Senior Manager – Rural Democracy Policy & Program
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Job Description
Rural Democracy Senior Manager managing grants, policy partnerships, and rural convenings. Supporting Heartland Fund’s investments in democracy, climate, and community prosperity.
Responsibilities:
- Develop and implement grantmaking strategies for assigned priority states
- Manage a policy and communications-focused grantmaking portfolio and state-based grantmaking
- Conduct research and outreach in specific geographies, communities, and issue areas
- Build trusting relationships with existing and new grantees and partners
- Collect grantee reports and participate in site visits
- Gather, review, and organize grant proposals, reports, and supporting materials
- Prioritize and recommend grants and support grant docket preparation
- Assess impacts and opportunities with field and funding partners
- Co-lead and manage the bi-annual Rural Policy Action Summit, including organizing a 50-person convening
- Project manage and contribute to the bi-annual Rural Policy Action Report
- Serve as a thought partner on policy best practices
- Support the grantee network through resources, coaching, and peer-to-peer learning
- Contribute to policy-focused communications
- Support the Senior Program Officer and Strategic Partnerships team
- Participate in grantee data collection, surveys, and political landscape summaries
- Monitor and update grantmaking data systems with the Grants Management team
- Advance program priorities through meetings, retreats, surveys, work plans, and project plans
- Facilitate grantee access to resources, tools, and capacity-building opportunities
- Identify persuasive case examples and timely news for newsletters, annual reports, and policy memos
- Translate grantee impact stories, photos, quotes, and anecdotes into fundraising content
- Work part-time with affiliated Rural Victory Fund to advance 501(c)(4) investments
Requirements:
- 7+ years of related work experience in a nonprofit, advocacy, government, intermediary, or foundation setting, and/or equivalent
- Understanding of social change, civic engagement, public policy, or political strategy
- Significant experience advancing policy change and navigating policy tradeoffs within coalitions
- Experience connecting local and state priorities to federal policy
- Demonstrated commitment to racial justice and fluency with equity and anti-racist practices
- Ability to listen deeply, hold space for different perspectives, and work with people from varied political, cultural, and social backgrounds
- Strong writing and verbal communication skills
- Excellent relationship management skills with diverse constituencies
- Ability to work independently and drive complex projects involving cross-organizational and external collaboration
- Experience building and using organizational systems to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and complex projects
- Exceptional attention to detail
- Acumen with event and convening organization and facilitation, and working with coalitions
- Entrepreneurial and resourceful, proactive and creative problem-solving
- Connection to and passion for rural people and places
- Experience in the philanthropic sector and with grantmaking preferred
- Experience working on rural federal policy and/or with national advocacy organizations preferred
- Understanding of the media and communications landscape preferred
- Understanding of rural and small town America through lived, professional, and/or volunteer experience preferred
- Familiarity with Monday.com, Google Suite, Airtable, Fluxx, and Slack preferred
- 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) nonprofit program management experience preferred
- Must be authorized to work in the United States
Benefits:
- 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their families
- 401k retirement plan
- 3% automatic 401k contribution and up to a 3% employer match on 401k contributions
- Pre-tax transportation benefits
- 120 hours of vacation time annually
- 80 hours of health leave annually
- Up to 2 days of casual leave annually
- 20 hours of volunteer leave annually
- 13 paid holidays annually
- 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave after 90 days of employment
- Fully remote work from home within the United States
- Occasional travel within the US
- Professional growth and impact opportunities
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