Organization: Living Cities
Title: Senior Associate, Capital for the New Majority
Salary: $94,000 - $110,000
Location: New York, NY or Washington, DC

About Living Cities:
Founded in 1991, Living Cities is a collaborative of 19 of the world’s largest foundations and financial institutions.  We foster transformational relationships across sectors to connect those who are willing to do the hard work of closing racial income and wealth gaps.  Together, we are partnering with cross-sector leaders in cities across the country to imagine and create an America in which all people are economically secure, building wealth, and living abundant, dignified, and connected lives.  Our staff, investments, convenings, and networks support efforts that operationalize racial equity and inclusion in local government, create inclusive narratives, bring communities together to devise and act on a shared vision for the future, and eliminate inequities in systems such as entrepreneurship, homeownership, and access to capital.

About the Position:
One of Living Cities’ key areas of work is Capital for the New Majority (CNM).  Functionally, CNM consists of a field-building strategy, as well as two impact investment funds.   As an impact investment fund, CNM seeks to drive more capital and resources to entrepreneurs and fund managers of color in order to close the racial income and wealth gaps.

Living Cities recently received substantial funding from the Kauffman Foundation to create a new investment vehicle designed to invest in fund managers of color. In 2022, the Capital team will begin raising what is likely to become a $100 million fund of funds.

The Senior Associate will be responsible for developing and implementing project-level strategy and expanding CNM’s research related to the development of the new investment fund. Partnering with CNM Senior Leadership Team and an outstanding team of colleagues and consultants, the Senior Associate will also serve as project manager for CNM and work closely with the team’s analyst to oversee project learning and storytelling efforts. Additionally, the Senior Associate will work closely with the existing fund’s team as part of the development of new investment vehicle and be expected to provide analytical support for both the new and existing funds.  The Senior Associate will report to the Associate Director of Capital for the New Majority. 

This is an exciting opportunity for an adaptive and detail-oriented individual who wants to work on a collaborative team and is deeply committed to using capital to create better outcomes for founders of color.

Primary Responsibilities Include: 

Team operations and management (55%)

• Serve as project manager for the Capital for the New Majority team, collaborating with colleagues to plan and execute project-level strategy, acting as central point of contact for internal and external partners
• Work with Managing Director and Associate Director to plan and execute the third fund development process 
• Review and analyze data to create materials for communications, including pitch decks and blog posts and ongoing check-ins to support the work of teams and working groupsworkplansCreate meeting and communication schedules,
• Create short- and long-term plans including setting targets for milestones and ensuring that deadlines are met
• Make effective recommendations on how to proceed with the project when faced with multiple options 
• Manage performance measures and budget with support from Associate Director and team 
• Work with administrative and operations teams to ensure continuous improvement upon systems and technologies used

Strategic visioning and synthesis (15%)

• Support the Associate Director in drafting and updating the research agenda of the third fund development process, including developing content based on synthesized learnings and insights
• Identify key learnings and insights from the listening phase of the third fund development process and work with team to incorporate them into strategies and processes

Relationship management (15%)

• Help cultivate and nurture relationships with stakeholders and partners 
• Support Associate Director in mapping out both existing and potential relationships that Living Cities needs to activate as part of the third fund development process 

Learning and storytelling (15%)

• Support Living Cities goals to synthesize lessons from the process of building a new investment vehicle and share with key decision makers in the fields in which we work (including philanthropy, impact investing, community and mission-driven lending, community economic development, and urban public policy)

Candidate Requirements:
Required Experience and Knowledge:

• A minimum of five to six years’ applicable experience including: proficiency in project management platforms; experience in fund and portfolio management
• Advanced degree a plus, but not required
• Knowledge of urban policy and the issues affecting communities of color in U.S. cities 
• Experience with Office 365, Google Drive, Salesforce a plus

Desired Qualifications:

• High level of organization and attention to detail
• Excellent writing and verbal presentation skills
• Superior interpersonal skills, ability to manage and work in teams, interacting constructively with diverse constituents
• Highly energetic, creative problem solver exhibiting deep commitment and passion for Living Cities’ mission
• Strong analytical skills, combined with demonstrated ability to synthesize and clearly communicate complex issues
• Knowledge of or training in credit and lending
• A sense of humor and the ability to collaborate across roles and locations

Racial Equity & Inclusion (REI)

Foundational knowledge and core concepts

• Understands why racial equity is an integral part of Living Cities’ approach, inside and outside the organization
• Displays clear willingness to learn and apply REI history and concepts REI Practice and Analysis
• Engages with curiosity, humility and openness in discussions about race, equity and power inside and outside of the organization
• Understands how the construct of race has impacted the distribution of power and resources, and recognizes its impact on current and future outcomes across systems

Compensation

• Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.
• We offer a full benefits package, including
  • health, dental, vision and life insurance
  • 401(k) retirement plan
  • flexible spending account
  • paid time off (PTO)
  • professional development budget

Supervisory Responsibility

• None

Work Environment

• This job operates in a professional office environment. 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
• While performing this job, the employee must be able to remain in a stationary position at least 50% of the time. Additionally, they may require moving around the office to access files or other equipment. As collaboration and communication is a large part of our work, the employee must also be able to accurately exchange information in these situations, whether virtually or in person. 
• We will work to provide reasonable accommodations as needed.

Position Type

• This is a full-time exempt position. 

Travel

• Limited travel (approximately 10% of the time) is required; Travel is primarily local during the business day, although some out-of-area and overnight travel may be expected

Other Duties

• Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. 

AAP/EEO Policy Statement

• Living Cities is committed to building a culturally diverse and inclusive team at all levels.  We are an equal opportunity employer and provide opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
• This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, leaves of absence, compensation and training.