Director of Partnership Strategy and Investments

Our team is growing! Are you a seasoned grantmaker ready to lead values-driven investments that center trust, relationships, and the lifelong success of young people?

About Us: Arthur Dean Family Foundation (ADFF) is a private nonprofit family foundation established in 2016. With a small staff team of five, the foundation makes approximately $4 million in annual grants to about 40 nonprofit organizations supporting young people in Marion, Hamilton, and Whitley Counties in Indiana. To date, ADFF has provided nearly $20 million in multi-faceted grantee partner support. Our vision is for all young people to acquire the skills, knowledge, and opportunities to discover who they are, shape their futures, and make meaningful contributions to their communities.

Position Summary: The Arthur Dean Family Foundation (ADFF) seeks a seasoned and strategic leader to serve as the Director of Partnership Strategy and Investments. This pivotal role will lead the foundation’s multi-faceted approach to partnerships and investments in support of its mission: advancing the lifelong success of young people in Marion, Hamilton, and Whitley Counties, Indiana.

This individual will bring deep expertise in grantmaking and fund management, ideally with a background in relationship-centered philanthropy. The Director will oversee a multi-million-dollar grants portfolio, forecast and manage the annual grantmaking budget, and ensure alignment between ADFF’s comprehensive partner investments and community-driven priorities.

This is not a transactional grantmaking role – we are looking for a partner, strategist, and learning leader who understands that transformational philanthropy is built on trust, transparency, and relationships.

As part of the foundation’s leadership team, the Director of Partnership Strategy and Investments will lead a small and talented team, including the Senior Partner Relationship Manager and Partner Relationship Manager. The Director will also play a key leadership role in supporting organizational change, including the refinement of strategic priorities, processes, and tools to ensure that ADFF’s relationship-centered approach to philanthropy continues to evolve in response to community needs relative to the success of young people.

What You'll Do

Leadership & Strategic Oversight

• Lead the design, implementation, and continuous refinement of ADFF’s grantee partnership and investment strategy, ensuring that all grantee partner investments, from grantmaking to capacity-building efforts, are aligned with the foundation’s values and strategic priorities.
• Support and lead two talented team members (Senior Partner Relationship Manager and Partner Relationship Manager), maintaining a relationship-centered, reflective, collaborative and high-performing team culture.
• In collaboration with the Executive Director, oversee the forecasting and execution of ADFF’s annual grantmaking budget, allocation planning, pipeline development, and financial reporting, ensuring that it reflects and supports the foundation’s strategic priorities.
• Play a key leadership role in supporting organizational change, including the integration of refined strategic priorities, processes, and tools to ensure that ADFF’s relationship-centered approach to philanthropy continues to evolve in response to community needs relative to the success of young people.

Grantee Partnerships Management

• Lead the operationalization of the foundation’s Partnership Model, ensuring that it is successfully embedded across all aspects of the organization’s work, including grantmaking, capacity-building, and continuous learning.
• Serve as lead staff for a select portfolio of grantee partners (5-10), with a focus on the wholistic model of relationship building, continuous learning and improvement, and partner investments in support of young people.
• Collaborate with the Partner Relationship Management team to make strategic recommendations on grantee investments, aligning funding, capacity-building, and learning supports to grantees’ needs and growth opportunities.
• Assess grantee partner engagement, learning and contributions to the ADFF Grantee Partner community to support collective learning.
• Ensure that feedback from grantees is integrated into the foundation’s continuous learning cycle, driving improvements in grantmaking processes and organizational practice.

Partner Investment & Oversight

• Lead the grantmaking process, ensuring investments reflect ADFF’s commitment to community-driven solutions supporting young people’s success. This includes overseeing board- and staff-managed applications, capacity-building support, and continuous learning investments.
• Oversee the effective management and allocation of a multi-year budget allocated annually across ADFF’s multi-county grantee partner portfolio.
• Collaborate with operations and partner relationship staff to ensure timely disbursement of funds, compliance of tracking, and high-quality data and impact reporting.
• Lead efforts to track and document collective learnings from grantee partners and integrate these insights into broader foundation strategies, processes, and programmatic goals.

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management, finance, social work, philanthropy, or related field preferred or equivalent experience preferred.
• 7-10 years of progressive philanthropic leadership experience, with demonstrated experience managing a grantmaking portfolio and forecasting or managing multi-year grant budgets preferred.
• Robust background in leading teams and mentoring staff with the ability to center relationships, inspire collaboration, support staff growth, and co-create joy.
• Appreciation of and demonstrated commitment to relationship-centered philanthropy, participatory decision-making, and continuous learning.
• Passion for the success of all young people and a commitment to an asset-based approach.

What We Offer

• We offer a competitive salary
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401K with a foundation match
• Unlimited PTO
• Paid Holidays
• Paid Parental Leave
• Paid Short and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Wellness Room
• Supportive and inclusive work environment

Please apply online only on or before April 17th and refrain from contacting the organization through other means regarding this application process. Thank you for understanding and honoring this process.

Learn more about us at www.arthurdeanfoundation.org.