The Foraker Group

Job Summary

Job Description

The Position and Opportunity

The Foraker Group seeks a Leadership Transition Coordinator with high emotional intelligence, a commitment to quality customer service, and a desire to contribute their talent and time to providing high quality executive search support that strengthens nonprofits across Alaska. The Coordinator plays a key role in supporting Foraker’s leadership transition services by managing project timelines, outreach budgets, billing, and communications.  The Coordinator has the opportunity to be part of a fun and fast-paced professional team guiding nonprofits through a multi-phased executive transition process, providing assistance on diverse projects, and lending support that results in a positive experience for the nonprofits and job candidates served. 

The Foraker Group:  Purpose, Values, and Goals

The Foraker Group is a 501(c)(3) organization with the core purpose of strengthening nonprofits. Our deep commitment to advancing dedicated, skilled, and compassionate professionals and volunteers to serve Alaska’s nonprofit and tribal organizations is guided by the Foraker Nonprofit Sustainability Model. Foraker offers Alaska nonprofits and tribes the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to thrive.

 Our values and theory of change articulate the way we work with organizations, leaders, and the sector to achieve our goals. They ensure that we provide excellence to our current programs and services while we strive to achieve new goals.  These values are: Sustainability – Strategic – Collaborative – Urban/Rural/Native/Non-Native. The last value reflects our commitment to serving all Alaska’s people and communities.

 We recognize that our base operation is on the unceded lands of the Dena'ina people. With Foraker's broad reach throughout the entire state of Alaska, the Foraker team acknowledges and appreciates the Indigenous people with us today and the lands of Alaska Native peoples who have called this place we now know as Alaska home for more than 10,000 years.

 We are committed to providing mission-centered, creative, high-quality, and cost-effective services to all regions of Alaska. We engage a highly professional cadre of professionals – 21 staff and 28 consultants -with years of experience to work with the sector through our core program areas – shared services, consulting, educational opportunities, public policy, and fiscal sponsorship.

 Our long-term goal is to lead innovative systems change in order to strengthen the ability of Alaska nonprofits to significantly improve our communities. The Foraker Group will act as a leader, catalyst, convener, innovator, and connector for the Alaska nonprofit sector to achieve this goal.

Foraker offers staff the opportunity to engage in meaningful work to improve our communities. Staff members work collaboratively and creatively in a supportive environment. We believe that workplace wellness, especially in this time of COVID, should always be a priority, and we try to create a work environment where each person feels valued and appreciated.

 Our goal is always to serve our customers to the highest degree possible, while maintaining a workplace that is respectful, safe, flexible, and welcoming.  

Services and Programs

Foraker offers a combination of these services to meet the needs of our nonprofit Partners:

Shared Services: We provide consolidated back-of-house services for nonprofits to maximize resources, ensure accountability, and clear the way to focus on mission results. For example, our financial shared service allows organizations to outsource their financial and accounting functions to professionals who understand the specific needs of nonprofits.

Consulting: Our role as capacity builders is to provide customized consultation and facilitation that strengthens nonprofits. Popular topic areas include:  board governance, fundraising, human resources, succession planning and leadership transition, strategic and annual planning, finance, marketing and communication, and collaboration and mergers.

Education: We provide in-person and online opportunities for board, staff, and volunteers to learn, share, and connect. We offer a range of trainings, from two-hour classes to six-month long intensives.

Public Policy: Foraker serves as the official nonprofit state association of Alaska.  In this role we focus on nonpartisan public policy issues at the federal, state, and local level that impact all nonprofits.

Fiscal Sponsorship: Foraker’s fiscal sponsorship, Sultana New Ventures LLC (Sultana), supports groups and projects in the preliminary stages of their development, offering opportunities to incubate ideas, employ staff, and provide the stability that funders need to make initial investments.

Foraker’s Leadership Transition Services

Foraker’s Leadership Transition Services are grounded in the belief that the right people at the right time are essential in the nonprofit sustainability journey. Our suite of services is rooted in a deep commitment to ensuring nonprofit leaders reflect the diversity of the communities they serve, along with a focus on pay equity and a welcoming environment.

 Foraker’s innovative approach moves leadership transition from transactional to transformational using a three-phase Prepare, Search and Thrive process that prioritizes mission continuity, leader retention, diversifying the face of leadership and nurturing a culture of strategic succession planning throughout the sector.

