Partner, Democracy

What You'll Do

You will join the Portfolio Investing Team and lead a small portfolio of Build Investments as well as lead the Catalyze Civic Lab cohort, splitting your time between these two responsibilities. The Catalyze Civic Lab Cohort comprises entrepreneurs of early stage ventures advancing democracy and you will lead the programming that supports these leaders and foster a community of practice and shared learning. You will also directly oversee two to three Build Investments serving as an advisor to social entrepreneurs leading these organizations.. In addition to advising and supporting the entrepreneurs, you will join the Board of Directors of the Build organizations in your portfolio. Your leadership will help New Profit build and refine deal practice and issue area perspectives. This is an ideal opportunity for someone passionate about democracy and civic engagement to build long-term investment and leadership in the space. For more information on our Civic Lab Cohort and Democracy investments click here.

Key Responsibilities

Deal Partner Responsibilities- Build Portfolio (~50%)

• Strategic Advisor & Project Lead - goals include:
  • To align with and support the social entrepreneur in achieving their vision for impact on the dimensions of impact, sustainability, equity and proximity, and adaptive leadership
  • To share New Profit's perspective, insights, and pattern recognition on issues related to organizational growth, proximate practices, impact, and capacity building
  • As necessary, take on project leadership on discrete strategic planning or key projects in partnership with the CEO and Senior Team
  • Establish a strong and trusting relationship with the social entrepreneur
• Leadership Coach - goals include:
  • Coaching the social entrepreneur, and as needed, other senior team and board members to understand their professional development needs and help them unlock their capacity for learning and adaptability to lead the organization
• Board Member - goals include:
  • To support and govern the organization as outlined in its Board Charter and following best practices
  • To fulfill your fiduciary role and protect the public interest
  • To support the effectiveness of the Board's leadership and governance using New Profit's Board Development theory
  • As needed, lead Board committees or special projects
  • To represent the organization to the broader community
• New Profit Investor Steward - goals include:
  • Serve as the "holder" of New Profit's definition of success, monitor and support the organization on an ongoing basis.
  • Provide regular Deal Management updates such as Deal Dashboards, work plans, annual diagnostics, and other internal tracking activities.
  • Actively participate in New Profit's Deal Partner activities and be supportive of other members of the Deal Partner community

Catalyze Cohort Lead: Civic Lab (~50%)

• Lead the Civic Lab Catalyze Cohort, including investment selection, delivering capacity building programming in person and virtually to a cohort of ~8 early stage grantee partners.
• Investment Selection - goals include:
  • Manage application review and diligence process for prospective investments
  • Assess organizations on leadership, impact, sustainability, and equity for potential alignment
  • Engage external partners including funding partners, Social Entrepreneur advisors, and others in gathering input on potential cohort organizations
• Capacity Building Support - goals include:
  • Design and deliver three in-person convenings, utilizing and improving upon Catalyze's core curriculum
  • Deliver three virtual learning opportunities
  • Provide bi-monthly strategic advising sessions to a set of entrepreneurs
  • Build powerful community among SEs
• Overall Management - goals include:
  • Budget oversight including forecasting and tracking allocations and spending
  • Stewardship of external funding partners supporting the Catalyze Cohort
  • Potential management of one team member
  • Regular integration and coordination with the Catalyze team
  • Engage in partnership with our external funding partners

Additional Responsibilities

• Other activities may include investment selection , leading screening and diligence to inform future Build investments as well as special firm projects such as codifying new learning areas or deepening capacity building practice, particularly in deepening the firm's learning related to the field of Democracy entrepreneurship.

Who You'll Work With

• You will report to Kelly Cutler, Lead Deal Partner, Portfolio.

• You will work with New Profit's growing Portfolio Investment team and a cohort of other Deal Partners to support a portfolio of grantees. You will share best practices on supporting your investments and collaborate with other leaders at New Profit who support deals in addition to their day to day roles.

• Demonstrated passion for and commitment to New Profit's mission through leadership experience in high-growth, entrepreneurial organizations; experience driving organizational change and transformation
• Demonstrated experience with and commitment to centering equity and proximity to the communities served by our portfolio organizations including low-income, first generation, Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people
• Demonstrated skill and experience in designing inclusive community experiences and facilitating group environments
• Experience working in an executive / senior management position within the democracy or civic engagement space, highly preferred; and / or experience consulting or grantmaking to enterprises in this space
• Expertise in identifying and analyzing trends in programs that advance democracy and civic participation, such as national service, youth engagement, building capacity of public servants, narrative building, repair work, and bridge building
• Experience leading teams and bringing a solutions-driven approach to complex projects in an entrepreneurial, fast-paced environment; ability to set goals and priorities, facilitate decisions, and manage others and resources effectively
• Demonstrated experience building and managing professional relationships and coaching and developing talent; a collegial and team-building approach that puts others at ease and engenders trust
• Deep experience in advising and supporting CEOs/Senior Leaders in achieving their vision (strategy, leadership, operations, etc)
• The ability to actively listen, with an appreciation for nuance in communication; a consultative stance
• Outstanding analytical skills; demonstrated ability to quickly assess situations, identify trends, develop solutions, and translate insights into high-level guidance and tactical execution
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to represent New Profit and its portfolio organizations in a professional, engaging, and dynamic manner
• A curious, and creative intellect; professional style that includes flexibility, evenness, and a sense of humor
• Relentless customer orientation and an eagerness to "roll-up one's sleeves" and take on the full range of activities required to succeed as a team
• Strong learning orientation; the ability to learn and grow from mistakes and the desire to constantly improve and adapt
• Service on boards of high growth nonprofits preferred

What

At New Profit, we commit to continued learning with a focus on every person in our community being able to bring their full selves to this work and the world. We also acknowledge and seek to disrupt systems of oppression that are the foundation of inequitable opportunity and outcomes for all. We know that by expanding our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) capabilities and competencies we ensure our ability to develop bolder, better solutions across our sector.

Why

As New Profit works to identify, support, and scale breakthrough leaders and organizations, we understand that to attain the equitable outcomes we seek, those building and designing the solutions we support must have a deep commitment to and understanding of DEI. Consequently, our team must as well. We believe that diversity of perspectives and proximity to the communities we aim to serve will lead to better solutions and improved outcomes. When New Profit centers equity in our work and culture, we are able to be a bridge-builder between proximate leaders and the diverse partners who support their efforts.

How

To that end, we are committed to developing our internal DEI capacity by connecting our personal identities and learning journeys to an organizational strategy that centers those most proximate to the challenges we seek to solve. We will focus on ways to operationalize equity in our grantmaking, leader coaching, people management, and investor engagement. We also utilize our convening power to advance the sector's understanding of DEI, the critical need to center proximity as expertise, and the ways social entrepreneurs, policymakers, influencers, and funders can partner to advance equity and opportunity in our country.

Location: While location for the Partner role is flexible, the person must be based in the United States. There is a preference for this person to based in Boston, New York City, or Washington D.C. Please note that regardless of where a candidate is based, folks are expected to work in East Coast hours.

Travel Expectations: You can expect to travel at least 1x month with an average trip duration around 3 days. Folks can expect to travel for quarterly staff meetings and board meetings.