Position: Capacity Building Lead
Reports to: Capacity Building Director
Location: Work from home and hybrid schedule (Must live in the Greater Seattle Area by date of hire)
Position type: full-time exempt
Salary: $65,400.00 – $78,700.00/year
Benefits: 23 days paid time off, 11 paid holidays, flexible, family-friendly schedule, medical (zero-deductible HMO and PPO options), retirement, dental, short- and long-term disability, life, and AD&D insurance, with RVC covering over 90% of the costs of the insurance package. Transit Orca card available as well.
Start date: January 15, 2022
About RVC
RVC strengthens the power of Black, Indigenous, and people of color in order to create a more equitable society through capacity-building, leadership development, and operations support. We accomplish this through our core programs and services as well as through leading partnerships with community members and organizations of color. These members and organizations provide support services tailored to the strengths and needs of the communities they serve. For this reason, people of color are encouraged to apply to our job postings.
Summary of position
As a capacity building lead you will support organizational development in our grassroots nonprofit partners through culturally responsive coaching, consulting and training based on their organizational needs. This includes completing organizational assessments and delivering customized capacity building plans. This position may also include facilitating peer learning networks with our partners. Individuals with experience in nonprofit fundraising, or a desire to learn about this, are encouraged to apply in order to provide more robust fundraising coaching to partners.
We welcome creative thinking in developing this program, and hope to experiment together in order to ensure that we are providing the most effective support to our partners. This role is perfect for someone who loves capacity building and wants to focus all their energies on it. This position has no internal management, supervision, or fundraising responsibilities, and is entirely focused on building the effectiveness of our partners, and our program, in a culturally responsive and relevant way.
Essential Responsibilities
Capacity-Building with CBO Partners (60%)
- Lead Responsibilities
- Work with 5-8 partner organizations to assess their capacity building needs and co-develop customized organizational development plans that align with their culture, financial structure, priorities, and challenges.
- Facilitate capacity-building for our partner organizations, both short-term projects (e.g. work plan development) and long-term projects (e.g. strategic planning).
- Administer our organizational assessments with CBO Partners.
- Provide culturally responsive, customized executive coaching to the leaders of our CBO partners.
- Facilitate strategic planning, board retreats and other meetings for our CBO partners as needed.
- Meet with the point of contact of partner organization on a regular basis (bi-weekly or monthly) to be a thought partner.
- Respond to emerging needs, including helping the partner through internal conflicts. This includes, but not limited to, helping the staff navigate tensions with the board, coaching on supervision issues, problem solving around time-sensitive or emergency situations, etc.
- For partners who work with other staff within RVC, coordinate with RVC staff on a regular basis or on an as-needed basis.
- Regularly update notes on all interactions with partners.
- Team Responsibilities
- Research and recommend high quality capacity building resources aligned with partners’ unique needs, budget limitations, and learning opportunities.
- Provide time limited or situation based coaching and consulting services to fellows and staff of RVC partners.
Capacity Building Program Development (25%)
- Lead Responsibilities
- Act as lead to one key program, responsibilities include: being the main point of contact, decision-making and tracking on the budget, grant tracking, managing any subcontracts related to the grant, ensuring all partners part of this program has a capacity building lead, and identifying resources needed for the participants in this program.
- Team Responsibilities
- Facilitate, design, and participate in Capacity Building meetings and retreats.
- Recommend, design, and facilitate team building activities and program development arcs for the team.
- Co-identify with the team priorities in relation to RVC’s strategy.
- Develop training materials and resources to support partners’ organizational development.
- Participate in team peer coaching structure 1-2 times per month, or as needed
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the capacity-building support provided to your partners and track their growth and development.
- Collect and synthesize feedback from CBO partners to improve RVC’s programs via quarterly meetings or surveys post-trainings.
- Mentor and train RVC staff as well as RVC partners in capacity-building.
Thought Leadership & Network Building in the Sector (5%)
- Team Responsibilities
- Write about lessons learned and effective approaches, building the capacity-building knowledge of the sector
- Speak at both local and national events on capacity building related topics or sharing the learnings of RVC
- Build relationships with other capacity building organizations and consultants, which can include attending regular meetings, relationship building events or coordinating with others in the sector on offerings.
