EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Climate Resilience Funder Collaborative (the Collaborative) is a growing philanthropic partnership working to align funders and strengthen and coordinate the resilience field to accelerate equitable climate resilience solutions across the United States. With three years of shared learning and grantmaking among six engaged funders, the Collaborative is now ready to evolve from an emerging initiative into a high-impact philanthropic initiative. 

The inaugural Executive Director will lead this evolution, working closely with participating funders to 1) build the foundations for a strong effort – including setting strategy and developing a governance framework; 2) deepen efforts to grow the collaborative, including align and mobilize philanthropic capital; and 3) serve as a field anchor and coordinator, to support stronger field coordination and learning. They will deepen relationships within the climate resilience ecosystem (including many other collaboratives underway), articulate the Collaborative’s value to funders and field partners to foster and expand engagement, and establish an operations infrastructure.

The ideal candidate will be a strategic, collaborative, and entrepreneurial leader with a track record of building coalitions and organizations from the ground up, experience facilitating effective coordination both structurally and relationally, knowledge of U.S. climate resilience and adaptation, and strong philanthropic and cross-sector relationships. This is a unique opportunity to shape an emerging national philanthropic platform and help unlock greater collective action and investment in climate resilience.

The Collaborative will initially be fiscally sponsored by Assets Under Movement (AUM+), formerly known as Amalgamated Foundation. This is a remote role based in the United States. 

ABOUT THE CLIMATE RESILIENCE FUNDER COLLABORATIVE

The initial group of core funders for the Collaborative are The Kresge Foundation, The MacArthur Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Pisces Foundation, and The Walton Family Foundation. Thus far they have:

• Developed and approved an initial framework for identifying key needs and opportunities in the resilience landscape.
• Made shared grants supporting climate resilience, such as the American Flood Coalition, the National Adaptation Forum, Insurance for Good, Community Foundation Resilience Fund, and others.
• Built relationships with organizations and funders working across different dimensions of resilience, many of which are positioned for deeper engagement.
• Generated interest in the initiative among key field leaders.
• Participated individually in a range of climate resilience funding tables and networks, including those focused on water, wildfire, and migration.

The next phase is to transform these building blocks into a durable, influential collaborative that can align philanthropic capital, strengthen the resilience ecosystem, and help accelerate solutions at scale.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The inaugural Executive Director will be the architect and steward of the Climate Resilience Funder Collaborative (the Collaborative) during a pivotal period of development. The Collaborative has assembled a committed group of funders, developed a shared framework, established relationships across the field, and begun making aligned investments. The opportunity now is to evolve into a high-functioning philanthropic platform that offers a clear value proposition for members and delivers meaningful value for the broader resilience field.

In their first 12-18 months, the Executive Director will work in close partnership with participating funders to:

• Launch the Collaborative
  • Support the development of a robust governance framework and operations infrastructure.
  • Develop a clear strategy for aligned (and perhaps pooled) investment by assessing field needs and elevating field-informed priorities and solutions.
  • Refine the framework.
  • Facilitate initial grantmaking among funders and other partners.
• Deepen external engagement, including with philanthropy, existing collaboratives, and the field
  • Steward relationships with new and existing funders and mobilizing additional philanthropic resources for resilience. 
  • Facilitate learning, connections, and coordination among funders, tables/collaboratives, 

More specifically, key responsibilities will include the following:

• Stand up governance and operations. The Collaborative’s funders have established basic “rules of engagement” for how they work together. The Executive Director will work with Assets Under Movement, the Collaborative’s institutional home/fiscal sponsor, to build out and put into practice the Collaborative’s governance structure and operating principles, hire and manage a lean core team, develop and implement a workplan that includes meeting cadence and communications norms, and refine and manage the budget with transparency and accountability.
• Deepen field engagement and learning: Deepen relationships with existing tables and collaboratives, key infrastructure organizations, and experts in the field of resilience.
• Set and advance priorities. The Collaborative’s funders have developed an initial high-level, non-partisan, cross-sector, multi-hazard framework for building US resilience that has broad-based funder and field support, and some initial work to begin mapping and aligning funding. The Executive Director will develop and share data-driven insights on funding and field trends/gaps/opportunities; facilitate the development of strategies and the selection of priorities to advance the framework based on funder interest/field need/ability; source and shape a pipeline of funding opportunities based on shared criteria; support a learning agenda that advances the Collaborative’s objectives; and refine the framework as needed. 
• Mobilize the funding community. The Collaborative started with four funders and has grown to six core funders, with other expressed interest and a growing list of funding and learning opportunities. The Executive Director will ensure that funding is more than the sum of its parts (in alignment with framework and funding strategy), enabling funders with diverse interests to fund resilience by connecting them with potential partners and opportunities; curating meetings of various sizes and formats with clear objectives to support learning, coordination, and resource mobilization; and representing the Collaborative within philanthropy, the climate resilience field, and more broadly.

WORK LOCATION, COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Work Location: This role is remote and can be based anywhere in the United States. 

Salary and Benefits: The salary range for this full-time, exempt position is $260,000 - $310,000 annually. A generous benefits package, which is provided through Assets Under Movement, includes:

• Excellent health benefits, including 100% employer paid medical, dental, and vision coverage and flexible spending accounts for employees and dependents.
• 20 days of vacation, 10 sick days, and 13 paid holidays.
• Parental and caregiver leave options.
• 401(k) with employer match.
   

TO APPLY

This search is being led by Ellen LaPointe and Emily McCarthy of NPAG. Due to the pace of this search, candidates are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Candidates may submit their cover letter, outlining their interest and qualifications, along with their resume via NPAG’s website.

AUM+ Environment

The work of our team is centered on the core values of the Assets Under Movement: Collaboration, Accountability, People First and Impact. We share a commitment to curiosity, growth and respect and are a lean team of doers and problem solvers. We are proud of our work in supporting the collective effort to make the world a more equitable and kinder place. The AUM+ environment is curious, flexible, committed, and willing to learn and grow as part of a small, collaborative team. As well as joyfully able to work in a start-up environment. 

At AUM+, we value a diverse, inclusive workforce, and we provide equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees. All qualified applicants for employment will be considered without regard to an individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local laws. We welcome applicants with a range of experiences and encourage you to apply, even if you don’t meet all qualifications listed.