Full-Time Director – Strategy
Job Description
At Third Plateau, we know the power of diverse teams. To this end, we seek to reach a broad and diverse pool of applicants for each role to ensure our final candidates are not a homogenous group in terms of demographics or experience and have designed our application process (detailed at the bottom) in a way that recognizes and decreases our own implicit and explicit biases. You can read more about our commitment and ongoing work related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) here. We welcome, encourage, and recruit applicants of all backgrounds to apply.
Third Plateau is committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to their race, color, age, religious creed, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics.
NOW HIRING: DIRECTOR – STRATEGY
Position Overview: Third Plateau, a social impact strategy firm, is growing! We are looking for a self-directed professional to serve as a Director on our Strategy Team. The position will primarily focus on overseeing and managing project workflow for nonprofit, foundation, government, and private sector clients – serving as the primary point person on client communications and ensuring on-time and high-quality deliverables that are poised to help our clients drive social change. The role will report to a Third Plateau Vice President or Senior Director.
Top candidates will have a client-service orientation and strong skill sets in project management, facilitation, and written and verbal communication. They will be able to represent the Third Plateau brand to a wide range of clients, possess a deep understanding of and commitment to social change, be able to think expansively about what our clients need and how Third Plateau can continue to grow, and be hungry to learn and continuously improve.
Start Date: ASAP (preferably April/May 2021)
Application Deadline: Rolling, first review March 15, 2021
Location: California (Sacramento or Bay Area preferred)
Starting Annual Salary: $85,000, with additional compensation through bonuses
Benefits: In addition to collaborating with an incredible team of social impact professionals, benefits include:
- Premium health, dental, and vision insurance
- Retirement plan with employer matching
- Unlimited routine time off
- Wellness program ($500/year to invest in your personal wellness)
- Professional development and curated team learning opportunities
- Cell phone reimbursement ($60/month)
- Please note that we are currently working from home until it is deemed safe to return to the office setting. During this time, Third Plateau is covering at-home internet expenses (up to $50/month).
WHO WE ARE
Third Plateau is a multi-disciplinary social impact strategy firm with an aim to create a world with abundant and equitable opportunity for all. We partner with people and organizations with game-changing ideas to improve the world, and we help them maximize their impact. Our values are at the center of everything that we do:
STEP UP
We seek big challenges because we know those are the ones worth tackling. We bring our A-game and entrepreneurial mindset into everything we do, relentlessly pursuing excellence and refusing to accept the status quo. We take smart risks and push ourselves and those around us to think expansively.
LEARN UP
We are intensely curious. We question everything. We experiment. We are voracious consumers of information from a variety of sources and disciplines because we understand that knowledge is absolutely essential for effective innovation. We are researchers, investigators, and explorers.
TEAM UP
Relationships are at our core. Through empathy, we develop deep and authentic connections with those around us. We curate our networks with intention because when the right people are connected with the right ideas, great things are bound to happen.
LIVE IT UP
It’s not enough for us to change the world; we’re going to have a blast while we do it. If we’re not loving life while driving impact, we’re doing it wrong.
We work in five main ways:
Social Impact Strategy
We partner with social entrepreneurs, nonprofits, public entities, and other mission-driven organizations around the world on program design, business planning, community engagement, strategic planning, and development strategy. We also partner with funders to provide capacity-building support to their grantees.
Philanthropic Advising
We advise individual donors, foundations, and companies on making their philanthropic giving more meaningful, strategic, and impactful; and we help funders think more expansively about their potential social impact.
Foundation Management
We help private, family, and independent foundations become more effective by providing back-office support, managing grants, and overseeing the financial administration and accounting of their operations.
Research & Evaluation
We support nonprofits to design meaningful metrics, conduct impact audits, and research and analyze market landscapes.
Leadership Development
We empower individual leaders and teams to unlock their potential through executive coaching, team coaching, culture setting, and board development.
Third Plateau was founded in 2011 and is a dynamic and growing firm. We currently have 22 team members and are currently hiring for multiple positions; we anticipate being a team of 27 by mid-year. We have offices in Sacramento and the Bay Area.
