Director, Grants; TF

Tides Foundation envisions a world of shared prosperity and social change founded on equality & human rights, healthy individuals & communities, a sustainable environment, and quality education for all. Tides works to accelerate the pace of social change by bringing together mission-aligned funders, changemakers and policies to solve society’s toughest problems.

Tides believes that to achieve shared prosperity and social justice, they must take collaborative and bold approaches to the work. This includes using a variety of vehicles to amplify and scale positive social impact including: philanthropic giving and grantmaking, impact investing, fiscal sponsorship, collaborative work spaces, collective initiatives and advocacy services for policy change. Tides resources and expertise enable its partners to hit the ground running and drive change faster than they can on their own.

For more information on Tides Foundation, please visit tides.org .

Tides Foundation is seeking a Grants Director to lead strategy development and execution for the grants management function and play a key role in helping to achieve the Tides mission of accelerating the pace of social change.

Reporting to the General Counsel, this critical role will manage a team of grants administrators and specialists to ensure robust yet nimble grantmaking processes and regulatory compliance for all aspects of Tides’ grantmaking.

The Director’s responsibilities fall into four broad competency areas, each of which is central to the role:

Values Alignment and Commitment to the Mission

• Demonstrate a shared commitment to the Tides Foundation’s mission and values ensuring a deep respect for genuine relationships, passion for social justice and valuing of diverse leadership styles
• Employ tenacity and creativity to generate new solutions to problems and to develop successful partnerships
• Take bold risks and embrace change and interconnectivity to create impact

Team Leadership and Management

• Drive strategic and operational planning to establish annual department plans and budget in connection with the organization’s strategic goals
• Manage a team of 5-6 grants specialists and administrators to achieve organizational objectives. Establish goals, delegate responsibility, and provide leadership within and on behalf of the team
• Support the development of team members; identify opportunities for team members to build skills and knowledge that contribute their successful performance and professional growth
• Analyze, synthesize and report on internal grantmaking data and external trends and propose recommendations to Executive Leadership Team on how Tides can best position itself in the field

Grantmaking Systems, Process and Policy Development

• Oversee the processing and compliance of approximately 5,000 domestic and international grants including grant review and approval processes, maintenance of support documents, and responsive support and troubleshooting as issues arise
• Stay abreast of, and ensure compliance with, relevant grantmaking regulations. Collaborate with the Legal team to ensure resolution of compliance inquiries
• Spearhead on-going efforts to optimize grant processes and policies, to streamline grantmaking operations, and to contribute strategic insights to organizational improvements.
• Work with cross-departmental teams to manage year-end planning and grants flow, ensure accurate IRS reporting, and identify special projects that respond to organizational needs.
• Design, implement, and improve upon a grants management system that aligns with current and future programmatic and operational needs

Client Services

• Ensure high quality and timely client support services are provided to internal clients and external grantmaking partners. Works closely with the Strategic Partnerships team to ensure consistent and streamlined client on-boarding
• Identify new and improved service offerings that would benefit Tides and its partners
• Design and oversee training on grants administration and compliance and provides client consultations on the development of grantmaking programs and best practices
• Oversee and manage responses to external data requests