Open Positions – Ford Foundation

The FORD FOUNDATION is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than 80 years it has worked with visionary people on the front-lines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has ten regional offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Ford Foundation is continuing to hire for all open roles with all interviewing and on-boarding done virtually due to COVID-19. Everyone new to the team, along with our current staff, will temporarily work from home until it is safe to return to our offices.

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Instructions for Applicants:

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To be considered for employment at Ford Foundation, please complete our online employment application. Your application and all required attachments must be submitted for each individual job post for which you are interested in applying. If there is an application deadline, please ensure that your application is submitted by the deadline. Once you submit your application you will not be able to edit your application.

1. PROGRAM ASSISTANT

Reports To: Acting Program Director

Location: PAN India

The Program Assistant works within the programmatic team headed up by the Regional Director, alongside  Program Officers, a Program Associate, and a Grants Manager. The Program Assistant provides critical support to three (3) Program Officers who serve as grant-makers for the Foundation. The Program Assistant manages various activities for the Program Officer, including meetings and grants administration.  The Program Assistant helps manage the multiple workflows of program staff and the program team more generally.

It is the Foundation’s core mission to address inequality in all its forms. The work around the world aims to disrupt the persistent drivers of inequality and advance a more just world committed to the dignity of every person.  In India, the focus is on two specific strategies: women’s safety in informal work and in public spaces as ensuring living incomes for farmers. These are two of the biggest challenges facing our region today.   The Foundation is committed to supporting communities, movements, and leaders working on the frontlines of social change to create a more just and equitable world. These bodies of work align with two of the Foundation’s global themes; Gender, Race and Ethnic Justice, and Civic Engagement and Government.

The Foundation strives to achieve this by working with critical stakeholders and partners in government, civil society, the private sector, and the donor community, including local philanthropies in the region.  The Ford Foundation’s social justice mission is advanced by working with community-focused organizations and working on rights and entitlements with the government.  Other strategies to reach these goals could be the experience and ability to engage with different communication strategies.

The Ford Foundation India Office focuses mainly on India, with limited activity in Nepal and Sri Lanka. The Foundation tries to address these priorities from a local perspective while also bearing in mind the importance of linking local challenges and interventions to global trends and strategies.

Principle Duties and Responsibilities Include but are not limited to:

Workflow and Administration:

• Assist with Program Officers’ calendar of appointments, including scheduling meetings and follow-up.
• Assist with Program Officers’ work-related travel; assist with developing travel plans and logistical arrangements, including processing expense reports.
• Assist Program Officers in responding to both internal and external requests for information or other documentation
• Work alongside the Executive Assistant, who supports the Regional Director and team, serving as a member of an administrative support group for program leaders on the team, backing each other up and collaborating, as needed, on workflows, including, but not limited to contract management, administrative tasks, and projects.
• Assist in the onboarding process for new hires/consultants.
• Support document production, including preparing and editing reports, memoranda, or other materials.
• Support document management and storage in institutional document repositories.
• Provide general administrative support, such as managing mail, scanning, faxing and copying materials, answering phones, as needed.

May be asked to monitor and coordinate tasks related to contracts as follows:

• Work with Program Officers (PO) to determine whether the funded activity is appropriately classified as an operating budget expense
• Confirm budget source availability with Executive Assistant
• Process contracts in Work Place and coordinate with Legal Department for contract preparation/review
• Monitor contracts, including reviewing invoices and confirming that deliverables have been met before submitting for payment, tracking payments to ensure compliance with contract terms, and keeping the PO updated as necessary
• Forward invoices to Accounting for payment

Grant-Related Administration:

• Request administrative and support information relative to grantee proposals and grant actions.
• Coordinate with GM and PO/s and follow up with grantee/prospective grantee organization to collect standard organization documents, e.g., Governing docs, Audited financials, FCRA registration, and amendments documents, and more, as required on a case to case basis, and to upload them in FLUXX
• Assisting with sending offline reminders to  grantees on pending reports submission, updating of Board list and EPI in Fluxx (in coordination with PO/GM)
• Assist as needed with grantees to help/guide them on navigating thru Fluxx, e.g., for tasks as simple as clicking the “Submit” button in the workflow.
• If needed, the ability to access/generate standard grant-related lists from FLUXX and make them available to POs.
• Establish and maintain appropriate files, including virtual grant file records.
• Support the development of grant recommendations through editing and information compilation.
• Plan and coordinate logistics for site visits and major grantee meetings; preparing expense reports.
• Manage calendar appointments and group meetings.
• Assist with grant-related inquiries, coordinate responses, and maintain correspondence control records.

