EWING MARION KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION
POSITION DESCRIPTION
TITLE:
Program Officer
REPORTS TO:
Director of KC Civic
DEPARTMENT:
Kansas City Civic
DATE:
October 2014
I.
BACKGROUND
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City is a private, fully
endowed foundation that works with partners to advance entrepreneurship in
America and improve the educational achievement of youth.
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (“Kauffman Foundation”) was established in
the 1966 by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman. Based
in Kansas City, Missouri, and with approximately $2 billion in assets, the Kauffman
Foundation has a mission to foster economic independence through education and
entrepreneurship.
In entrepreneurship, we aim to open young people's eyes to the possibility of
entrepreneurship, promote entrepreneurship education and raise awareness of
entrepreneurship-friendly policies.
In education, we work to improve the educational achievement of urban
students, including our students at the Ewing Marion Kauffman School, a college
preparatory charter school for middle and high school students.
The Kauffman Foundation’s Kansas City Civic work supports the city’s efforts
toward improving the quality of life and to help accelerate positive change in
targeted areas. The Kansas City Civic department’s key goals are to support
anchor institutions and other organizations that are vital to Kansas City’s
identity and growth, and to cultivate innovative capacity in Kansas City for
experimentation with new ways of creating cultural, social, and economic value
II.
RESPONSIBILITIES
This position will report to the Director of KC Civic and plays an active changemaking role within the Kansas City community. They will be responsible for
identifying, evaluating and funding organizations and/or bold ideas that
accelerate positive change. They are expected to work on assignments in a
manner that is consistent with the philosophy of the Foundation.
Grant Making Responsibilities
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Capacity to understand the goals and desired outcomes of the department.
Manage and oversee assigned grant portfolio, including monitoring grantee
spending and performance.
o Monitor grantee performance through analysis of outcome data,
grantee reports and site visits.
o Establish goals, outcomes and metrics to be achieved with each
grantee over the term of the grant, documented in contract.
o Identify grantee challenges, develop recommendations for
interventions. Track effectiveness of interventions.
o Manage forecast spending and budget planning on all grants;
determine reporting requirements and payment schedule.
Works with the Director to report grant status updates, prepare reports and
information for board meetings, and collaborates with other areas in the
Foundation.
Rigorously evaluate potential grantees based on financial and organizational
capacity, as well as strategic fit.
Responsible for all communication to grantees, especially in regard to
expectations and requirements of the grantee.
Reviews grant proposals submitted and responsible for presenting grant write up
(the business case) to Director for approval. Ensure grants are aligned with
program strategies and provide clear, concise and insightful written analysis and
recommendations for funding including drafting and editing proposal summaries
and progress reports for existing grants for review.
Report clearly defined
outcomes/metrics.
Responsible for making certain that outcome measures are part of the grant
write-up and linked to achieving the department goals.
Follow the standards of practice when evaluating grant decisions and expected
outcomes.
Work collaboratively with grants administration in all aspects of moving a grant
request from intake to commitment letter.
Provide monitoring and review of grantee performance, based on reports, metric
and milestone accountability, and new information that emerges from grant
assessment.
General Position Responsibilities
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Possesses a wide range of content knowledge on all issues that are of interest to
the department. May be asked to provide leadership on a particular content
subject, while developing expertise on a broad range of issues. Capacity to keep
up with changing landscape.
Build key partnerships; acting as a catalyst, colleague and advocate who are
dedicated to educating groups on Kauffman initiatives and engagement.
At the direction of the Director, perform or assist with research or landscape
analysis to determine potential funding opportunities that are in alignment with
the strategic goals of the department.
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Identify and evaluate the most innovative and effective organizations that support
the KC Civic department goals.
Explore creating and implementing competitions to stimulate innovative thinking
and new sources of revenue for established (anchor) institutions.
Support the Director of KC Civic in exploring bold ideas that foster the innovation
capacity of Kansas City.
Contribute to cross-foundation teams, working in collaboration with colleagues to
share information about KC Civic activities and grants, develop processes and
practices to support grants management and keep updated on other grant
activity cutting across the foundation’s focus areas that have KC Civic
implications.
Represent the Foundation by attending meetings and/or accepting speaking
engagements both locally and regionally.
Assist with various projects as needed.
III.
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/SKILLS
Education:
Bachelor’s degree in public administration, business, or other related
fields.
Work Experience:
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Have a professional track record of a minimum of five or more years of
experience working in similar environments managing grants and special
projects
Familiar with the landscape of Kansas City
Knowledge of the nonprofit community and the local funders
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Comprehensive knowledge of budgets and financial reporting
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Experience using judgment as a basis to forecast the future
Qualified candidates for this position must be highly motivated, capable of selfdirection and able to work collaboratively in a teamwork capacity. Candidates
must exhibit a keen sense of responsibility and enjoy working with multiple
demands, shifting priorities and constant change.
A successful candidate skill profile:
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Excellent communications skills: (well-developed verbal skills, writing and
research skills, and strong presentation skills)
Skilled at building relationships and leveraging existing relationships to
improve outcomes of Foundation initiatives
Proven organizational skills and the ability to successfully manage multiple
projects simultaneously
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
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Ability to communicate effectively with associates at all levels within the
organization
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Ability to write coherent narratives in support of grant requests
Capacity to make verbal presentations as required
Ability to construct logical arguments that connect grant outcomes to overall
departmental goals
Adequate understanding of organizational and leadership dynamics in order
to identify grantee capacity for success as well as potential risks
Capacity to understand basic budgets in order to identify grantee capacity for
success as well as potential risks
Basic understanding of balance sheet and income statements in order to
assess grantee capacity for success as well as potential risks
Strong analytical skills with an ability to assimilate new information and
processes quickly
Distinctive problem solving and analytical skills, combined with solid judgment
and decision-making abilities
Have the ability to develop a solid understanding of the content, processes,
deliverables and overall objectives of the Foundation’s strategy
Exceptional organization skills including the ability to meet or exceed
expectations with regard to deadlines
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Ability to maintain a calm and competent demeanor in uncomfortable
situations
Should have a personal values system that encompasses the highest
standards of honesty, confidentiality, integrity, loyalty, and professional
ethics reflective of the Kauffman Foundation
Should be tactful and diplomatic with good listening skills and an
approachable personality. Must be capable of building and sustaining
long-term relationships
Strong computer literacy skills, including word processing, spreadsheets,
and data base applications
Travel:
This position may require some business travel.
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All of the statements in this position description are intended to describe the
general nature of the work being performed, and are not intended to be
construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required.
This document describes the position currently available. The organization
reserves the right to modify job duties or job descriptions at any time.
IV.
COMPENSATION
A competitive compensation package which includes a full range of employee
benefits and a base salary between $67,000 - $72,000 depending on experience
level and credentials of the candidate.
V.
TO APPLY
Interested applicants can apply for this position by submitting a cover letter,
resume and writing sample answering the following questions to the Kauffman
Foundation’s [email protected] email address:
1) An organization has submitted a proposal requesting a grant. Based
on your knowledge of this position and the Kauffman mission, how
would you proceed?
2) Suppose after-school programs is a focus within the strategy, but
you do not have any potential grantees in this spectrum in your
pipeline. What would you do?