Senior Program Officer - Erb Family Foundation

Our client, the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, is hiring a Senior Program Officer. The Erb Family Foundation has made over $165 million in grants to improve the quality of life for residents in Southeast Michigan and the Great Lakes region since launching its grantmaking in 2009. Funding has been focused on improving water quality in the Great Lakes basin, promoting environmental health and justice, advancing Alzheimer’s research, strengthening sustainable business, and supporting the arts.

In May 2022, the Erb Family Foundation announced it would shift from a perpetual foundation to a spend-down model and conclude its grantmaking by 2035. The board and staff are currently engaged in strategic planning to identify grantmaking priorities for the Foundation’s final decade. That work is being guided by the Foundation’s new mission and vision:

"The Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation envisions a flourishing, healthy, and resilient Great Lakes ecosystem and a culturally vibrant, sustainable southeast Michigan. Toward this end, we strengthen the cultural and environmental organizations that share our vision to make this a reality for generations to come."

The Foundation’s investments and way of working will be guided by its values: make a lasting transformative difference, embrace possibility, work and learn in partnership, and pursue fairness and respect. The new grantmaking strategy and program areas will be announced in October 2024.

The Opportunity

The Senior Program Officer is a newly created and unique role that will help the Erb Family Foundation fulfill its longstanding commitment to strengthening the organizations and causes that are most closely aligned with the legacies of Fred and Barbara Erb. The Senior Program Officer will help develop a curated portfolio of major grants that address significant organizational needs, including those that are traditionally overlooked by philanthropy.

The Senior Program Officer will work closely with the Foundation’s chair, trustees, leadership team, and grant partners to identify and develop major grants that reflect Fred and Barbara’s passions, which included the arts, Great Lakes, and sustainable business, among other interests. They will have the support of an Associate Program Officer.

This role is a full-time hybrid position expected to last for up to three years; however, all employment is at-will. They will report to and support the Vice President of Programs, collaborate with Foundation staff across all program areas, advise Foundation leadership, and engage with grant partners’ staff.

Core Duties and Responsibilities:

• Work and learn in close consultation with the Foundation’s trustees and leadership team to identify, develop, and manage major grants to organizations and causes that were important to Fred and Barbara Erb during their lifetimes.
• Partner with organizations to develop budgets, proposals, and presentations that convey project details; conduct thorough due diligence appropriate to each request.
• Lead and participate in learning about organizations’ needs, vision, and goals and share out that information regularly—in writing, meetings, presentations, and site visits—with Foundation leadership.
• Contribute to the hiring, supervision, coaching, and mentoring of program staff and coordinate with staff responsible for grants management, communications, evaluation, and administrative support.
• Develop and maintain ongoing relationships with grant partners’ executive leadership and other staff; offer thought partnership, feedback, introductions, and other resources to grant partners that extend beyond the financial components of the grant.
• Produce reports and thorough documentation for grants; conduct research as needed.
• Contribute to the drafting of potentially complex grant agreements and provide guidance to the Foundation and grant partners regarding recognition for major gifts.
• Cultivate knowledge of trends in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector and share that knowledge to improve the Foundation’s work and strengthen the work of grant partners.
• Represent the Foundation at meetings, convenings, performances, and other events.
• Proactively support and contribute to external communications to create content and knowledge-sharing activities that amplify grant partners’ missions, projects, and achievements.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Personally passionate about issues relating to the arts, the environment, and sustainable business in Michigan and a deep understanding of the nonprofit and philanthropic ecosystems within southeastern Michigan;
• Strong problem-solving, financial analysis, and strategic thinking skills. Ability to execute, define, and refine grantmaking strategies;
• Ability to analyze grant opportunities considering complex organizational and community conditions, including historical, emerging, and potential future needs and challenges;
• Excellent interpersonal skills with demonstrated experience in building strong, collaborative relationships through active empathic listening, openness to new ideas, and encouraging dialogue;
• Ability to maintain the highest levels of integrity, ethics, discernment, diplomacy, and strict confidentiality;
• Exceptional writing and strong verbal communication skills with attention to detail;
• Proficient with Microsoft 365 and ability to work with online grants management systems;
• Ability to be resilient in the face of challenges, rebound from disappointment, and manage conflict.

Education and Experience:

• Advanced degree in nonprofit or business management or related field of study related to the Foundation’s interests in the arts, Great Lakes, and sustainable business.
• Ten or more years of leadership experience in the nonprofit, philanthropic sector, or family office.

Candidates with alternative but comparable experience are encouraged to apply.

Work Arrangements, Compensation, and Benefits:

The Foundation’s offices are in Birmingham, Michigan. Full-time staff work a hybrid schedule [three (3) days in-person and two (2) days remote]. Attendance at grantee partners’ evening and weekend events and occasional regional travel should be anticipated.

The salary for this position begins at $140,000 and may be adjusted according to qualifications and experience. The Foundation offers a comprehensive benefits package, including employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance and a generous 401K plan.

Erb Family Foundation is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, citizenship status, and genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

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