Director of Grantmaking

Summary 

The director of grantmaking supports and provides vision and strategy for the foundation’s grantmaking efforts. This leader will identify new grantmaking initiatives that align with the foundation’s strategic plan; build partnerships with grantees; continuously review and improve the grant process; and oversee the capacity-building strategy for grantees.  

The director of grantmaking is a member of the program team and collaborates closely with the director of policy and the chief of staff/communications director to ensure that grantmaking activities are coordinated and strategically aligned with our policy, communications, and research work.  

Key Responsibilities 

Grantmaking (~60%)  

• Lead, cultivate, develop, and maintain effective working relationships with grantees, community partners, state officials, graduates of the foundation’s leadership programs, and other critical stakeholders. 

• Collaborate with the grantmaking team to screen and assess prospective project proposals, collaborate with grantees to edit proposals, and make funding recommendations to staff and board. 

• Develop and implement strategies to improve the grantmaking process, including simplifying grant applications, refining the grant review processes, and ensuring measurement tools are in place to understand outcomes. Activities include:  

• Working with staff to ensure that learning across grant rounds is integrated into future decision-making. 

• Overseeing and fine-tuning grantee monitoring through regular communication and setting up site visits when appropriate to ensure that grantees are accomplishing the goals outlined in their project proposals. 

• Supervise two staff (program officer and senior grants manager). Foster a team environment that encourages staff development, learning, and cross-program collaboration.  

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  • Set clear expectations and support strong staff performance through regular oversight, coaching, and goal setting.  
  
  
  
  

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  • Develop and manage budgets, manage contracts, and supervise consultants related to projects and grantmaking initiatives. 
  
  
  
  

• Collaborate with the chief of staff/communications director and the program team to develop a budget and key initiatives annually.   

• Collaborate with the vice president of program on organization-wide evaluations that measure success across strategy areas (communications, grantmaking, and policy). This may include communicating lessons learned from grantees to staff and board and tracking progress against strategic planning and operational goals.


• Other duties as assigned. 

Capacity-building and leadership development (~30%) 

• Develop a strong understanding of grantee organizations’ goals, strengths, needs, and financial outlook. 

• Collaborate with the director of policy and chief of staff/communications director to equip grantees and advocacy partners with the knowledge and resources needed to achieve their goals. 

• Connect grantees to learning opportunities, which may include hosting convenings, referrals for coaching, and attendance at national conferences.   

• Create and implement learning and engagement plans for grantee cohorts. Support grantees in integrating and applying learning experiences to their everyday work.
   

Ongoing learning and knowledge development (~10%) 

• Stay current with health equity research, activities, and trends related to Medicaid and share learning with the program team when appropriate.  

• Organize, facilitate, and represent CT Health in convenings and on external committees. 

• Contribute to knowledge dissemination and foundation-wide communications and public relations efforts through social media, printed publications, and conferences. 

Qualifications and Skills 

• Demonstrated commitment to racial equity and interest in health equity  

• Understanding of health care or public health and the changing landscape of health reform nationally and in Connecticut is a plus 

• Strong systems-level analysis. Demonstrated ability to think critically, solve problems, and apply strong analytical and strategic analysis to set priorities 

• Ability to work independently and in teams and to inspire others to work toward achieving common goals. Ability to manage multiple priorities, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines.  

• History of working on initiatives from conception to implementation and through evaluation.  

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to talk about complex ideas with a wide variety of audiences  

• Interest in working in an organization that values curiosity, continuous improvement, and honest feedback. 

• Seven or more years of experience in health, health equity, evaluation, and/or grantmaking.