Do you love creating equity-focused tools and resources? The Organizational Development Consultant will be at the forefront of creating an intensive approach to capacity-building. This position has no internal management, supervision, or fundraising responsibilities, and is entirely focused on building the effectiveness of our CBO partners in a culturally responsive and relevant way.
Our story: In light of the current political climate, the need to invest in communities-of-color-led nonprofits is more urgent than ever. Due to a historic lack of investment in this sector, communities of color are unable to fully participate in civic engagement and advocacy around critical areas such as environmental justice and education equity. Without the involvement of the communities most affected by injustice, policies and practices are often ineffective.
Recognizing these challenges, Rainier Valley Corps was formed in 2014. We focused on the lack of staff capacity and launched a fellowship program where cohorts of talented leaders are recruited, trained by RVC, provided a living-wage salary and healthcare, and placed at grassroots organizations led by communities of color, with the goal of helping these organizations develop their capacity.
RVC then moved from a single leadership program toward a holistic capacity building model focused on organizations led by communities of color. This new model combines our existing fellowship with four new core capacity-building areas: operations support, capacity-building coaching, partnership fundraising, and collaboration. We believe that the combination of these strategies will unlock the potential of communities of color to mobilize, shape policies, and respond to the current political climate.
RVC works in partnership with a variety of communities-of-color-led organizations in Rainier Valley, including Got Green, Puget Sound Sage, Geeking Out Kids of Color, Somali Doulas, MarketShare, Ethiopian Community in Seattle, Powerful Voices, East African Community Services, Families of Color Seattle, Rainier Beach Action Coalition, Voices of Tomorrow, and AGE UP.
As RVC grows, we need a passionate Organizational Development Development who can work with the rest of the team to shape the future of our organization. This is a great opportunity for someone who wants not just a job, but also an opportunity to empower communities of color and cultivate the next generation of leaders. Plus, we’re right in the middle of Columbia City, and it’s awesome here, with diverse restaurants, bars, and shops. And the team is ridiculously dedicated to the mission and fun to work with. It helps that we have the best snacks.
OPPORTUNITY: RVC launched our Fellowship Program in August 2015 with Fellows placed in local Community Based Organizations (CBOs). As we evaluated our first cohort, it became clear that there was tremendous need among our partner CBOs in the area of capacity-building. This mission and values driven position will support our CBO partners through coaching, technical assistance, and identification of other needed resources that will enable them to strengthen their programming, fundraising, and other organizational operations. With our focus on providing holistic support, this position’s coaching and support of our CBO partners is critical in ensuring that they achieve sustainable growth to reach their next level of development. This will entail organizational assessments, customization of capacity building plans, culturally responsive coaching, and consulting support for our partners based on their organizational needs. This also includes facilitation of peer learning networks and collaborative advocacy efforts with our partners.
You have an opportunity to be at the forefront of creating an intensive approach to capacity-building, which includes researching or creating our own equity focused tools & resources! 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 CBO partners in a culturally responsive and relevant way.
REPORTS TO: Managing Director
ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:
Capacity-Building (70%)
- Creating, editing and developing organizational assessments
- Work with our partners to assess their capacity building needs and co-develop customized organizational development plans that align with their culture, financial structure, priorities, and challenges
- Develop and manage customized leadership coaching for our CBO partner leaders
- Facilitate both short-term projects (e.g. work plan development) and long-term projects (e.g. strategic planning)
- Co-Convene our partners for collaboration, facilitating cohort-based co-learning and relationship building
- Research and recommend high quality capacity building resources aligned with partners’ unique needs, budget limitations, and learning opportunities
- Write about lessons learned and effective approaches, building the capacity-building knowledge of the sector
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the capacity-building support provided to our partners and track their development
- Track CBO partner growth and development as a result of our capacity building efforts
Leadership Networks (15%)
- With our network of leaders, co-develop and lead affinity groups and learning groups that further collaboration in South Seattle/South King County.
- Provide mentorship and connections to resources relevant to leaders of small grassroots nonprofits, advising on areas included but not limited to: planning for the future, board development, fund development, financial management, human resources, communications, facilitating effective meetings, advocacy, community organizing, inclusion, equity, leadership development, supervision, project management, time management, evaluation, and organizational learning
General Operations and Program Development (15%)
- Collaborate with staff in making key strategic decisions affecting RVC’s future
- Coordinate with staff delivering related programs to our partners
- Participate in staff meetings, attend community events, and otherwise contribute to strengthening the deep roots within our community, both internally and externally
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:
Required:
- Experience working with communities of color and grassroots organizations, with a nuanced understanding of systemic oppressions
- A minimum of five years of experience in senior leadership/management roles in the nonprofit sector (or related area), with an 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
- A minimum of five years of demonstrated experience (via paid work, volunteer, and/or life experience) in capacity-building consulting and coaching
- A talented coach, with experience mentoring and supporting leaders in their growth and development
- 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
- Highly organized and uses tools efficiently and with consistency
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Able to work some evenings and weekends
- Commitment to our mission and our values of Equity, Integrity, Community, Action, and Transformation
- 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
Desired:
- Ability to adjust your coaching 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
- Humble, knowing when to ask for help and advice from others
- A great sense of humor!
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
- This is a full-time, exempt position paying $70,000 to $80,000. Salary offer will be dependent on experience. We are open to flexibility regarding hours worked, if there are candidates who do not want a full-time position.
- We believe in work-life balance, and are committed to keeping the workload in alignment with the true hours worked.
- We provide 23 days of Paid Time Off, 11 paid holidays, and a flexible, family-friendly schedule.
- We provide medical (zero-deductible HMO and PPO options), dental, vision, short- and long-term disability, life, and AD&D insurance, with RVC covering over 90% of the costs of the insurance package.
OUR HIRING PROCESS & TIMELINE:
- We will begin scheduling phone interviews in early August.
- We will begin in-person one-hour interviews in August. If you are invited for an in-person interview, we will ask for two work samples relevant to this position, e.g. a process you created, a writing sample, or other relevant materials.
- Finalists will be invited to a second-round one-hour interview, and we will make an offer shortly thereafter.
- We would like to have the selected candidate start in late August.
RVC is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, especially those from Southeast Seattle, are strongly encouraged to apply.
