpose of dramatically improving the health and well-being of all people and communities of Western North Carolina is evident within our doors as well. All full-time team members can participate in a broad offering of competitive benefits, including health insurance, retirement, PTO, and more. Starting salary is commensurate with experience that will be vetted through the interview process.
OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY AND INCLUSION
Dogwood Health Trust is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our work and on our teams. We know that the rich diversity of perspectives and wisdom that is imperative to our purpose can only come from a wide variety of origins and life experiences. We strongly believe that creating a workplace where all team members thrive is critical to fulfilling our mission in the communities we serve and we intentionally recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.
Qualified candidates are urged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state, or local protected class.