Our projects focus on a wide range of social issues, including but not limited to: poverty alleviation, education, health and wellness, racial and gender justice, climate change, international development, civic engagement, and Indigenous rights.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
You will be joining our Strategy Team, helping lead projects with social sector leaders and organizations locally, nationally, and globally.
Potential projects for your portfolio include, but are not limited to:
- Facilitating strategic plans, business plans, and fundraising strategies for nonprofits and social entrepreneurs;
- Designing and facilitating convenings and retreats for nonprofit and philanthropic partners;
- Preparing organizational crisis response plans and culture plans;
- Developing and managing relationships and grantmaking processes with foundations, grantees, strategic partners, peer funders, and funder networks; and
- Overseeing, training, and supporting board governance, including committees.
The Director will manage client relationships. The Director will serve as an integral part of the Third Plateau team to lead our client engagements. You will play point on all client communication, relations, and management, holding primary responsibility for developing and growing authentic relationships with our clients. You will work with clients to oversee and manage project workflow; design and facilitate retreats; and ensure all deliverables (memos, strategic plans, etc.) are on-time, high-quality, and poised to help our clients drive true social impact. You will bring experience facilitating meetings and decision-making processes and be adept at anticipating and responding to client needs and challenging situations.
The Director will manage projects. As the lead project manager on a client engagement, you will oversee and manage project scopes and work plans. The Director will need to see the big picture, create robust plans, and coordinate a number of moving pieces and personalities. You will also need to support others to stay focused, manage expectations throughout, and adapt when necessary. Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, paired with the ability to be calm and focused when juggling multiple projects and deadlines, will enable the person in this position to thrive.
The Director will be a strong facilitator. This role will be tasked with guiding our partners through a process. To do that well, the Director will not only need to create productive meeting environments (e.g., creation of relevant agendas, facilitation guides, session materials), but will also need to be able to energetically command a room, be an active listener, ask relevant follow-up questions that further group learning, navigate tension and the unpredictable, and create a space for diverse perspectives to be heard.
The Director will solve problems. Our clients turn to us when they have complex problems that they want help solving. We are frequently asked to devise innovative strategies with our clients to scale programs, develop earned revenue streams, raise money, and engage their communities. Among other things, our work often requires analyzing markets, researching best practices, designing and preparing for scenarios, and creating new programs. To do this, the Director will need to be able to approach problems and solutions creatively.
The Director will think critically and learn quickly. We don’t know everything, and we know you don’t know everything. In fact, we often find that it is helpful when we don’t have a lot of background about an organization, policy issue, or market, as it gives us a fresh perspective on our clients’ concerns, needs, and opportunities. This position requires an eagerness to learn, an open mind, good listening skills, intense curiosity, and an ability to acknowledge what you don’t know and ask the right questions.
The Director will be a top-notch communicator. The Director will be charged with synthesizing large amounts of qualitative and quantitative data and communicating the key findings and recommendations through written reports and engaging presentations to our clients. We expect you to be a crisp writer and a clear presenter and to be able to produce client-ready work with minimal editorial oversight.
The Director will collaborate and build. The Director will also be expected to contribute to the growth of Third Plateau by identifying and capitalizing on new opportunities and partnerships. Third Plateau is in the business of building and leveraging relationships to better support our clients and strengthen the social sector as a whole. Externally, the Director will be expected to build a strong professional network; actively engage in the field; identify opportunities for collaboration between Third Plateau, clients, and other individuals and organizations in the social sector; and support our clients beyond the limited parameters of an individual client engagement. Internally, the Director will be a valued team member; we staff our projects as teams so you will work cross-functionally with peers on every engagement. The Director will also support Third Plateau’s short-term and long-term growth efforts; handle limited administrative needs (we all do, too!); and help out on additional tasks as necessary. We are a growing firm and the Director will play a significant role in helping to shape our future.
Other important things to note:
- You will need to bring an unwavering commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and a willingness to speak up when you see us fall short. This is a major focus of ours and we expect it to be of yours, too. Top candidates will firmly believe that diversity of experiences and voices leads to better outcomes, and they will have demonstrated a consistent commitment to this belief both personally and professionally.
- Directors take varying amounts of autonomy in their projects. You will need to be equally comfortable leading project components and plugging into an existing structure.
