Vice President, Community Initiatives

About this position

Vice President, Community Initiatives

Job Posting

The Opportunity

We are seeking a Vice President, Community Initiatives to provide strategic direction and leadership of community initiatives activities at the Canadian Women’s Foundation. This position is responsible for providing vision and leadership for grantmaking, capacity building, policy and advocacy, and managing and mentoring a strong team of professionals working in these areas. The Vice President serves as a member of the Foundation’s senior leadership team and plays a key role working towards gender equity.

About the Foundation

The Canadian Women’s Foundation is a national leader in the movement for gender equality in Canada. Through funding, research, advocacy, and knowledge sharing, the Foundation works to achieve systemic change that includes all women. By supporting community programs, the Foundation empowers women and girls to move themselves out of violence, out of poverty, and into confidence and leadership.  

Launched in 1991 to address a critical need for philanthropy focused on women, the Canadian Women’s Foundation is one of the largest women’s foundations in the world. With the support of donors, the Foundation has raised more than $100 million and funded over 2,000 programs across the country. These programs focus on addressing the root causes of the most critical issues and helping women and girls who face the greatest barriers.   

The Canadian Women’s Foundation aims to be inclusive of diverse people across gender and sexuality spectrums. We focus our efforts on supporting those who face the most barriers and have least access to relevant services. This includes people who identify as women, girls, trans, Two-Spirit, genderqueer, non-binary, and 2SLGBTQI+. 

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is an energetic, determined, feminist leader, with a proven track-record working towards, and deep commitment to, gender equity and social justice. With creativity and a commitment to working collaboratively, the Vice President will be a passionate advocate for gender justice and systemic change. They will carry proven experience working in a complex environment with competing demands and priorities. They will have experience with grantmaking, capacity building, policy and advocacy, and working from an intersectional framework.

The successful candidate will be an exceptional relationship builder and have a demonstrated ability to work in partnership with others to identify opportunities, issues, and solutions. A strong project planner who is highly strategic and detail-oriented, the Vice President will bring a collaborative and mutually supportive approach to the work. They will have experience building healthy and effective partnerships with women’s sector organizations, communities, funders, and government.

Proactive and engaging, the Vice President, Community Initiatives will support the CEO, Board, and staff team. As a positive, optimistic leader, the ideal candidate will demonstrate success in directing, motivating, and supporting a small-to-medium-sized staff team.

They are also a strong, clear, and dynamic communicator, comfortable with acting as a spokesperson and presenting the issues facing diverse women and girls and trans, Two-Spirit, and non-binary people to a variety of audiences including donors, women’s organizations, and the media.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Grantmaking, Community Engagement, and Impact

• Oversee the implementation and ongoing review of grantmaking, organizational capacity building, and special projects to advance the Foundation’s strategic objectives
• Responsible for ensuring public policy and advocacy work aligns with the strategic plan of the Foundation and supports organizational areas of focus
• Collaborates with other Foundations and organizations addressing gender equity issues
• Liaises and consults with government, in collaboration with fellow staff managing government relations activities
• Represents the Foundation at partnership meetings, conferences, stakeholder meetings, government consultations, webinars, and advocacy opportunities
• Ensures the Foundation is current on emerging community issues and opportunities
• Oversees departmental planning and impact measurement, as well as developing and managing the department budget in collaboration with the team and the Senior Director, Finance & Operations

Team Development and Supervision

• Attract, develop, and lead Community Initiatives team members and create a culture of growth, development, accountability, and continuous learning
• Provides leadership to team of 10 to 15 employees, including up to five direct reports, ensuring effective training, mentoring, and professional development
• Build capacity, structures, policies/processes, and readiness of the Community Initiatives team, ensuring their alignment to the Foundation’s mandate strategic direction

Strategic Planning and Collaboration

• Collaborate with senior leadership team and Board of Directors to define and implement the long-term strategic and operational plans as it relates to impact investing, grants, and other priority initiatives
• Develop and implement annual and long-range Community Initiatives plans that align with and support the organization’s strategic directions
• Support the Foundation’s philanthropic and public engagement efforts to maintain and grow our donor base, maintain effective public accountability, and communicate our impact
• Oversees and supports effective proposal writing, direction and management of funding, and special initiatives
• Acts as a spokesperson for media interviews and other public engagement opportunities

Qualifications

Education – University degree in related field (management, public policy, social sciences or humanities) or equivalent professional experience

Experience – Minimum 10 years experience working on gender equality issues in the community sector. Experience working nationally is preferred

Skills and Abilities -

• Extensive knowledge of key critical issues affecting diverse women and girls and trans, Two-Spirit, and non-binary people in Canada and the public policy issues affecting the women’s sector
• Experience in progressive grantmaking and working nationally is an asset
• Demonstrated ability to advance knowledge on how to achieve long-term systemic change leading to gender equity
• Excellent leadership and management skills, with experience setting goals and workplans with staff and as part of a senior leadership team
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to motivate, challenge and support staff and volunteers
• Strong communication skills, including superior writing and oral presentation skills
• Creative, strategic problem solver with an ability to manage multiple projects and stakeholders
• Champion for gender equity and inclusion within organizations and communities
• Values teamwork and mutual respect
• Approaches work with a strong intersectional lens and gender-based analysis
• Ability to identify potential partnership, leadership and advocacy opportunities for the Foundation 
• Fluency in French is an asset

Compensation

The salary for this position starts at $125,000 annually plus a competitive benefits and vacation package.

Apply

Please submit a cover letter and resume in one document by 5:00pm PST on November 30, 2020 to humanresources@canadianwomen.org. Please indicate ‘Vice President, Community Initiatives’ in the subject line.

The Canadian Women’s Foundation is strongly committed to equity in employment and seeks to attract, select, and hire a diverse team with a high level of professional skills, passion for and belief in our vision and mission. If comfortable, we encourage candidates to share information about their identities, lived experiences, and the communities they are part of in their covering letter.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.