Vice President of Policy and Innovation

Location: San Francisco, CA, Department: Community Impact, Type: Regular, Full-Time, Exempt
Min. Experience: Sr.-Level

The Semi-monthly (per pay period) compensation for this position in FY26 is: $10,606.85 per pay period

Organizational Result:

All people living in the San Francisco Bay Area are economically secure, rooted in vibrant communities and engaged in civic life.

We Value:

Anti-racism, Boldness, Equity, Racial Justice, and being Rooted in Community. The following sections are designed based on the Results Based Leadership for Racial Equity Framework that the Foundation uses to accomplish our work. As a learning organization, we expect staff to incorporate learning into their core work and the tasks related to the functional position. All staff should expect to devote time to learning activities related to our values and skillset development. People managers should expect to spend a significant amount of time coaching, developing and managing people with the balance of the time for all staff spent on relationship building internally and externally and achievement of outcome goals of role and foundation.

Position Summary:

The Vice President of Policy and Innovation is responsible for leading, guiding, directing and evaluating the work of other leaders, including managers, directors and senior directors. Oversees the development and execution of strategies in all functional areas to ensure achievement of the mission and goals of the Foundation. Has enterprise level leadership responsibilities in support of the organization’s strategic plan and equity agenda.

In this role, they will:

Develop and lead the Foundation’s agenda for policy and systems change, including oversight of initiatives such as The Partnership for the Bay’s Future, Great Communities Collaborative, lobbying activities, and grantmaking.
Drive investments in innovative approaches aimed at achieving racial equity and economic inclusion, with a particular focus on addressing the housing crisis in the Bay Area.

Boundaries

The Vice President of Policy and Innovation (“VPPI”) plays a critical role in advancing our equity agenda, providing leadership both internally and externally across three key pathways: People, Place, and Power. This leadership extends to policy and systems change efforts at the local, regional, and state levels. The VPPI collaborates with various departments within the organization, including Philanthropy and Gift Planning, Finance, Operations, Marketing and Communications, to achieve Foundation-wide goals.

The VPPI is expected to possess exceptional management and leadership skills and will serve as an inspiring and motivating leader who is ready to take the programmatic work and impact of the equity agenda to the next level. In this vein, they will help encourage more collaborative, proactive grantmaking across the organization. The VPPI will be responsible for leading change within the team, building a culture of shared accountability, strong communications, and transparency of decision making, bringing leadership to the CI Department and larger organizational goals.

Authority

As part of the leadership team within the Community Impact Department, the VPPI holds a vital position in leading the Foundation’s public policy and innovation initiatives. They oversee a team of 15 staff and manage more than $10 million in grantmaking annually. Additionally, they are responsible for deepening the Foundation's policy expertise and crafting a community and public relations strategy to drive racial equity and economic inclusion, particularly in the housing arena.

Responsible

Developing a robust internal and external policy and innovation agenda. They will deepen internal policy expertise amongst staff and craft an external strategy that is grounded in racial equity and economic inclusion and accelerates the systemic change with a focus on solving the housing crisis in the Bay Area over the next 20 years. (30%)
Overseeing an annual grantmaking budget for strategic investments that have community impact, maximize the Foundation’s lobbying capacities, leverage donor alignment, programmatic grantmaking in civic engagement, and institutional partnerships. (30%)
Providing organizational leadership, overseeing the refinement of results, associated strategies and performance indicators, three-year impact/strategic plan. (10%)
Provide fundraising oversight, increasing investment and partnership from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to implement highly effective affordable housing strategies that are aligned, integrated, and coordinated with the Foundation’s overall racial equity agenda. (15%)
Collaborating with the VP of Programs to enhance the focus and progress toward policy and system change goals. (10%)
Further developing and refining, a range of leadership roles, and approaches as civic leader, advocate, convenor, and grant maker. (5%)
Responsible for managing, mentoring and developing direct reports and team

Tasks

Responsible for the Management, mentorship, and development of staff in the department.
Growing the Foundation’s engagement in public policy and systems reform efforts and positioning the Foundation as a leader in policy debates.
Serve as a strong external facing ambassador of SFF, playing a key role in representing the Foundation to external partners, funders, and civic leaders to assist in extending the
Foundation’s visibility, reach and impact at the regional, state, and national levels.
Making strategic recommendations to the CIO, CEO, and Board on organizational positions on policy issues.
Providing organizational leadership and leading cross-departmental efforts such as the three-year impact/strategic plan, working groups such as the Housing Working Group, updating grant agreements, advocacy and lobbying strategies, communications and operations.
Deepening internal knowledge and expertise across the Foundation and its donors particularly the Community Impact Department for policy advocacy and systems change work, with a focus on housing policy.
Sustaining and growing highly effective grantmaking strategies that are grantee-centric and equity-focused.
Working closely with the institutional fundraising team and other staff to craft and lead robust fundraising efforts for policy and innovation efforts, and others across SFF.
Collaborating with the Sr. Director of Strategic Learning and Evaluation to refine the knowledge management/grants evaluation system to monitor impact.

Competencies & Qualifications

10 years of relevant experience, including 5 years in supervision or team project management required.
Demonstrated experience in developing, managing, and mentoring diverse teams.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Strong active listening, oral, and written communication skills, and the ability to work collaboratively in and across teams;
Deep understanding of the Bay Area, its history, and the realities of the region’s residents - through intellectual, professional, and lived experience – particularly with a clear racial equity lens.
Demonstrated abilities to build successful relationships with local leaders and organizations; engage people from diverse backgrounds; and synthesize and articulate (orally and in writing) a wide breadth of information to internal and external stakeholders.
Committed to building resilient organizations and providing technical assistance.
Experience in developing and implementing strategies related to policy and systems change.
Track record of engaging in collaborative strategy development and decision-making.
Familiarity with the Bay Area and diverse communities and constituencies.
Master’s degree or equivalent years’ experience preferred.
At least 10 years’ experience overall with nonprofits a plus.

Technical abilities and skills

Intermediate to advanced computer/software skills, including Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, & Teams) and Zoom.
Ability to learn, navigate and manage online platforms, including Fluxx, Qlik sense, grant making and CRM systems, Smartsheet, Salesforce, and Power Plan

We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align exactly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Compensation: The San Francisco Foundation offers a very competitive total compensation package including base compensation in alignment with our organizational budget size and rich medical and fringe benefits offerings. This position pays $10,606.85 per pay period. You may read more about our compensation philosophy and benefits on the career page.

Remote Work Policy: The Foundation has adopted a long-term hybrid in-person and remote work policy. Dedicated to its employee health and safety, The Foundation will continue to make decisions in accordance with San Francisco County and California mandates. Employees must reside or plan to relocate within the San Francisco Bay Area.

Requesting Accommodations: The Foundation is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, The Foundation will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact hr@sff.org.

The San Francisco Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and encourages people of diverse backgrounds to apply.

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San Francisco Foundation

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