- We are committed to delivering the highest quality of work, and we want you to be You should be able to work in a fast-paced environment, while also having fun and integrating self-care in whatever ways are meaningful to you.
- We are a decentralized team, with physical offices in the Bay Area and Sacramento. You should be comfortable working with a remote team.
- This position requires a willingness and ability to attend the very occasional weekend board meetings.
- Fluency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) is a must.
- Professional experience is required. Prior experience in philanthropy is a plus.
HOW TO APPLY
Please submit your application using the following form:
https://airtable.com/shr7fDTkmjjQJ6LDS
The form will require the following information:
- Your full name
- Your phone number (including area code)
- Your email address
- Where you heard about this position (optional)
You will also be required to upload two SEPARATE documents:
- A one-page PDF that answers two questions (and one optional question):
- Why do this position and firm make sense for the next step in your career?
- How are you uniquely qualified to enhance the Third Plateau team and our work?
- OPTIONAL: How will the different pieces of your identity contribute to this team and work? Please share as much detail as you feel comfortable sharing to help us create a team that represents a diverse set of identities.
Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Well, here’s the big catch: you cannot use proper nouns in your response. Yep, you read that right. You are not allowed to mention by name what schools you’ve gone to, the names of organizations you’ve worked at, or who your paternal great grandmother was. Instead, focus on the substance of what you’ve learned, how you’ve developed, and how you can contribute to Third Plateau. (“Third Plateau,” by the way, is the only proper noun you are allowed to use in your 1-pager.)
Please save this proper noun-free PDF with the following title structure: Director –Cover Letter [seven-digit phone number with no dashes]. Your seven-digit phone number (i.e., your phone number WITHOUT the area code) will be used as an internal identification number to help keep your application anonymous during the review process.
- Your resume with the following modifications:
- Your seven-digit phone number (i.e., your phone number WITHOUT the area code), with no dashes, in the place of your name.
- Remove any reference to your home address and email.
Please save this name-free PDF with the following title structure: Director – Resume [seven-digit phone number with no dashes] Your seven-digit phone number (i.e., your phone number WITHOUT the area code) will be used as an internal identification number to help keep your application anonymous during the review process.
We are working hard to build a blind review process that minimizes implicit and explicit biases from the hiring process, so welcome to the latest iteration of our experiment to do just that! Please note that if your application does not follow the specific directions outlined above, it is possible that it will not be considered. We hope you can get creative and have fun with it!
Once applications are submitted, on a rolling basis, a Third Plateau team member will notify top candidates of next steps.
INFORMATIONAL WEBINAR (Optional)
Interested in applying? Want to know more? Not sure if Third Plateau is the place for you? We’re here to help! We will be hosting an informational webinar on Wednesday March 3rd from 4pm – 5pm PT with members of our current team to help you get a sense of how we think about our work and engage together. It is also an opportunity to ask any questions about the firm or position to help you decide if Third Plateau could be a great place for you to work. The Q&A will be anonymous and not directly impact hiring decisions.
You can register for the webinar via this link.
Can’t make the webinar? We will post the recording on our website, and you can submit questions to jo**@th**********.com.
ANONYMOUS, THIRD-PARTY DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY (Optional)
As part of our efforts to broaden and diversify our applicant pool, a third party is collecting optional, anonymous data from applicants. This data will be shared in the aggregate with Third Plateau leadership and will be used to help us learn about the ways in which our applicant pool is diverse and whether our efforts of recruiting diverse talent are paying off.
To participate in this optional survey, please go to the following link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QWX2NGH.
Important notes:
- This survey is anonymous – it will not ask for your name, email, or phone number at any point
- This survey is optional – you are not required to share your information, and not doing so will have no impact on your candidacy for the position moving forward
- This survey is run by a third party – HR to Go, a third-party HR consulting firm will be administering this survey on a platform outside of Third Plateau. HR to Go will only share aggregated results with members of the Third Plateau team. At no time will individual-level data be shared.
Thank you for helping us become more data-informed as a firm!
Third Plateau is committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to their race, color, age, religious creed, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics as may be protected by applicable law.
To view additional openings, please visit our job board at https://www.thirdplateau.com/jobs.
How to Apply
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