Communications and Research:

• Preparation of presentations and other materials for program staff.
• Undertake light research and work with the Information Management staff on research tasks.
• Compiling information into analytical tools and preparing charts or other presentations from this information.
• Serve as the focal point for the NY communications team for Fordify content.

Physical Requirements

• This position is primarily a sedentary role. However, the person in this position may need to occasionally move about inside the office to liaise with internal staff, access files, office machinery and a copy machine/printer. Additionally, some travel to attend team conferences, retreats and meetings may be required.

Alignment to Culture and Values

• Commitment to the Foundation’s mission and core values of equity, openness, collaboration, trust, accountability and urgency
• Personal qualities of humility, capacity for self-reflection, and a sense of humor
• Discretion and ability to handle confidential issues
• Action-orientated and entrepreneurial self-starter who can work well independently and in teams

Benefits

• Medical and dental benefits for employee and immediate family on first day of work
• Retirement savings account with matching company contributions of up to 13%
• Three weeks’ paid vacation in first year of work; four weeks in subsequent years
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Office closed the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• Professional development initiatives for growth
• Generous parental leave (maternal and paternal) during new child’s first year (born into family or adopted)

2. REGIONAL DIRECTOR

Location: New Delhi

Summary Description:

The Ford Foundation seeks a dynamic, creative and innovative leader to serve as its Regional Director for the India Branch Office. Building on Ford’s rich legacy in and longstanding commitment to promoting social justice and reducing inequality in the region, the Director will oversee and lead the Foundation’s program development and implementation and manage the Foundation’s team, external relations and administrative operations in India.

Key Objectives:

• The Regional Director oversees the Foundation’s activities in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka – providing overall leadership to the Foundation’s strategy and grant making programs, managing the office and team in New Delhi, and representing the Foundation to government, business, non-profit leaders, the media and the donor community.
•  Act as the ambassador for the Foundation in the region to many important constituencies.
• The Director assesses local policy, social, cultural and economic developments, identifies regional priorities and helps shape the Foundation’s strategy in the region and guide its programming and grant-making priorities in alignment with the Foundation’s mission, values and the goals.
• Facilitate the development of an integrated office vision and innovative grant-making strategy; synthesize learning and enhance the quality and impact of programming; and promote a collaborative working environment in the office and across areas of expertise that maximize the diverse backgrounds, perspectives and skills of staff to accomplish the Foundation goals.
• The Director manages, coaches, galvanizes and works closely with a small team of program, administrative and operations staff in developing, monitoring and evaluating integrated grant programs and projects in support of regional goals.
• The Director will ensure the grants and activities supported under its GREJ and CEG programs in India contribute to the overall strategy. The Director also partners with Ford’s International Program Directors for GREJ and CEG to ensure the grant making in India and the region is aligned with the larger global vision for these two areas.
• S/he maintains effective ties and promotes strategic partnerships with local leaders, governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations, and other donors to leverage new resources, scale impact, and advance the goals of the office. Collaborates with staff in the Foundation’s New York headquarters to oversee all workforce needs and legal matters, ensures that the Foundation complies with all relevant local laws and statutory obligations in a timely manner, maintains constructive working relations with government.
• Additionally, s/he manages the office’s $14.5 million annual grant budget. They also prepare and manage an administrative budget and staff with responsibilities for accounting, grants administration and general services functions.
• The Director also works closely with senior management staff from around the world, including Regional and Program Directors from Ford’s offices in 11 countries in helping shape and integrate various aspects of the Foundation’s work regionally and globally.

