Vice President for Finance, Administration, and Impact Investing

Job Title: Vice President for Finance,
Administration, and Impact Investing

Salary range: $220,000 – $250,000 based on
qualifications and experience

Location: Denver, CO

Work environment: Hybrid (at least two days per
week in the office)

The Organization

Gates Family Foundation (GFF) celebrated its 75th anniversary in
2021. Since its creation, the Foundation has distributed more than
$550 million in grants, with another more than $65 million
committed to impact investments in recent years. The Foundation
endowment of approximately $575 million consists of both main
Foundation assets and eight different family funds where family
members house their philanthropic assets with the Foundation.
Governance of the Foundation is a partnership of family and
community representatives. The Foundation maintains a strong
commitment to communities across Colorado through its responsive
capital grant making as well as its initiated grantmaking in four
key areas:

Education: Expanding
access to educational opportunities for all children in
Colorado.
Natural Resources:
Supporting land conservation, water resource management, forest and
watershed health, and stewardship of the state’s natural
inheritance.
Community
Development: Addressing the root causes of economic
inequality and inequitable community development, with particular
emphasis on economic mobility and affordable housing.
Informed
Communities: Ensuring all Coloradans have access to
trustworthy, rigorous, fact-based local news and information about
important civic issues.

In recent years, the Foundation has sought to increase its
impact through more creative approaches to grantmaking, an expanded
impact investing program, increases in staffing and expertise, and
an increased focus on convening, partnering, and where appropriate,
leading in the community. Climate has become a lens through which
all Foundation grantmaking, investments, and activity are viewed,
and since 2018, the Foundation has made an intentional commitment
to advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts
internally and through its grantmaking, impact investing, and
operations.

To learn more about Gates Family Foundation and its programs,
visit our website at www.gatesfamilyfoundation.org.

The Position

The Foundation is seeking to hire a Vice President for Finance,
Administration, and Impact Investing to oversee the accounting, tax
and compliance, information technology (IT), governance, investment
management, human resources, and impact investing for the
Foundation. The position reports directly to the President,
oversees the Controller and a fractional contract accountant, and
joins a team of 11 other staff members across programs, strategic
communications, learning and evaluation, and grants management. Job
responsibilities of this role will include:

Strategic and Organizational Leadership

Provide strategic direction to
continually refine and improve the Foundation’s financial
management, operations, IT support services, human resources, and
administrative functions
Develop and refine the Foundation’s
impact investment strategy
Support the Foundation’s diversity,
equity, and inclusion and climate strategies as they relate to the
Foundation’s operations and investments
Stay up to date on best practices
across finance, administration, and impact investing
Serve as a key organizational leader
and general strategic thought partner to the President
Cultivate and maintain relationships
with a wide variety of stakeholders across the finance,
administration, and impact investing sectors, including identifying
new partner relationships and opportunities for collaboration
Represent the Foundation to the
public within relevant community forums and networks
Provide ongoing strategic thought
partnership, connections, and other support to grantees and
non-grantee partners
Serve as an accessible leader and
mentor to staff, including participation in regular team meetings
and other opportunities for relationship building, shared learning,
and collective decision-making
Support the development and
presentation of Foundation-wide information to leadership and the
Foundation board of trustees
As needed, participate in the
Foundation’s responsive capital grantmaking program due diligence
(staffed by all Foundation staff, regardless of role)

Investment Management and Impact Investing

Lead the Foundation’s impact
investing strategy
Manage and steward the Foundation’s
mission-related investment (MRI) and program-related investment
(PRI) portfolios, currently comprising 25+ MRIs and 20+ PRIs
Source and diligence new investment
opportunities in collaboration with the president and  program
staff, foundation peers, other impact investors, and the
Foundation’s investment advisor and legal counsel
Structure impact investment
deals
Manage impact investment portfolios,
including monitoring financial and impact data across all impact
investments, ensuring compliance with IRS regulations and GFF
policy and guidelines, and serving as a thought partner and advisor
to investees
Support the larger impact investing
sector by sharing, convening, and leading
Partner with the Foundation’s
financial advisor to ensure timely approval of all capital calls,
reconciliation of monthly investment values, completion of all
subscription documents, and response to investment queries and
reporting requirements
Report investment values to the IAC,
trustees, and staff
Support and staff the Investment
Advisory Committee (IAC)

