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Neighborhood Solidarity Partner

I

Invest STL

Neighborhood Solidarity Partner

Saint Louis, MO
Full Time
Paid
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  • Responsibilities

    NEIGHBORHOOD SOLIDARITY PARTNER

    Invest STL is seeking a new team member to serve as the primary liaison and “guide on the side” to our existing and upcoming cohort of neighborhood investment recipient partners. Applications will be accepted through August 7, 2020.

    BACKGROUND

    Invest STL was created to cultivate a network of grassroots and regional leaders, funders, businesses, nonprofits, and community development professionals to grow alignment around and increase financial support for equitable, resident-driven neighborhood development.  As the region's emerging funder for place-based community development investments, Invest STL will launch a five-year investment strategy in 2020 to change how neighborhood transformation is led, supported, understood and evaluated for success. Over the next five years, Invest STL seeks to shift the region's approach to neighborhood development towards one that centers racial equity and amplifies the desires, power and agency of people, particularly residents of color, within neighborhoods that have experienced decades of systemic disinvestment and the effects of structural racism.

    The Neighborhood Solidarity Partner will report to the Executive Director while also working closely with the Neighborhood Investment Program Officer to monitor and inform our own engagement, partnerships and accountability in neighborhoods.

    The Neighborhood Solidarity Partner will embrace our emerging mindsets of stepping down from the paternalistic hilltop of traditional philanthropy that knows what's best and rigidly dictating terms; stepping back to watch, learn and take direction from our investment recipient partners as we support their vision for neighborhood transformation; and lifting up the will, work and wonderment of our partners to our regional community.

    While not required, candidates with lived experience in community organizing, coalition-building or power-building are highly encouraged to apply.

    POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

    Grow Investee Partnerships

    • Establish and maintain open, honest, dignity-filled relationships with investee partners (traditionally referred to as grantees) and technical assistance contractors.
    • Coordinate written agreements with investee partners and contractors including budget, disbursements, and progress assessment schedules.
    • Monitor and support accountability of all partners, including Invest STL, to collectively established expectations for each investment neighborhood.
    • Build and uphold authentic working relationships and communication with investee partners and their network to understand progress, challenges, learnings, and when you are—or are not—needed for solution building.
    • Manage and track budget reallocation and investment extensions and adaptations.
    • Extend connections to regional actors, initiatives and resources to support investee partners at their prompting.
    • Collaborate with investee partner and contractors to navigate anticipated and unanticipated challenges to support neighborhood-driven transformation.
    • Evaluate alignment of progress to shared expectations, milestones and expenditures for each investee partnership and support adaptation of investment terms when needed.

    Iterate Investment Initiation Process + Progress Observation

    • Re-design process for entering partnerships with new investees, including identifying and adopting shared expectations.
    • Re-design method for understanding challenges, innovations and progress from the perspective of our investee partners.
    • Re-design process for distributing disbursements to investee partners. 
    • Monitor above processes for inefficiencies and undue burden on investee partners and iterate when necessary.

    Support Regional Narrative Re-Framing

    • Following the lead of and with permission from investee partners, lift up neighborhood narratives of people, place and power to our broader regional community.
    • Support communications lead by sharing lessons learned and successes from our partnerships.

    Inform Policy Recommendations and Advocacy

    • Lifting up observations and learnings from investee partners, inform Invest STL's priorities and activities for regional policy recommendations and advocacy.
    • Collaborate with Neighborhood Investment Program Officer to revise overall investment strategy to maximize impact of investments.

    Other Duties

    • Carry out special projects as required.
    • Support the Executive Director in building the Invest STL team.
    • Attend and occasionally present at Leadership Board meetings.

    REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND CRITICAL QUALITIES

    The chosen candidate will have a track record of building and leveraging relationships within and among a diverse group of stakeholders in a community, business, and/or nonprofit setting. In addition, the candidate will have:

    • Demonstrable experience that includes some combination of the following: community organizing, community power building, movement building, trauma and healing-informed service delivery, community planning, government or community relations, community engagement, public administration, community or real estate development, research and data analysis, grants development and management, strategic planning or program evaluation.
    • Operational understanding of and commitment to racial equity and justice.
    • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
    • Excellent relationship building skills including humility, a listening/learning posture, discretion, trust-building and working through challenges collaboratively to an agreed upon resolve.
    • Competency as a strategic thinker who is also nimble and able to adapt to evolving conditions.
    • Understanding of both the power and limitations of the tool of grantmaking.
    • Strong facilitation and consensus building skills, including in spaces with diverse and not always aligned participants.
    • Working knowledge of equitable development principles and processes.
    • Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgement, initiative, and tact when interacting with colleagues, our community, partners and elected officials.

    COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

    The salary range is $65,000-$75,000 and will be negotiated based on experience, qualifications, and record of achievement. Candidate salary history will not be requested nor referenced in negotiating salary. Health, dental and additional benefits are available.

    APPLICATION AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

    Submit by August 7, 2020, a resume or statement of qualifications. Your cover letter must include a personal narrative on your commitment and practice towards racial equity in community development.

    Invest STL prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Invest STL conforms to the spirit as well as to the letter of all applicable laws and regulations. Invest STL prioritizes diversity in the workplace and celebrates it in our community.