Key Responsibilities:

• Be accountable to Ford Foundation senior leadership and through them to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees to implement the India office strategy and communicate progress to them.
• Assess local social, cultural, and economic developments and help shape the Foundation’s strategy in the region and guide its programming and grant-making priorities in alignment with the Foundation’s mission, values and the goals of the International GREJ and CEG programs.
• Provide intellectual leadership inside and outside the Foundation.
• Represent the Foundation externally and initiate/foster strategic partnerships –collaborating broadly with international scholars and practitioners, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and other donors on issues of common program concern.
• Lead/conduct annual reviews of strategy and propose changes to ensure the greatest impact
• Uphold social justice values and incorporate a gender focus in the work and advance initiatives focused on people with disabilities.
• Oversee and manage, mentor, and coach a small team of professional, administrative, and support staff, including developing grant making plans by Program Officers; establishing annual performance delivery goals for the team and direct reports; and planning and implementing talent management strategies.
• Prepare and manage the India office annual grant and administrative budget.
• Establish learning goals for the India office team, including working with Ford strategy and learning colleagues to build a monitoring framework to assess the impact and synthesize learning.
• Communicate with the team, senior Foundation leadership, and external partners clearly and consistently in a transparent, timely, and respectful manner, enabling them to be strategic and achieve impact.
• Monitor local compliance requirements in coordination with local counsel and the foundation’s Office of Legal Services.

Qualifications & Experience:

• A Graduate level degree in a relevant field of study or BA and equivalent experience. Master’s Degree is preferred.
• 10+ years of experience leading strategies, people and teams.
•  Creativity, energy, and non-traditional thinking capacity
• Written and oral fluency in English
• Ability to travel extensively on behalf of the Foundation

Skills & Competencies:

• Proven record of leadership, strategic design, planning, and management success
• Substantial previous experience in and deep knowledge of the history, culture, and social justice context of India – as well as the region’s broader engagement with the Asian continent and global developments
• Exceptional leadership presence – internally and externally
• Demonstrated exceptional people management and team management skills, including the ability to motivate and build teams, constructively lead, coach, mentor, develop and evaluate staff
• Proven skills to diplomatically manage complex relationships with private and public sector stakeholders in the region
• An understanding of the development and social change processes and a proven track record of achieving change
• In-depth knowledge of the philanthropic sector and grant-making capabilities in the social development sector
• Substantive expertise in and experience with applying gender analysis to work
• A proven ability to think analytically, independently, and critically with agility to translate ideas and insights into action through coherent and viable program work
• An action-oriented, entrepreneurial person who is a self-starter than can work independently, as well as in teams
• Ability to effectively lead a regional office within a larger global organization with headquarters in New York and strategize/solve problems through solicitation of relevant internal expertise (Human Resources, Finance, Legal Services)
• Knowledge and understanding of the geopolitical context of South Asia
• Administrative skills, in particular, an appreciation for the importance of strong fiscal management
• Strong facilitation skills – the ability to listen and learn from diverse perspectives
• Exemplary communications skills – strong, active listening skills and public presentation skills
• Demonstrated ability to be a productive member of a community of people at work, respecting differences while working toward shared goals; comfort with periods of ambiguity; constructive participation in ongoing organizational development
• Demonstrated organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously
• Strong time management proficiency
• Sound, mature judgment and integrity
• Personal qualities of humility and capacity for self-reflection
• A passion for social justice and reducing inequality and commitment to Ford’s mission and core values of equity and fairness, diversity, voice and participation, knowledge and creativity, humility and respect, and honesty and integrity.

Physical Requirements & Travel:

• This position is primarily a sedentary role. However, the person in this position may need to occasionally move about inside the office to liaise with internal staff, access files, office machinery and a copy machine/printer.
• Additionally, domestic/international travel will be expected, approximately 25%; some travel is directly related to grant-making, but also to attend team conferences, retreats and meetings— and may occasionally include travel to rural or remote places with difficult conditions.

Alignment to Culture and Values

• Commitment to the Foundation’s mission and core values of equity, openness, collaboration, trust, accountability and urgency
• Personal qualities of humility, capacity for self-reflection, and a sense of humor
• Discretion and ability to handle confidential issues
• Action-orientated and entrepreneurial self-starter who can work well independently and in teams

Equal employment opportunity and having a diverse staff are fundamental principles at The Ford Foundation, where employment and promotional opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/affectional preference, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established under law.