Description

The Organization

Community Partners offers expert guidance, essential services, and a strong dose of passion to help foster, launch, and grow creative solutions to community challenges. For 30 years, hundreds of individuals, groups, foundations and other institutions have worked with Community Partners to create new nonprofit projects, establish coalitions, and manage major philanthropic initiatives to benefit the region. 

Across all program areas, Community Partners works toward our organizational vision: A vibrant society in which individuals and institutions use knowledge, resources, and relationships to build equitable, democratic and thriving communities.

Our work includes:

Fiscal Sponsorship

We provide the structure, finance and administrative services, expert counsel and connections that help nonprofit leaders succeed.

Intermediary and Third-Party Administration

As a fiscal intermediary and third-party administrator with a commitment to equity, we collaborate with foundations, corporations, government agencies and other institutions to deliver resources to nonprofits and other entities, applying best practices to achieve maximum impact.

Today, we are the backbone for upwards of 170 projects and initiatives and manage over $100 million in revenues annually through our fiscal sponsorship program and intermediary work. Our work spans multi-sector issues including racial and social justice, systems change, public health, civic engagement, climate and environment, arts and culture, education, public policy, social services, and youth development

To learn more, please visit us at www.CommunityPartners.org.

Greening America’s Cities Initiative

On July 17, 2023, the Bezos Earth Fund (the Earth Fund) launched Greening America’s Cities (GAC), a new, multi-year, $400M initiative to invest primarily in community environmental justice organizations through 2030. In 2023, $50M was granted to 24 urban greening organizations and 6 national Partners providing technical expertise and support for greening projects in and around five cities across the US, including Los Angeles (as well as Albuquerque, Atlanta, Chicago, and Wilmington, DE). In every city, the Earth Fund will partner with a community foundation or local partner to place a jointly identified Community Fellow to serve as a resource to Earth Fund grantees in the community and to collaborate across other cities in the initiative. Community Partners will host the Community Fellow in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles cohort of grantees includes East LA Community Corporation, Green Cities California, GreenLatinos, Hip Hop Caucus, Pacoima Beautiful, Southeast Asian Community Alliance, TreePeople, and UCLA Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies. 

About the Bezos Earth Fund

The Bezos Earth Fund is transforming the fight against climate change with the largest ever philanthropic commitment to climate and nature protection. It is investing $10 billion in this decisive decade to protect nature and drive systems-level change, creating a just transition to a low-carbon economy. By providing funding and expertise, it partners with organizations to accelerate innovation, break down barriers to success, and create a more equitable and sustainable world. Join the Bezos Earth Fund in its mission to create a world where people prosper in harmony with nature.

About Greening America’s Cities

The Greening America’s Cities commitment is one of the largest-ever funding initiatives to put money directly into the hands of community organizations, where it can most effectively address urgent environmental and economic justice priorities. With missions that include land reclamation, native plant and tree cultivation, green workforce development, and urban farming support, these organizations are true leaders in their communities. Greening America’s Cities was launched in July 2023 as a multi-year $400 million initiative through 2030. The first round of funding totaling $50 million is currently supporting 30 organizations working on urban greening in and around the cities of Albuquerque, NM, Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL, Los Angeles, CA and Wilmington, DE.

Definition of the Role: 

The Bezos Earth Fund Community Fellow is a member of the intermediary team at Community Partners, working closely with the Earth Fund and local Greening America’s Cities grantee partners to ensure resources invested in the community have maximum benefit toward improving quality of life and supporting thriving, sustainable communities. The Fellow will serve in a coordinator role – to work with and among community organizations – specifically, those funded by the Earth Fund as part of Greening America’s Cities initiative cohort in Los Angeles - as they design and build more green spaces in the community, liaise with local, state, and federal government to ensure policies are in place to protect and preserve the community’s green spaces and increase access to them, and connect with peers in other Greening America’s Cities sites to share best practices and exchange resources. This is a unique opportunity for a person who has a passion for and commitment to environmental justice, community-led solutions to climate change, demonstrated excellence in community-building and engagement, and is excited to contribute creatively and strategically to the mission of Community Partners, as well as the grantees in Los Angeles, and the Earth Fund’s vision of transforming communities through nature. The Bezos Earth Fund Fellow is a single incumbent, two-year exempt position. This position will report jointly to the Vice President, Intermediary and Strategic Partnerships, and the Bezos Earth Fund Greening America’s Cities Program Manager.

