Organization Overview
The William Penn Foundation, founded by Otto and Phoebe Haas in 1945, is a leading American philanthropy located in Philadelphia with over $3.3 billion in assets and a $150 million annual grant budget. Our approach to grantmaking is focused on one central idea: let’s help make more lives better by connecting more people to more opportunities and more resources. We aim to do this work in the Philadelphia region particularly for groups of people who have often been shut out of opportunity in the past because of disinvestment, discrimination, or systemic inequities.
The Foundation makes grants in five programs, primarily focused in Philadelphia and its surrounding counties:
- Arts and Culture – Increase access to diverse, inclusive arts and culture experiences.
- Children and Families – Expand access to programs and resources that support the healthy development and academic success of young children, ages 0-8.
- Environment and Public Space – Increase access to the benefits of natural areas, public spaces, and community assets while decreasing harmful impacts on the environment.
- Democracy and Civic Initiatives – Expand engagement in democratic processes and collaborative efforts that make the city and region responsive to the needs of residents.
- Workforce Training and Services – Support Philadelphia residents to successfully prepare for, secure, and retain family sustaining employment.
In pursuing our program goals and objectives, we will be guided by the following values:
- Prioritize opportunities for communities that have been most affected by economic inequity, racial discrimination, and other forms of injustice.
- Elevate community voice.
- Value partnership, collaboration, and transparency.
- Minimize and respond to the impacts of climate change.
- Leverage our leadership to advance important citywide and regional initiatives and to respond to changing needs of the city and region.
- Share our learning locally and nationally.
Further information on the principles that define these values is available on the Foundation’s website:
Position Overview
The GIS Coordinator will be responsible for three objectives within the Foundation’s operational strategy:
1. Ensure effective Foundation governance by facilitating Board effectiveness.
2. Ensure the efficient and timely execution of the Request for Proposal (RFP) and grant process through Foundation-wide administrative support.
3. Ensure successful event planning activities including scheduling meetings, drafting agendas, managing meeting logistics, and coordinating meeting follow up.
***In addition, the GIS Coordinator will develop deep knowledge of the Board management process and manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
Foundation Governance Responsibilities
- Ensure effective governance and operational support by collaborating with the Executive Director and Chief Philanthropy Officer to develop essential documents and materials for key meetings.
- Provide senior-level support to the Board, Executive Committee, Governance Committee, and Corporation by organizing meeting agendas and preparing accurate minutes.
- Act as a key resource and liaison for Board members, family offices, and other stakeholders.
- Oversee the maintenance and updating of the Board of Directors manual.
- Ensure adherence to relevant by-laws, policies, and established procedures.
- Maintain print and electronic records of Board, Committee, and Corporation materials.
- Support the onboarding and training of new and emerging Board members.
- Coordinate and schedule all Board and committee meetings, including ad-hoc sessions.
- Assist with preparing governance documentation for the Foundation’s annual audit.
- Maintain and distribute current rosters and contact information for all Board-related entities.
- Manage special projects as needed at the request of the Board of Directors and Corporation, Executive Director, and Chief Philanthropy Officer.
- Other responsibilities as assigned.
Program Operations Responsibilities
- Organize and facilitate all internal meetings required for successful execution of the RFP and grant process within the defined timelines.
- Prepare and facilitate the development of meeting agendas and coordination of follow up actions for full staff meetings and program team meetings.
- Provide timely reminders to program team staff of upcoming deadlines and required steps in the grant development process.
- In coordination with the GIS team, oversee and support the printing and distribution of materials for the quarterly Board meetings.
- Provide all program team staff with support in scheduling, meeting planning, travel arrangements, and other administrative needs.
Events & Planning Responsibilities
- Manage and arrange the Foundation’s meetings with external parties and organize event needs, including external meeting and events management including coordination, planning, and management of space needs and logistics, vendor management and contracts, catering, invites, RSVP response, coordination with lead staff and guest parties, building security, and technology setup.
- Responsible for providing day-of setup, meeting or event support and clean-up.
- Organize and coordinate annual organization planning activities including scheduling planning meetings, drafting agendas, managing meeting logistics, and coordinating meeting follow-up.
- Manage a Foundation-wide master calendar of meetings, events, and convenings to provide transparency and coverage for support.
Expected Competencies & Qualities:
- Ability to work closely with the Executive Director and Chief Philanthropy Officer to develop and refine documents and Board materials.
- Proficiency in supporting Board and committee needs, including organizing meeting agendas, facilitating discussion, and preparing accurate minutes
- Strong skills in acting as a liaison for Board members and stakeholders, ensuring clear and effective communication.
- Clear and professional writer and communicator, including ability to proof-read, edit, and format business documents.
- Works independently and takes initiative to identify needed tasks to support the team.
- Extremely strong ability to track and advance multiple simultaneous projects.
- Expert planning, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills, including comfort and experience asking and answering challenging questions.
- Attention to detail, effective time management on multiple timeframes and priorities.
- Familiarity and competence with relevant software and tools for document preparation, meeting facilitation, and event management.
- Expertise and comfort setting up technology for meetings and events.
- Expertise in event logistics, vendor coordination, and participant management.
- Open, accessible communicator. Express curiosity for learning.
- Adaptive, flexible to change and committed to continuous improvement.
- Active and empathetic listener.
- Commitment to equity and inclusion in everyday practice and interactions.
Required Education, Training, and Experience
- A minimum of 6 years of relevant on the job work experience.
- A minimum of 5 years experience supporting executive leadership and/or board leadership.
- Experience executing highly effective administrative support for multiple stakeholders.
- A minimum of 5 years of project management experience.
- A minimum of 5 years of events management, events logistics, and vendor coordination experience.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, and virtual meeting technology (Zoom, Teams, etc.).
- Experience with CRM or database software.
Preferred Education, Training, and Experience
- Experience with board management and board governance.
- On-boarding and training experience for new employees/board members.
- Experience with 501(c)3 nonprofits; foundation experience.
- Salesforce experience.
- Bachelor’s degree in business administration or a related field
The William Penn Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and considers applications without regard to race, color, religion, creed, age, gender, marital status, or sexual orientation. All who believe they meet the stated qualifications are invited to apply.