You are mission driven and action oriented. You love to get involved, and work as part of a team to accomplish something great. Any job is your job if it helps the team succeed, and you thrive on variety. Today, you’re looking for a role where you can use those traits to make a real difference in the world by advancing the most important social issues facing humanity today.

If that sounds like you, Arabella Advisors can’t wait to meet you.

Arabella Advisors is looking for an associate director who is passionate about high-impact philanthropy and engaging with strategically-focused donors. A successful candidate must excel in providing premier client service, and be known for the ability to keep projects running on time, on budget, and in a way that effectively deploys your team members’ talents and connects them to the bigger picture.

As a member of Arabella’s collegial, client-focused, and impact-driven community, you will lead projects that service high-profile institutional, family, and corporate foundations, and philanthropic individuals.  Our team helps clients develop grant-making strategies, implement programs, evaluate their impact, and collaborate effectively with other donors. As project manager, you are responsible for project design, research, analysis, deliverable development, stakeholder engagement, and budget and team management. Additionally, you play a central role in developing client relationships and helping to generate new business.  

Essential Responsibilities

Associate Directors play an essential role in managing projects, developing client relationships, and developing team talent and culture. Your role will include the following responsibilities:

Client Service (~75%)

• Serve as project manager on client projects; duties include developing and managing project scopes, drafting and managing complex project timelines and budgets, and overseeing cross-functional teams
• Design, implement, and evaluate programs for clients
• Design and facilitate working sessions with clients and other stakeholders
• Develop high-quality reports and presentations
• Maintain strong client relationships, facilitate client meetings, and clearly communicate project progress and findings
• Train project team members and help develop their skills and talents

Marketing and Business Development (~20%)

• Draft proposals and develop budgets for prospective clients
• Assist in the development of materials that highlight the firm’s expertise, abilities, and past project work
• Support Arabella’s client development team in identifying and pitching new opportunities

Internal Projects (~5%)

• Initiate and lead internal projects related to the team’s business strategy, annual objectives, skill development, or culture

To be successful in this role you’ll need:

• Graduate degree or equivalent work experience in relevant field (professional services, philanthropy, public policy, nonprofit management, etc.)
• At least 5 to 7 years of professional experience with steadily increasing job responsibility
• Experience conducting evaluation and/or research (e.g., program evaluation, literature reviews, constructing and analyzing surveys and interviews)
• Experience in philanthropy, nonprofit management, business and/or consulting
• Ability to manage and lead a complex project, to oversee and delegate to team members, and to meet deadlines
• Strong organization and research skills and an understanding of how to gather, analyze, and synthesize diverse information from written documents and interviews
• Excellent communication skills, including strong writing skills and demonstrated ability to synthesize large amounts of information on the page
• Proven ability to work with diverse audiences and stakeholders, including excellent customer service and strong facilitation skills 
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team

Other Highly Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Issue area expertise in one of our areas of focus: environment, education, health, and international development. Knowledge of and interest in environmental issues is a particular need at this time.
• Practice area expertise such as strategy development, program evaluation, coalition/community of practice management, or program management. Experience in evaluation is a need at this time.
• An entrepreneurial spirit, an attention to detail, ability to adapt to changing circumstances, and a sense of humor
• Experience identifying and overseeing project subcontractors
• Experience with quantitative or qualitative analysis software (e.g., Atlas QI, Nvivo, R, SPSS, STATA)

Our Core Competencies:

• [Service Excellence] The ability to provide excellent service, including being able to address complex service matters, implement and communicate service changes to everyone involved, and to coach teammates on how to apply the firm’s service standards
• [Project and Task Management] The ability to manage large-scale and cross-firm projects, including delegating and managing all resources, identifying and implementing improved processes, monitoring consistency across project teams, and providing direction and support to teammates
• [Stakeholder Management] The ability to facilitate and negotiate among stakeholders with conflicting needs and to generate consensus among decision makers
• [Communication] The ability to help effectively communicate difficult messages; to adapt style, tone, and content to meet various needs; and to coach teammates on crafting content.
• [Collaboration] The ability to work cooperatively and inclusively with others to achieve shared goals, including encouraging and facilitating effective compromise, drawing on the capabilities of all team members, and leading team-level knowledge sharing
•  [Continuous Learning] The ability to use available resources and feedback to continually develop mastery in your role and facilitate team and project-level learning, including coaching others
• [Resourcefulness] The ability to solve complex challenges by identifying innovative solutions and facilitating coordination with others

About Arabella Advisors

Arabella Advisors helps foundations, philanthropists and investors who are serious about impact achieve the greatest good with their resources. We work on issues ranging from the social and economic advancement of women and girls, and conservation of our climate and planet, to reducing poverty and inequity in the United States and around the world. Our staff members are mission-driven and action-oriented, and have a unique combination of experience in philanthropy, business, nonprofits, government, finance, law, and other fields. We combine creative, strategic thinking with knowledge and networks developed through decades of hands-on experience. The fastest-growing philanthropic advisory firm in the nation, Arabella is also a certified B Corporation.

About Arabella’s Consulting Team

Arabella’s consulting practice works with institutional, family, and corporate clients to create and improve their strategies, execute effective and efficient grant-making programs, evaluate their impact and the impact of their grantees, and collaborate with peer organizations to develop common goals and launch joint initiatives. We work with many of the nation’s leading foundations to help them maximize their impact in the fields of education, health, environment, international development, and more.

Working with Us

We are committed to having a passion-driven, inclusive, transparent, collaborative, healthy, and fun culture. We invite you to visit our careers website to learn more.

To encourage work/life balance we offer flexible work options. Our office is an open space with cubicles and standing desks and informal work areas. Our salaries are closer to the range of a nonprofit and our benefits are excellent. You’ll start with three weeks of vacation, 80 hours of personal time, and 20 hours of paid time to volunteer at an organization of your choice. In addition to six federal holidays, you get to pick four more from a list of inclusive religious holidays and your birthday.

We have a competitive health package that includes medical, vision, dental, and prescription insurance. We also provide funds for professional development, a fitness benefit, and cover part of your personal cell phone plan.

How to apply

Submit a resume and a one-page cover letter online. The cover letter should address why you’re excited to work at Arabella and why you’re qualified for this specific job.

We value diversity and inclusion and encourage all qualified people to apply. If we can make this easier through accommodation in the recruitment process, please let us know.

While Arabella is open to individuals from various locations applying to join our team, please note that we generally are unable to pay for relocation expenses.

We will review applications as they are received and look forward to hearing from you.