Organizational Operations (10%)
- These are organization-wide responsibilities. All staff hold the following responsibilities:
- Submit and track program expenses based on RVC protocol.
- Collaborate with staff in making key strategic decisions affecting RVC’s future
- Engage in deep professional development
- Participate in staff meetings, attend community events, and otherwise contribute to strengthening the deep roots within our community, both internally and externally
- Commitment to our mission and our values of Equity, Integrity, Community, Action, and Transformation
- Participate in ad hoc or organizational-wide committees or workgroups.
What we are looking for
A RVC Capacity Building Lead has a wide range of capacity-building and coaching skills and experience. While no one person will embody all of the qualities below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following skills and experiences. We welcome all aspects that make you a strong leader in coaching and capacity building work and encourage folks with paid, volunteer, and lived experiences to apply!
- Experience working with BIPOC communities and grassroots organizations, with a nuanced understanding of how systemic oppression and white supremacy function in U.S. cities
- 2+ years of demonstrated experience (via paid work, volunteer, and/or life experience) in facilitating capacity-building processes
- 2+ years of experience in senior leadership/management roles in the nonprofit sector (or related area), with a deep understanding of the challenges faced by leaders of small grassroots nonprofits with budgets under $500,000. Work, volunteer, academic, and other life experience are all acceptable
- 2+ years experience mentoring and supporting leaders in their growth and development (via paid work, volunteer, and/or life experience)
- Excellent written skills, with the ability to synthesize quantitative and qualitative information from multiple sources into a cohesive document
- Willingness to take initiative and generate creative solutions to challenges
- Comfort with computers and a variety of online platforms
- Excellent oral communication skills, with exceptional listening ability
- Highly organized and uses tools efficiently and with consistency
- High emotional intelligence, able to easily develop deep, trusting relationships with diverse individuals from many different backgrounds
- Flexibility and adaptability, able to shift communication and consulting styles to fit the needs of a wide range of cultures, people, and organizations
- Love of continuous learning, with knowledge of diverse nonprofit leadership and management resources that are relevant to our partners
- Passion for organizational development. You are someone who loves learning about new studies of human development and leadership, are well-versed in different organizational development thought leaders and theories, and are skilled in applying this knowledge in a variety of settings, cultivating the knowledge of other leaders and organizations
- Ability to adjust your coaching, consulting, and mentoring style to meet the needs of very different leaders, with knowledge of and experience with different coaching methodologies
- An excellent facilitator, able to convene cohorts of leaders in co-learning with grace and ease
All of our staff have:
- A commitment to our mission and our values of Equity, Integrity, Community, Action, and Transformation
- Skills in community organizing, fundraising, and/or conflict resolution
- A humble nature and know when to ask for help and advice from others
- A great sense of humor!
- Passion for working in the nonprofit sector
- Talent for creating and managing systems
- Ability to work some evenings and weekends
Salary Structure
Salary offer will be dependent on experience and calculated transparently with the final candidate using an equitable salary calculator used by RVC. We believe in work-life balance, and are committed to keeping the workload in alignment with the true hours worked.
Our Hiring Process & Timeline
We will review applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Interviews will take place between November 2021 to January 2022.
Background Check
A criminal history background check will be conducted on the final candidate prior to beginning employment. A criminal background will not automatically eliminate you from consideration.
Accessibility Accommodations
RVC offers accommodations, upon request, for folks with disabilities during the application, interview, and hiring process (such as forms in alternate formats or interpretation services during the interview). RVC recognizes that employees with physical or mental conditions that significantly limit their major life activities may need reasonable accommodations to enable them to perform their essential job functions, and provides those accommodations to all its employees when needed.
If you require accommodations during the application or interview process, please contact [email protected].
Equal Opportunity Employer
RVC is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status, or any other class protected by law. Assistance and/or reasonable accommodations during the application process are available to individuals upon request. To request assistance or accommodation, please contact us at [email protected].