Monday, April 28, 2008

Director of Community Initiatives, The Women and Girls Foundation - Pittsburgh, PA

Posted: 4/28/08

Organization Information
The Women and Girls Foundation (WGF) is an independent community-based foundation serving eleven counties in Southwest Pennsylvania. Our mission is to achieve equality for women and girls in the region. Through a combination of public advocacy, coalition building and grantmaking, WGF seeds, supports, and strengthens efforts to achieve social and economic justice for women and girls in Southwest Pennsylvania. For more information please visit: www.wgfpa.org.

Position Summary
The Director of Community Initiatives reports to the Executive Director and is responsible for managing the core outreach programs of the organization designed to help WGF achieve its mission through community engagement. The Director of Community Initiatives is responsible for the development and management of the business plans, budgets, and staff for each of the following programs.

Zero No More Campaign to increase women on Pittsburgh’s corporate boards
Catapult: a volunteer engagement program
the annual Equal Pay Day Rally
WGF outreach efforts and events in the eleven county region.

The Director of Community Initiatives manages the Development Associate, who is responsible for maintaining the donor and member database and assists in member communication and event management. From time to time, the Director of Community Initiatives may hire part-time staff to assist in the implementation of a specific program. S/he will be responsible for recruiting and managing part-time programming personnel, interns, and/or volunteers related to the programs mentioned above.

The Coordinator’s responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Preparing budget and performance goals for all programs
Managing the revenues, expenses, and timelines of these projects and programs,
Speaking on the Foundation’s behalf at community and public meetings, in small settings, and at times to large audiences.
Scheduling and preparing for event planning meetings and the coordination of the events themselves,
Coordinating all programming activities and details to ensure that these programs meet their core operational goals as unique programs, and towards WGF’s strategic plan and broader social change mission.
Maintaining, writing, and updating the organization’s monthly e-newsletter, content sections of the website, and other forms of member communication.
Creating member cultivation and retention events.
Keeping the board and staff updated on program progress and activities.
Documenting special events (taking photos and preparing reports when appropriate).

The Director of Community Initiatives works closely with senior staff, the Board of Directors, and other key volunteers and stakeholders in the community who serve as advisors and participants in these programs. S/he will be an active participant, with the board and senior staff, in crafting the strategic plan of the organization for 2009-2014.

Candidate should have an interest in social justice and civic engagement and enjoy working in a small office environment. Candidate needs to be a self sufficient self starter who is capable and excited about crafting a dynamic program from scratch and managing it through implementation. Because the nature of this position is outreach, a great deal of the work will rely on the candidate being able to energize others about the mission of WGF and to be able follow through with interested parties to ensure that their interest turns into action.

Candidate Requirements:

At least a Bachelor’s Degree is required for this position.
A minimum of three years work experience in a position with program management responsibilities.
Must be highly organized, detail-minded, self starter, effective in interacting with a wide range of publics including business professionals, community partners, volunteers, and donors.
Must have respect for confidentiality.
Must be dependable and have good attendance.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills are especially important because of the high amount of correspondence and content generation that this position requires.
Ability to represent WGF as a public speaker.
Excellent proofreading skills required so that 100% accuracy is achieved in all communications.
Must have lots of positive energy to keep donors, volunteers, and partners energized and updated to the work that WGF is doing.
High proficiency with Microsoft Office programs especially: Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Effective use of clip art, Photoshop, or Illustrator also helpful.
Comfort with database input and management (our memberbase information is contained in a program called DonorPro). A candidate with knowledge and prior use of a donor or member database software is preferred.

TO APPLY: Interested candidates should send a cover letter, resume, compensation requirements and references to: Heather Arnet, Women and Girls Foundation, 425 6th Avenue, Suite 1860, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Re: Director of Community Initiatives.

Please mention that you heard about this opportunity from Dewey & Kaye Jobs Watch in your cover letter when applying for this position.

The Dewey & Kaye division of McCrory & McDowell LLC provides strategy development, planning, financial sustainability, facilitation, training and executive search services to help nonprofits, foundations, community collaboratives and government agencies address strategic, operational and administrative issues.

Founded in 1951, McCrory & McDowell LLC today ranks as one of the largest accounting and consulting firms in the region, offering a wide range of services through distinct, but integrated groups that include Dewey & Kaye, Diversified Medical Management, Three Rivers Institute, and McCrory & McDowell's accounting, tax, and business consulting practices.