Director, Collaboratives & Initiatives

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Arizona, +11 more states.

📋 Description

• The Director of Collaboratives & Initiatives at ViaNova will oversee a portfolio of approximately 5 to 7 client projects that support donor collaboratives and intricate grantmaking initiatives.

• Act as the strategic lead or project manager for a portfolio of 5 to 7 client projects, which includes managing workplans, conducting research and analysis, preparing for meetings, and ultimately ensuring that the team delivers work products, client meetings, and presentations that meet or exceed client expectations.

• Guarantee that deliverables and presentations are of high quality, clear, and actionable for clients, while maintaining consistent communication throughout each engagement, managing expectations, addressing tensions early, and continuously aligning the team towards advancing the client’s impact goals.

• Cultivate, manage, and enhance relationships with clients, funder networks, grantees, and field leaders.

• Lead by example in fostering an inclusive team environment where every voice is valued, delegate tasks effectively to project team members, and provide support and training to help team members grow their skills and talents.

• Collaborate with senior leaders to qualify leads and present new opportunities to prospective collaborative and initiative clients.

• Work alongside the Collaboratives & Initiatives Practice Leads to shape the direction and strategy of the practice, lead training and learning activities throughout the year, and actively learn from and support colleagues on relevant engagements across the practice.

⛳️ Requirements

• A Bachelor's Degree or equivalent level of experience (9 years of experience without a Bachelor's degree).

• At least 8-12 years of relevant professional experience.

• Experience in philanthropy, professional services, management consulting, or nonprofit management, particularly with philanthropic collaboratives, pooled funds, funder networks, or complex grant-making initiatives, is highly preferred.

• Demonstrated ability to creatively and confidently facilitate multi-stakeholder groups—including funders, grantees, and field leaders—toward aligned decisions, constructive dialogue, and forward progress.

• A flexible mindset with the capacity to support initiatives at various lifecycle stages—from launch and structure-building to ongoing stewardship and strategic inflection points—and to shift between advisory and implementation roles as the engagement requires.

• Experience with governance design and multi-funder alignment, including coaching diverse stakeholders to navigate new structures, shared decision-making processes, and evolving roles and responsibilities.

• Strong analytical skills and experience in strategy development and implementation.

• Exceptional project management abilities to drive projects to completion, including the capacity to lead complex projects, oversee and delegate tasks to team members, build strong relationships with a variety of philanthropic clients, and meet deadlines.

• Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills, with the ability to tailor style, tone, and content to meet diverse needs; capable of coaching teammates on content creation, and demonstrating the ability to synthesize large amounts of information on the page.

• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively as part of a team.

• Capacity to utilize available resources and feedback to continuously develop skills in your role and facilitate team and project-level learning, including coaching others.

• Initiative in creating an inclusive environment and modeling and implementing equitable policies, practices, systems, or strategies.

🏝️ Benefits

• Health insurance - Vital Impact subsidizes medical, dental, and vision premiums for all levels of participation.

• Paid time off – 16 vacation days, 10 personal days, 11 company holidays (7 federal and 4 additional from a list of inclusive cultural and religious holidays and your birthday), 20 hours of volunteer leave, and 8 weeks of parental leave.

• 401(k) retirement plan - We offer a 4% employer match on a dollar-per-dollar basis, with no waiting or vesting period.

• Reimbursements for personal cell phone plans, internet, and fitness expenses.

• Pre-tax withholding for transportation and parking costs.

• Bonus incentive opportunities.