Manager, Portfolio - Investment Selection (Grant Making)

Location: Hybrid role with location preference for Washington, DC, or Boston areas. Could be fully remote with ability to travel 10-20% to attend staff retreats, etc.

ABOUT NEW PROFIT New Profit is a venture philanthropy organization that backs social entrepreneurs who are advancing equity and opportunity in America. New Profit exists to build a bridge between these leaders and a community of philanthropists who are committed to catalyzing their impact. New Profit provides unrestricted grants and strategic support to a portfolio of organizations led by visionary social entrepreneurs to increase their impact and sustainability. It also partners with social entrepreneurs and other cross-sector leaders to shift how government and philanthropy pursue social change to ensure that all people can thrive. Since its founding in 1998, New Profit has invested $325 million in more than 165 early-and later-stage social enterprises. In 2024, New Profit will operate with a team of 85 full-time employees and an annual operating budget of $42M that will support over 120 social enterprises across the nation. 

Read more about who we are, what we believe, and how we work in our 2023 Annual Report.

POSITION OVERVIEW Reporting to and partnering with a New Profit Associate Partner, the Manager will steward the selection process to maximize the impact of New Profit’s unrestricted grants and strategic support through leading the project management of New Profit’s Build portfolio grant-making cycles and activities. The Manager will collaborate across New Profit’s Portfolio team and Ecosystem Building teams to advance strategic grant-making goals and objectives, and seek out and sharelearnings and opportunities for ongoing improvement of grant-making practices, processes and tools. The Manager may be asked to manage Associate(s) on the Portfolio team. 

The ideal candidate will be energized by the idea of continuous advancement of New Profit’s grant-making practice to best identify high-impact social entrepreneurs and to reflect our core values. The candidate will possess advanced project and relationship management skills, a combination of strategic foresight and practical execution skills, and an ability to be agile in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. Additionally, the candidate will be excited by the prospect of learning and applying that learning to their practice. WHAT YOU WILL DO

Grant-making Planning & Project Management

• Serve as New Profit’s central point of contact for Build portfolio grant-making cycles. Drive work plan creation for, and project management of, each Build grant-making cycle, in collaboration with teams across the organization including Ecosystem Building, Communications, and Finance. Guide cycle design and implementation, ensuring that grant selection activities reflect our strategic priorities, principles, and practices. 
• Support Associate Partner on grant selection with development of annual Build grant-making plan and goals. Maintain visibility across Build grant-making cycles, monitor progress against plan and goals, and track resource allocation (e.g. internal and external application readers). Elevate to Grant Selection team when adjustments and trade-offs need to be considered. 
• Manage grant-making cycles’ diligence processes and diligence teams. Provide guidance and thought partnership on best practices, presentations on prospective grantee-partners to New Profit’s internal grants committee made up of senior leadership, and compelling memos that contain nuanced analysis. 
• Facilitate key meetings with New Profit’s internal grants committee to help get to grant-making decision points.

Knowledge Capture

• Continuously seek out, track, and develop plans to put into practice newfound knowledge and insights gained from Build grant-making cycles leading to strategic or operational improvements that strengthen internal and external stakeholder experience and improve outcomes.  
• Maintain active feedback loops with stakeholders to generate new insights and solutions. Share learnings and opportunities for strategic integration with the Grant Selection team, Portfolio team, and organization. 
• Manage development and/or maintenance of centralized Build portfolio grant-making supports, materials, and tools. Continuously track grant-making activity best practices.

Pipeline Development

• Manage Build portfolio pipeline development process, in collaboration with Ecosystem Building teams.  
• Conduct “discovery” calls and meetings to vet fit between potential grantee-partners and New Profit’s funding priorities and grant selection criteria.

Special Projects

• Lead select special projects that support New Profit’s overall grant-making strategy and operations, as needed. 
• Sample projects could include but are not limited to refreshing constituent stakeholder engagement protocol or supporting the integration of selection processes with Salesforce. 

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• Demonstrated commitment to New Profit’s mission of breaking down barriers to opportunity for our country’s most overlooked communities.
• Advanced project management experience, highly organized and detail-oriented.
• Ability to communicate reliably and effectively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, both verbally and in writing.
• Adaptable and able to manage multiple, changing priorities and stakeholders.
• Ability to analyze complex situations, break them down into management components, and identify the most impactful solutions.
• Ability to switch between work that requires high level strategic thinking, and work that is more focused on operations and execution.
• Relevant professional experience preferred (e.g., nonprofits, philanthropy, management consulting, venture capital) and / or advanced degree (e.g., MBA, MPA).

COMPENSATION & BENEFITSThe salary range for this position will be $92,110 -$105,412 annually, with the exact salary depending on prior work experience and the assessment of one's fit for the role. Additionally, New Profit provides a suite of competitive benefits including health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, retirement benefits, and a generous PTO policy with an end-of-year holiday break. 

HOW TO APPLYTo apply for this position, please go toNew Profit’s Career page. Please submit a resume and a cover letter aligned to the role, addressed to Lindsey McClenny. 

As an equal opportunity employer, New Profit recognizes the power of a diverse community and strongly encourages applications from individuals with varied experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. New Profit offers a competitive salary and benefits, commensurate with experience and skills. Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States for any employer.

Please no phone calls or direct emails