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Job Descriptions:

As our region's community foundation, The Chicago Community Trust has been here for all Chicagoans for over 110 years. The Trust was founded in 1915 by Norman and Albert Harris, father and son duo of the Harris (now BMO Harris) bank family. The foundation unites donors, nonprofits and residents to support people, organizations and partnerships that strengthen the Chicago region.

In 2019, The Chicago Community Trust, The Coleman Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, and Robert R. McCormick Foundation launched The Fund for Equitable Business Growth (FEBG) a program designed to invest in a set of strategies that promote the growth of small businesses in Chicago. The top priorities of the fund are to provide programmatic support to Business Service Organizations (BSOs) so that the organizations can be more coordinated and help those entrepreneurs access capital and services for the growth of the business.

FEBG makes grants to achieve stated goals. Since 2019, FEBG has made over $14 million in grants to build capacity for BSOs to serve almost 5,000 small businesses. After five years of operations, FEBG has an opportunity to reflect on the progress and learnings from the initial years to build towards the next phase. The Director will be charged with the development of the strategic plan, facilitating the refined governance structure of FEBG, and establishing a communication plan that highlights key impacts on the small businesses served through the program. The Director will also be responsible for integrating a measurable impact framework that ties directly to the Fund’s Theory of Change, aligns data across funders, and strengthens transparency in reporting outcomes for BSOs and small businesses.

Develop a 5-year strategic plan: The Director will work with philanthropic organizations and small business stakeholders to develop a comprehensive 5-year strategic plan that includes fundraising goals, refined grantmaking strategies, an updated evaluative framework, and other necessary components. This will include designing and conducting a process to gather ideas and feedback from philanthropic organizations and fund contributors, BSOs and other key players in the small business network and identifying new strategies for the Fund. Before launching the Fund’s next funding program (also referred to as grant cycle) and plan, the Director will meet with partners and entrepreneurs in a concerted effort to gain insight into the new strategic plan. The Director should ensure the plan aligns with the broader Chicago entrepreneurship ecosystem, which includes engaging with stakeholders who have comprehensive plans to advance strategies that impact small business development across the region to create a complementary and additive resource.

Facilitate FEBG’s Governance Structure: The Director will facilitate the newly refined governance structure of the Fund which will ensure funders are engaged and providing appropriate direction by upholding the charters established and participating in the committees set.

Establish a Strategic Communications plan which includes an Annual Impact Report: Establish a strategic communications plan that demonstrates the program’s impact and reaches diverse stakeholders.Prepare an annual report describing the investments made and outcomes achieved through each of the Fund’s adopted strategies to share key developments, accomplishments, and challenges with current and prospective funders and partners.

Position Responsibilities:

Project Management

The Director will be expected to provide management of the fund which includes-

+ Developing annual budgets and plans for approval by the Executive Committee and revising such as instructed by the Executive Committee.

+ Management of Advisory Committee: Maintain relationships with each funder and staff and facilitate the Fund Working Groups, working in close coordination with the designated co-chairs.

+ Funder Meetings & Partner Convenings: Plan, secure and manage the necessary collaborative meetings to implement the Fund’s strategies.

Grantmaking and Innovation

The Director will be expected to develop and implement a grant making approach that aligns with the strategic plan of the fund which includes-

+ Manage communications and relationships with grant recipients, providing technical assistance and support to ensure project success.

+ Develop and implement tools to track and assess the impact of FEBG’s initiatives continuously improving processes based on feedback from partners and data.

Fundraising and Resource Development

The Director will be expected to set and achieve fundraising goals ensuring the initiative remains well-resourced to achieve its ambitious goals. This includes-

+ Working closely with the Trust’s Philanthropic Services Team to assist with finding new funding opportunities with funders.

+ Supporting grant proposal development, funder engagement, and impact reporting.

+ Working closely with the existing funders of the Fund to build upon resources.

Learning & Development Plan

The Director is expected to leverage data insights to inform the strategy’s direction and refinement. This includes-

+ Working with the Trust’s Learning & Development team to establish a learning timeline around the Fund that includes key recommendations for the strategy from the program’s evaluation and small business research informing the work.

+ Developing and executing a learning agenda for the Fund’s partners and funders; this plan will include learning about the policy landscape around regulations to support business development in Chicago as well as national models that Chicago can consider for adoption.

+ Coordinating cross-sector learning convenings that connect small business data to regulatory, financing, and workforce systems and translate insights into actionable recommendations for funders and policymakers.

+ Engaging across the small business ecosystem to complement and support existing resources and investments in small business development.

Required Experience:

+ 5-10 years of experience in small business support, economic development, entrepreneurship, grantmaking, fundraising, or a related field.

+ Master’s degree preferred but we welcome all candidates regardless of educational background.

+ Ability to strengthen ideas and build momentum by leveraging existing programs/initiatives, resources, structures, and policies.

+ Understanding the challenges facing local organizations and small business owners, and the impact of public policies and local economic development.

+ Strategy Development and Execution.

+ Experience communicating effectively and working collaboratively with entrepreneurs, business stakeholders, philanthropy, the public sector, institutional leaders, the finance sector, and investors.

+ Ability to collaboratively lead through networking, facilitating, and problem-solving.

+ Ability to effectively build consensus and drive collective action.

+ Preferred but not required- experience advancing structural changes in the public or private sectors.

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

+ Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

+ Ability to start with self-input from diverse interests.

+ Ability to synthesize and follow through on the guidance of the funders.

+ Strong orientation to results, clear outcomes, systems thinking, and learning.

Preferred qualifications include prior experience leading multi-funder collaboratives or collective impact initiatives, fluency in data-driven philanthropy, and strong systems leadership across sectors.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Trust is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. The Trust does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at [email protected] if you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application.

Keyword: Director, Fund for Equitable Business Growth

From: The Chicago Community Trust