Key Responsibilities

General

·      Model, effectively communicate, and incorporate Foraker core purpose and values internally with our team and externally with our nonprofit Partners

·      Contribute to transition services by supporting Foraker’s Transition Guides in managing project timelines, outreach budgets, billing, and communications

·      Provide administrative support to the internal team, including scheduling team meetings, taking meeting minutes, and anticipating and responding to team needs

·      Manage applicant tracking database including data in, data out, and team access

·      Reinforce values of diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the leadership transition process and service delivery.

 Prepare, Search, Thrive Phases

·      Support the development, deployment, and analysis of Foraker’s strengths-based organizational assessment tools.

·      Assist in the creation and editing of Position Profiles

·      Inform the development of search plans in partnership with the Transition Guide; conduct research and identify recruitment and outreach strategies to attract a diverse candidate pool

·      Manage position advertisements, including tracking expenses and related billing

·      Steward candidates with clear and timely communication as they navigate the search process; provide application acknowledgements and status updates; inform the Transition Guide of incoming applicants

·      Conduct applicant prescreen interviews and candidate reference checks to support the vetting and selection process 

·      Provide support for the development and deployment of an effective communications plan to announce new leaders to the organization, stakeholders, and community

·      Assist the transition team in the development of scopes of work for each transition based upon the unique needs of the organization.

·      Actively participate in an environment of support; encouraging regular feedback and conversations to ensure that successes are celebrated and concerns are addressed.

Qualifications of the Ideal Candidate

While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications enumerated below, the Leadership Transition Coordinator will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes and experiences:

 Attributes

·      High emotional intelligence – strong awareness of self, connection to others, able to build and manage relationships, and act with integrity.

·      A collaborative and strategic working style with a demonstrated history of building and maintaining strong working relationships with team members.

·      Ability to communicate effectively and comfortably in person, in writing, and in remote platforms.

·      Ability to reflect Foraker values in interactions and communications with others.

·      Superior ability to work collaboratively within a team.

·      Proven ability to exercise flexibility, initiative, good judgment, and discretion.

·      Demonstrated ability to successfully complete projects; self-motivated and detail-oriented, with ability to organize and prioritize work.

·      Strong ability to think and act strategically.

·      Ability to work in a dynamic environment and deal effectively with frequent changes in priorities, delays or unexpected events.

·      Ability to maintain confidentiality.

·      Ability to project a welcoming and helpful approach to requests.

·      Willingness to learn and adapt.

 Skills and Expertise

·      Demonstrated ability to work with culturally diverse people and organizational cultures in rural, remote-rural, and urban Alaska.

·      A minimum of three years of experience in a fast-paced environment; nonprofit experience is desirable.

·      Ability to review, analyze, evaluate stakeholder survey responses and articulate findings to inform decision-making and process.

·      Past experience in sourcing and recruiting executive-level candidates for nonprofit organizations or comparable positions, a plus.

·      Strong computer skills and proficiency using Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Survey Monkey, and contact database software.

Application Process

The salary range is $50,000 to $60,000, commensurate with qualifications and experience. The Foraker Group offers a competitive benefits package.  To apply, send an email with a cover letter detailing qualifications and interest and vitae/resume to John Tracy at LTCoordinatorsearch@forakergroup.org. Communications will be treated in confidence and resumes will be accepted until position is filled. Resume reviews begin immediately.

The Foraker Group is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  Our own core values reflect our acknowledgement of the land where we live, our commitment to serving nonprofits and tribes in urban and rural Alaska, and our obligation to address the systemic racism and oppression that is deeply rooted in our history as a state. It is from this that we begin our understanding of other oppressive systems and structures in our sector that impact people. The Foraker board and staff have been exploring what it means to be a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization. We have arrived at five basic tenants that describe our commitment. The following is a high-level summary of those tenants. We look forward to walking on this journey with you.

·       We are part of the journey. We believe we are a catalyst for this work. We recognize that our understanding will deepen and grow and that no single path fits every organization.

·       We believe strong nonprofits are diverse nonprofits. Through our research, consulting, and educational programs, we seek a shift in board and staff composition that reflects the community and mission of each nonprofit.

·       We know our work is upstream and downstream. We must simultaneously work with what exists now while creating lasting systemic change with an equity lens.

·       We focus on race and intersectionality in our work. We champion our commitment to diversity and focus on creating true inclusion and belonging for every person.

·      We create and hold space for conscious conversations. Instead of shying away from difficult conversations, we embrace the opportunity to oppose racism and to deepen the understanding that diversity and equity are essential to every mission.

The Foraker Group is especially interested in candidates whose background and experience have prepared them to grow our commitment to engagement and inclusion with culturally diverse groups.