Projects Manager / Grants Program Officer – The WoodNext Foundation

The WoodNext Foundation’s mission is to advance human progress and remove obstacles to a fulfilling life. The WoodNext Foundation makes grants and impact investments in areas including mental health, homelessness, scientific and biomedical research, disaster recovery, and economic opportunity with a focus on addressing root causes. WoodNext’s domestic philanthropy has a particular focus on strengthening communities across Texas and the southern United States. For more information, please visit www.woodnext.org.

Position Overview

The special projects manager / grants program officer is a hybrid role:

The special projects aspect of this role supports the implementation of WoodNext social impact programs via the recruitment and coordination of nonprofit grantee partners, contractors and other community stakeholders. This is not a standard philanthropy role.

Hiring someone who can perform this function is the priority for this role.

The remainder of this role is a traditional junior grants program officer role, to support grantee identification, due diligence, monitoring, and relationship management, among other responsibilities as described below.

The ideal candidate is Texas-based, and is a resourceful strategic thinker and generalist who can effectively translate strategy into practice. Prior philanthropy experience is not required, but candidates must have strong program management, analytical, and research skills.

Special projects may be wide ranging, diverse, and practical, and may include (as examples):

Working with partners to clean trash from creeks in Austin

Identifying partners to clean trash from beaches in Caribbean islands
Procurement of property/materials to accomplish specific projects with social mission
Identifying the right partners to develop and maintain a repository with information on jet lag treatments
Can discuss other tangible examples during interview process

Responsibilities [25-30%*] Special projects management and implementation *

May increase over time as we develop more projects.

There are several social impact projects that WoodNext would like to implement via nonprofit grantees, contractors, other partners, etc.

This role would:

• For a given project, conduct landscape research to identify partners (nonprofits, contractors and other partners) to engage to implement this work
• Negotiate contracts and establish accountability mechanisms
• Ensure that pricing/cost is reasonable
• Monitor work to ensure progress towards goals and successful outcomes
• Help troubleshoot implementation issues that arise
• Potentially may incubate and spin out projects
• [55-60%] Grant making and grantee relationship management

New grantees:

• Research and identify new potential grantee candidates
• Conduct due diligence, including desk research and calls with grantee candidate staff and board, funders, experts, beneficiaries, etc.

Existing grantees:

• Monitor subset of existing grantees across WoodNext’s portfolio (except for science grantees).
• Review grant reports
• Regularly communicate with grantees via phone and site visits

[10-15%] Other admin

• Maintain database of grantee information
• Help support comms for WoodNext including newsletter and social media
• Provide some admin support to executive director (note taking, scheduling)

Qualifications

Candidate must be based in Texas, be a self-starter, and:

Must have/be:

• VERY strong generalist
• Program management experience, including working with and coordinating across partners, to accomplish goals
• Experience managing contractors / vendors, including negotiating contract terms
• Experience in running projects that are more ‘tangible’/’physical’ is a huge plus, e.g., construction / major home renovation
• Strategic thinking skills, with an orientation toward practice and tactical implementation
• Analytical and research skills
• Troubleshooting / problem solving skills
• Strong detail orientation
• Verbal and written communication skills – comfort and tact with interacting with a wide range of people (nonprofit leaders, beneficiaries, funders, vendors, etc.)
• Community engagement experience is desirable
• Ability to travel 25-35% of time within the state of Texas (and occasionally abroad)
• Enjoy being outdoors, as some of our projects are oriented towards creek/beach trash cleanup

Nice to have:

• Management consulting experience
• Grantmaking / philanthropy or impact investment experience
• International development experience
• Program evaluation experience
• Knowledge of nonprofits in Texas

To apply:
Please email your cover letter and resume to careers@woodnext.org.

In the email subject line, please indicate “Special Projects Manager Job Application.”

In your cover letter, please describe a program/project that you have managed and provide detail on issues/challenges that you encountered and how you resolved them.

• Examples demonstrating creative problem solving are helpful.
• Please also indicate where you currently reside.
• We only accept applicants who have legal authorization to work in the United States.
• We also have a strong preference for candidates already based in Texas.
• Please also state your salary expectations.