Program Director, Immigrant Rights

The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund seeks a new Program Director for the Immigrant Rights Program

About the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund

The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund works to advance equality and justice so every person can thrive and to live life with dignity and hope. Rooted in the Bay Area, the Haas, Jr. Fund is guided by an enduring set of core values: inclusion, respect, collaboration, and courage. These values reflect the founders’ vision and shape everything we do.

At the Haas, Jr. Fund, they focus on a set of issues that they believe are at the core of advancing equality and opportunity in their home state of California and the broader society: College Success, Democracy, Immigrant Rights and LGBT Equality. They collaborate to lift up good ideas and diverse perspectives, they take care of each other, and they embrace innovative solutions to the challenges at the core of their work.

The Haas, Jr. Fund has a full-time staff of 20 professionals and assets of approximately $470 million. Located in downtown San Francisco, the Fund has awarded more than $600 million in grants since its founding in 1953. For more information, please see www.haasjr.org.

The Position

The Program Director for Immigrant Rights leads the Haas, Jr. Fund’s efforts to secure equal rights and opportunities for immigrants and ensure their ability to fully participate in the social, economic and civic life of our communities and to positively shape the future of California and the nation.

After years of groundbreaking immigration policy advancements in California, the changing political climate requires a leader who can work creatively to respond to challenges and capitalize on opportunities in close partnership with immigration movement leaders and other partners to advance inclusive values and policies. At this pivotal moment for immigrant rights, the Program Director will have an opportunity to build on the Haas, Jr. Fund’s past accomplishments, reputation and strengths to shape and implement a bold new vision for the program. This unique opportunity is suited for an ambitious leader who is willing to take risks, exhibits strategic agility, and thrives by continually learning from successes and setbacks.

Responsibilities

The Program Director for Immigrant Rights reports to the Vice President of Programs and is responsible for:

Strategic Grantmaking and Partnership

Provide strategic partnership and support to the immigrant rights movement at both the state and national levels as thought leader, alliance builder, strategist and fundraiser.
Direct the development and implementation of the Fund’s Immigrant Rights priorities, identifying levers for impact, establishing goals and objectives, and directing grantmaking.
Play an influential role beyond grantmaking by providing grantee partners, movement leaders, foundation representatives and allies with strategic advising, resource connections and additional supports.
Collaborate with foundations and additional partners to develop initiatives, leverage resources, and engage in cross-movement efforts.
Prepare grant and strategy recommendations, and educate the Board of Directors, staff and other stakeholders on challenges and opportunities for advancing the immigrant rights movement.
Manage the immigration grants portfolio, including due diligence, financial reviews, site visits, compliance with applicable rules and regulations, and evaluation.
Supervise staff assigned to support and advance the Fund’s immigration program by providing ongoing direction, coaching, and professional development support.

Field Knowledge and External Relations

A high level of knowledge about current immigration policies, trends, and the immigration ecosystem.
Provide an active leadership role in fundraising and attracting other funders to the immigrant rights field.
Participate in the philanthropic sector and represent the Fund in public arenas and forums to advance the program strategy, including affinity groups and funder collaboratives.
Help deepen partnerships with public, nonprofit and other sectors and leaders to advance mutual goals.

Candidate Qualifications / Experience / Attributes

Education: A degree in a related field such as public policy, law, urban planning; or a commensurate level of experience.
Experience: A well-qualified candidate will bring experience and perspective in the following areas:

Demonstrated track record of success moving a strategic policy or project initiative from vision to impact in partnership with community leaders.
Direct experience in immigrant movements and ability to advance social change agendas.
A deep understanding of the immigrant experience; appreciation of immigrants and their connections to other movements; and a track record of working with diverse immigrant and low-income communities, especially in California.
Ten years or more experience demonstrating progressively greater leadership responsibility and impact.
Solid understanding of philanthropy and the role of foundations in the nonprofit sector, with substantial experience working in a nonprofit or similar environment, ideally with grantmaking experience.

The successful candidate will be:

Embracing of the Fund’s mission and values, including a deep commitment to advancing equality and justice for all, and to professionally represent the Haas family.
Capable of building good working relationships across a diverse team, including awareness of the complexities of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity and orientation.
Effective adapting to change, working flexibly and dealing with ambiguity.
Comfortable working in a generative space, contributing ideas and creativity.
Well organized with ability to multitask and move many projects forward simultaneously.
Solutions-oriented: offers ideas as well as critique and takes ownership of tasks through to completion.
Attuned to staff needs and aspire to help build strong collegial partnerships.
Committed to continuous improvement and technical learning.
An effective team member, contributing to the effectiveness of colleagues, and positively contributing to organizational culture.

The successful candidate will have:

Excellent writing skills, including the ability to write clearly, succinctly, analytically, and persuasively in a jargon-free and inspiring way.
Strong research and analysis skills. Ability to identify levers for change within complex systems (“see the forest for the trees”) and operate at a high conceptual level.
Proficiency in maintaining high standards of integrity and confidentiality in all relationships with board members, staff, grantees, colleagues, grant applicants and other audiences.
Excellent public speaking skills and ability to engage different sectors and audiences such as board members, other foundations, public sector leaders, nonprofit and movement leaders, and immigrant communities.
Humility, with an emphasis on getting the work done and leading from behind rather than getting credit.
Compassion, a sense of humor and joy, and a commitment to doing the highest quality work.
Creativity and the ability to think about age old problems in new ways.
Fluency in a second language, and experience living, studying, working or volunteering abroad is desired.

Compensation and Benefits

The Haas, Jr. Fund has set the salary for the Program Director position as described in the range of $170,000 to $185,000; actual salary amount is commensurate with experience. The Fund provides an excellent benefits package including generous medical, dental, and vision plans; paid time off and other paid leave policies; a substantial employer contribution to pension; transit subsidy; as well as volunteer and matching grant support.

For additional information or to apply, please send a cover letter and resume to: