Program Manager, Managed Organizations (Washington, DC)

Arabella Advisors seeks an entrepreneurial, socially engaged professional to help our clients manage innovative social sector projects. The program manager will manage a diverse client and project portfolio, work closely with philanthropists and other key stakeholders, and use business savvy to drive social sector projects and organizational growth. Given our growing portfolio of advocacy campaigns and initiatives that conduct lobbying activities and political activities, we expect this Program Manager to manage a diverse portfolio of projects that use advocacy, lobbying, and political activity as primary social change strategies. In doing so, you will work closely with philanthropists, program staff, and other key stakeholders, and rely upon your advocacy and lobbying expertise to ensure compliance and effectiveness.

About Arabella Advisors

Arabella Advisors helps foundations, philanthropists and investors who are serious about impact achieve the greatest good with their resources. We help our clients imagine what’s possible, design the best strategies, learn what works best, and do the work necessary to realize their visions.

Our staff is a team of passionate problem-solvers—mission-driven and action-oriented—with 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. Our leadership team, advisors, colleagues, and staff are fundamentally concerned with social change. We share a desire to make a difference and apply an outcomes-focused approach. Our internal culture supports employee passions, enables continuous learning, and fosters innovation, risk taking, and fun—even as it emphasizes excellence. 

About the Managed Nonprofit Organizations

Arabella Advisors provides operations and management support to multiple public charities, including a 501(c)(3) named the New Venture Fund and a 501(c)(4). These managed organizations house new and innovative public interest projects and nonprofits, as well as coordinate collaborative initiatives between donors and administer grants programs. This type of structure is commonly referred to as fiscal sponsorship, and candidates are highly encouraged to research fiscal sponsorship prior to a first interview.  The managed organizations provide support to a diverse range of projects, including many focused on conservation and global health. The organizations have also provided fiscal sponsorship to projects focused on voter registration, public policy, education, disaster recovery, and music and the arts.

Candidates are highly encouraged to research fiscal sponsorship prior to a first interview.

Essential Responsibilities Client Service (70%)

• Manage client service for a portfolio of fiscally sponsored projects by managing donor and grant/contract management, capacity building, financial management and legal compliance and coordinating support of finance and human resource teams.
• Advise clients and projects on the compliance aspects and considerations of state, local and national advocacy campaigns, ensuring the proper tracking mechanisms are in place.
• Ability to apply IRS guidelines on lobbying and political activity to daily review of work products, grant proposals, and collateral for advocacy campaigns, ensuring that work products are paid for with the appropriate resources.
• Work closely with contractors and grantees to identify and structure lobbying and political activity for tandem c3/c4 projects.
• Identify and elevate high level/sensitive compliance concerns to general counsel (e.g. a project interested in working on a ballot initiative has questions about disclosure requirements)
• Ensure project deliverables such as financial reports, subgrant processes and dockets, grant and donor reports and end-of-year client reports are timely and high quality.
• Ensure projects remain compliant with various regulations and requirements, including donor requirements, IRS regulations of 501c3’s and 501c4s, lobbying restrictions and HR law.
• Manage relationships with clients, donors and philanthropic partners.
• Help projects problem solve as they implement and identify additional resources to support projects as necessary.

Organizational Growth (15%)

• Contribute to the team and organization’s significant year-over-year growth by improving our systems, operations and processes, particularly in monitoring lobbying or conducting political activities.
• Contribute to the achievement of important team objectives, such as improving compliance, piloting new advocacy services, and assisting with team trainings.
• Develop and share relevant and valuable expertise in areas such as domestic and international grant management, compliance, lobbying management, technology, non-profit administration.

Business Development (15%)

• Support new business development by meeting with potential clients and projects and developing proposals and budgets.
• Identify new services for project portfolio based on donor and client needs. 

Required Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Ability 

• Clear understanding of IRS lobbying and political activity rules for tax-exempt organizations, especially 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4)
• Experience navigating lobbying disclosure rules (familiarity with Lobbying Disclosure Act)
• Bachelor’s degree
• 3+ years of work experience with steadily increasing responsibility
• Experience in philanthropy, non-profits, and/or business
• Ability to manage and lead complex projects, oversee and delegate to others, and meet deadlines
• Personal presence and intellectual heft needed to work effectively with sophisticated and demanding partners
• Strong entrepreneurial spirit and resourcefulness that spurs innovation and problem solving
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Highly collaborative working style with strong interpersonal skills