APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, March 17, 2017

Summary:

Philanthropy New York, the regional association of grantmakers with global impact, is accepting applications from candidates completing or recently graduated from a masters-level or Ph.D. program in public policy, government, social work or related field of study for a two-year fellowship.

The Philanthropy New York Public Policy Fellowship program aims to identify early-career professionals who will benefit from learning about and networking within the philanthropic sector. It is designed to increase our organizational capacity in government relations and issue-based organizing, but also to support our commitment to growing diversity, equity and inclusion in the philanthropic community. Diversity comes in all forms: race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, socio- economic background, physical ability, etc. Philanthropy New York is interested in understanding applicants’ own definitions of diversity and how their experiences apply to the objectives of the fellowship program.

This is the third year of Philanthropy New York’s Public Policy Fellowship program. This incoming Public Policy Fellow will pick up much of the work of our outgoing inaugural Fellow and work closely with the second Fellow, who started her two-year stint in August 2016.

About Philanthropy New York:

Philanthropy New York is the principal professional community of approximately 280+ private, corporate, family and public grantmaking organizations based in the New York City region, and provides a broad range of services to over 3,500 individual philanthropic professionals and trustees of those organizations. Taken together, our members provide support totaling over $5.5 billion each year to thousands of nonprofit organizations located in New York and around the world, which in turn focus on an almost endless range of issues and concerns. Created as a nonprofit organization in 1979 by New York City-based foundations, Philanthropy New York’s primary mission is to support our members’ work to serve the public good.

Philanthropy New York currently:

•   Presents upwards of 186 programs, group meetings and conferences each year ranging from

  short panel discussions to multi-part program series and conferences, including our annual PNY Core programs and our high-profile annual meeting. PNY’s programming covers a vast range of subjects from the intricacies of interpreting nonprofit 990s to recognizing implicit bias; from New York City workforce development to international advocacy.

•   Nurtures professional interest groups for foundation administrators and foundation CEOs and issue-based working groups for professionals focused on education, health, women and girls, international grantmaking and many others.

•   Engages in public policy work by:

  1. Creating opportunities for dialogue between government leaders with influence over policy on issues of greatest concern to our members

  2. Taking official policy positions on key issues affecting the sector and communicating those positions to key government officials,

  3. Convening leaders across all sectors to establish common goals and potential solutions.

Philanthropy New York is increasingly recognized by media, government officials and other leaders as an important resource and authority on the philanthropic community. PNY’s voice is amplified by the multimedia associated with the New York PhilanthroPost, which has over 5,500 subscribers.

Public Policy Fellow Role and Responsibilities:

The work to research issues, frame them for the philanthropic audience and convene funders and government officials for conversations that actually drive toward achievable solutions is labor intensive. We are producing dozens of policy-focused programs, managing the work of numerous issue-based working groups (Education, Health, Women and Girls, International Grantmakers) and producing issue guides that educate our members and may, in some circumstances, lead our organization toward taking official stands on issues facing the philanthropic sector. The Public Policy Fellow is an integral member of the PNY team and a critical staff member in all of its public policy work.

We also incorporate into the policy fellows program a mentoring component. The fellow will, in addition to their core public policy responsibilities, serve as a mentor to one New York City high school student each year. We hope this will drive the diversity pipeline even deeper and help create awareness of philanthropy’s role in the next generation.

Exact responsibilities for the third fellow will be developed with the new fellow and PNY leaders based on the strengths and interests of the selected candidate and the organizational priorities of PNY in the two-year fellowship period. Generally, the fellow will:

• -  Function as the staff liaison for at least two issue-based working groups. PNY currently manages groups focused on education, health, gender justice issues, and international grantmaking (PNY also supports the work of other groups housed elsewhere focused on workforce development, youth, food systems and criminal justice reform). The fellow may also support a Board committee.

• -  Research and write issue guides on topics at the nexus of the government, philanthropic and nonprofit sectors.

• -  Produce content and identify resources for PhilanthropyNewYork.org, New York PhilanthroPost and a new media channel launching this year, PhilTV.

• -  Take a leadership role in further developing PNY’s government relations work, helping coordinate outreach to federal, state and city leaders.

• -  Participate in the execution of issue-focused programs, including working group educational events, PNY’s annual conference and other events as they arise.

• -  Actively support the work of the PNY Public Policy Committee, which formulates policy positions for our organization.

• -  Help prepare materials for and attend Foundations on the Hill, the annual gathering of sector leaders to meet with federal officials on issues of concern to the philanthropic community.

• -  Meet at least quarterly with one or more philanthropic executives who will serve as the fellow’s mentor.

• -  Mentor a high-school student learning about philanthropy.

• -  Within the first six months of the two-year fellowship, identify a specific, ambitious project to complete by conclusion of the fellowship. The project could be research, programming, a government relations initiative or something else and does not necessarily need to be related to any of the issue-based working groups

Fellowship Period, Salary and Benefits:

The Philanthropy New York Public Policy Fellowship is a two-year full-time commitment, with pay and benefits. The fellow will receive a full-time, industry standard pay package, paid vacation time, and health benefits. Accepting the fellowship will constitute a formal pledge to remain in the fellowship full- time throughout the entire two year period. In the final six months of the two-year fellowship, the fellow will receive support in finding future employment in the field. Philanthropy New York’s commitment to employing the Fellow for the entire two-year period is conditional upon satisfactory performance.

Eligibility Criteria:

• -  Students graduating in Spring 2017 from a masters-level or Ph.D. program in public policy, government, social work or related field of study, OR graduated from such a program in the previous two years (May 2015 or more recently).

• -  Excellent writing skills.

• -  Skills in public policy research and presenting information succinctly.

• -  Interest in the field of philanthropy.

• -  Ability to work independently and apply creative thinking skills to new assignments.

• -  A commitment to the values of diversity, equity and inclusion in all its forms.

• -  The ability to devote two years to learning and development during the fellowship period.

• -  A commitment to working out of our Manhattan office for the entire two-year fellowship

  period.

• -  Legally authorized to work in the United States or its territories.

  Required Elements of Application:

  Only applications that include all of the following will be reviewed:

• -  Current resume or Curriculum Vitae of the candidate.

• -  A short description (no more than 500 words) describing how the candidate’s personal history

  relates to this fellowship’s commitment to bringing more diversity to the field of philanthropy.

• -  A description (up to 1,000 words) describing the candidate’s current professional and topical interests, relating how the Philanthropy New York Public Policy Fellowship could advance the

  candidate’s career and social change objectives. Applicants are encouraged to include a discussion of the areas about which the candidate is most passionate (e.g. affordable housing, LGBTQ issues, immigrant rights – does not need to overlap with the issues PNY is currently working on) and why.

  Optional: Candidates are encouraged to include in their application a writing sample (previously written) that they feel demonstrates their ability to write in a style appropriate to the policy realm.

  Before the Fellow is chosen, the candidate will also be required to produce a brief writing exercise and submit at least two names of academic advisors or previous employee supervisors who would discuss and support the candidate’s application. (See more in application timeline below).

Submit applications to:

Deadline for receipt of applications
Notification of top prospects
Initial screening interviews by phone with top prospects
In-person interviews of finalists
Finalists submit brief writing test
Phone interviews with references of top candidates
Notification of award of fellowship to winner
Selected candidate formally accepts two-year commitment.
Flexible period in which selected fellow could elect to begin 2-year fellowship.

Michael Hamill Remaley
Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Communications Philanthropy New York [email protected]
PLEASE NO PHONE CALLS. 
There is more information about the work the current Fellows posted on the Philanthropy New York Fellowship Program page.