Finance and Administration

Oversee, support, and partner with
the Controller to manage finance and administrative duties,
including serving as the backup for the Controller when needed
Oversee all core finance functions
with leadership from the Foundation Controller and support from a
fractional contract accountant, including the development and
management of the annual operating budget, the annual audit
process, bookkeeping and accounting with the help of a contract
accounting firm, payments and reimbursements, financial
recordkeeping, and cash flow planning
Maintain operating account and
custodian bank relationships
Staff and support the board Audit
Committee
Support the oversight of the Hover
Building in coordination with the third party property manager
Serve as assistant treasurer and
ensures that all responsibilities of the treasurer and treasury
management needs are fulfilled
Manage the Foundation’s IT functions
to ensure safety and security of the Foundation’s IT environment
with support from an external IT services provider and the
Foundation’s office manager
Manage HR functions, including
payroll and benefits administration, compensation benchmarking,
employee manual and policies, and PTO tracking
Oversee all risk and compliance needs
for the Foundation, including insurance policies, legal counsel,
enterprise risk management strategies and controls, and compliance
with all private foundation rules and regulations
Coordinate annual governance meeting
documents and maintain records of election of officers, board
committees, board of trustee terms, articles of incorporation, and
bylaws; respond to ad hoc governance-related requests as
needed

Qualifications

Ideal candidates will bring:

A commitment to the philanthropic
mission of the Foundation
Senior finance and administrative
leadership experience, including experience overseeing finance, HR,
operations, administration, and other functions such as legal and
IT
Senior leadership experience in
investment management, including experience evaluating and vetting
investment opportunities, structuring investments, developing and
managing an investment portfolio, and stewarding investments over
time
Familiarity with the impact investing
landscape and impact investing practices, including both PRI and
MRI vehicles
Understanding of nonprofits and the
social impact sector; familiarity with private foundations
preferred
A track record of building trusted
relationships across many lines of difference (ideological, sector,
political, racial, socioeconomic, geographic, etc.)
Experience overseeing team members
and effectively collaborating with and managing a variety of
vendors, advisors, and contract support staff to achieve goals
Outstanding business acumen and
quantitative analysis skills combined with excellent relational and
communication skills
Highly organized and able to juggle
many competing priorities at once
Experience working on a small team
with a highly collaborative, “all hands on deck” approach
Comfort working in an ambiguous,
entrepreneurial context with experience launching innovative
efforts

Desired Mindsets and Orientations

A passionate commitment to best
practices in finance, administration, and impact investing with a
high degree of integrity and ethics 
A working knowledge of the state of
Colorado and a never-ending curiosity regarding the challenges and
opportunities the state faces
An entrepreneurial orientation, with
experience and comfort in an environment that requires generating
new ideas and approaches, handling shifting priorities, working
autonomously, and adapting to rapid change
A demonstrated commitment to equity,
community-driven change, and disrupting traditional power
dynamics
An understanding of climate issues
and opportunities to advance carbon reduction strategies across
operations and investments
A bold strategic thinker who achieves
impact while maintaining ease, values-alignment, and voice for all
stakeholders
A servant leader who centers
listening, humility, and relationships to achieve goals
A collaborative team player who
thrives in a culture of learning, feedback, coaching and reciprocal
support among the team
A leader that brings new and varied
perspectives and experiences to the team that are reflective of
Colorado’s diverse communities

Working at Gates Family Foundation

Currently, staff is expected to be in our downtown Denver office
on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The balance of the week is flexible and
each team and team member is free to decide what approach is
optimal. This position is expected to require travel within the
state, as well as occasional out-of-state travel.

Gates Family Foundation offers a comprehensive benefits package
and paid parental leave. Our work environment is characterized by a
culture of collaboration, a commitment to continuous learning, and
an inclusive environment that empowers staff to bring their unique
perspectives and skills to the work. We place heavy emphasis on the
following values:

Respect – We seek
out diverse perspectives and listen with humility and a spirit of
learning.
Creativity – We
harness all resources to find new approaches, support
experimentation, and drive systemic, lasting solutions.
Engagement – We
partner, convene, collaborate, and lead to catalyze transformative
change.
Place – We are
deeply rooted in Colorado, with a long-term commitment to its
people, communities, and civic capacity.
Equity – We
prioritize individuals and communities that have been historically
marginalized by addressing systemic barriers and creating pathways
to opportunity.

To Apply

To apply, please complete our online application
(https://forms.gle/uw1ZcCKSXHhWPHdv6).
We will accept applications through February 21st, 2024, and we
encourage early submissions. The application asks for a resume and,
in place of a cover letter, brief responses to the following
questions:

What compels you about the work of
Gates Family Foundation, and about the VP of Finance,
Administration, and Impact Investing position specifically?
What past experiences have best
prepared you for this role?
What professional values are most
important to you? How have those values shaped your behavior and
decisions in your career so far?

Gates Family Foundation believes that diverse teams lead to
better solutions, creative thinking, and greater depth in
experiences and perspectives. We strive in our hiring to ensure
that our candidate pool is diverse in terms of race, age, gender,
sexual orientation, lived experience, socioeconomic background,
physical or mental ability, origin, and religion.

Research suggests that women and BIPOC individuals are more
likely to self-select out of opportunities if they don’t meet 100%
of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who believes
they have the skills and the drive necessary to succeed here to
apply for this role.