Key Responsibilities:

· Serve as the primary liaison and relationship manager to the Earth Fund’s Greening America’s Cities initiative in the Los Angeles area, working with and for the Earth Fund grantees in Los Angeles and aligned organizations and initiatives connected to Community Partners

· Support Earth Fund grantees in the Los Angeles area to develop a shared vision for the success of the GAC initiative in Los Angeles and surrounding communities 

· Facilitate technical support to Los Angeles area grantees through the Earth Fund’s national experts to ensure effective delivery aligned with grantee needs and the initiative's goals

· Organize regular convenings and/or trainings responsive to the needs identified by grantees and in partnership with the community impact team 

· Build systems to ensure active information sharing between grantees in Los Angeles and across each of the other GAC cities, identifying, where possible common areas of interest for cutting-edge implementation, policy options and/or collaborative problem-solving

· Facilitate needed community engagement with elected officials at the local, state, and national level in support of current and future project delivery 

· Explore and advance potential funding opportunities to build upon the initial Earth Fund investment in Los Angeles and leverage existing government and philanthropic relationships to generate new dollars for long-term sustainability

· Work with grantees in Los Angeles to design a communications strategy, and with support from the Earth Fund and Community Partners, engage a communications firm or professional to deliver on this plan, potentially including enhanced marketing support and amplification for greening projects and community-led dialogues

· Contribute to initiative-wide evaluation, impact assessment and strategy activities to support the evolution of the initiative over time 

· Establish and maintain positive relationships with multiple nonprofit organizations, city departments, residents, and elected officials and other stakeholders as necessary to implement GAC initiative goals in the Los Angeles area. This includes facilitation of communications and information sharing 

· Support Earth Fund grantees in achieving their commitments under the Bezos Earth Fund Grant Agreement 

· Serve as the local coordinator, manager and primary point of contact between the Los Angeles cohort and the funder, the Bezos Earth Fund. This requires the Fellow to know grant agreements well and support the grantees to fulfill project goals and meet the programmatic and compliance requirements of the grant agreement. When necessary, work with the grantee team and the Earth Fund to recommend potential grant agreement changes such as timeline extensions or budget modifications

· Convene and facilitate communication between grantees as necessary to facilitate achievement of collaborative goals

· Community Partners staff are working in a hybrid environment, with teams working in our offices at The California Endowment at least once a week. This role requires the ability to travel locally, with occasional overnight travel to meetings or conferences outside the LA area.

Requirements

Skills and Competencies:

· Proven project management skills, from conception to design to implementation

· Seven to ten years of experience delivering results in the community and relevant sectors, including experience working with diverse community-based organizations, community leaders, government agencies, and associated stakeholders, ideally in the Los Angeles area;

· Proven project management skills, from conception to design to implementation

· Demonstrated skills in facilitation, relationship building, partnership management and collaborative planning/delivery 

· Demonstrated ability to adapt and be flexible in a dynamic environment;

· Demonstrated capacity for strategic thinking and problem solving;

· A well-developed network of relationships and deep understanding of the greater Los Angeles area’s environmental and climate justice and/or greening ecosystems, and knowledge of Los Angeles’ communities and needs.

· Familiarity with the broad range of urban greening options available for implementation in the Los Angeles area a plus

· Attention to detail and an ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously 

· Strong orientation and commitment to racial equity, equitable results, and community voice

· Strong oral, written communications, organizational and interpersonal skills 

· Experience communicating effectively and working collaboratively with diverse communities and constituencies. 

· Demonstrated experience working in complex political environments and negotiating with diverse key stakeholders at local and/or regional level 

· Proven ability to track, facilitate and support progress for an initiative with many partners and deliverables is strongly desired

COMPENSATION

Salary range for this position is $140,000 - $165,000 depending on experience. Benefits include paid holidays, sick days, and vacation, paid winter holiday closure, a 403(b) plan with employer match after two years, medical, dental, vision, flex spending, life and disability insurance. Community Partners has a 9/80 work week option under which employees may elect to work 80 hours in 9 days and take every other Friday off (after completion of introductory period). 

APPLICATION

Interested applicants should upload a thoughtful cover letter and resume.

Community Partners® is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. In addition, the organization will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.