Associate Director, Environment

The Overbrook Foundation:

The Overbrook Foundation (the Foundation) is a family foundation that supports organizations advancing human rights, protecting American democracy, and conserving the natural environment. Founded in 1948, the Foundation has a fourteen-member Board of Directors and a professional staff of seven. The Foundation awarded approximately $10 million in grants in 2025.

Position Overview:

Based in New York City, the Associate Director, Environment (the AD) will lead all aspects of the Foundations Environmental Grantmaking program (the Program), which focuses on protecting the natural environment and combatting the climate crisis. The AD will lead grantmaking for the Program, and will monitor and evaluate the progress and impact of individual grants and overall Program strategies, communicating frequently about them to the Board, grantee partners, and others interested in the Foundations work. Principally, the AD will be responsible for identifying effective and impactful organizations and programs, building deep partnerships with grantees and managing the Foundations investment in them with the Foundations board and staff.

Entrepreneurial and driven to expand the impact of the Program and its grantee partners, the AD will serve as an ambassador for the Foundation, seeking opportunities to build strategic partnerships and enhance the Foundations impact. An excellent writer and communicator, the AD will occasionally author and distribute content across different mediums and platforms, speak publicly about the Program, and represent the Foundation at affinity groups and collaboratives. The AD will also work in partnership with the Lead Advisor for the Environment on special initiatives around donor engagement, DAF giving, and other projects.

The AD will be a strategic thinker with a commitment to the Foundations mission, and will serve as a thought partner and member of the Foundations leadership team. They will actively participate in strategic discussions, drawing on their curiosity and professional experience to provide informed and incisive perspectives to all manner of topics, from communications strategy, to peer organization outreach, to the Foundations culture, to partnerships with the Board.

Key Responsibilities:

Grantmaking and Strategy

• Manage grantmaking process for the Program, including generating and evaluating proposals and prospective grantee partners, developing written funding recommendations and presenting them to the Board, and monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on grantee partner performance;
• In close collaboration with the Foundations President, colleagues, and Board, evolve Program strategy and approach on an ongoing basis to best achieve the Foundations mission;
• Serve as the primary point of contact with prospective and current grantee partners around all issues, investing in the Foundations relationship with them and identifying opportunities to provide them with technical assistance as appropriate;
• Develop and maintain a robust pipeline of best-in-class prospective grantee partners for the Program so that the Foundation is always preparing for current and future grant-making cycles;
• Develop, implement, and constantly improve a system for monitoring and evaluating grantee partner impact through solicitation of reports, meetings, calls, site visits, and other methods;
• Work in partnership with the Lead Advisor for the Environment on special initiatives around donor engagement, DAF giving, and other projects;
• In general, collaborate with President and colleagues on all manner of organization-wide effort, from Board meetings to strategic planning efforts to organizational retreats and other events.

Field Leadership and Knowledge

• Stay abreast of relevant issues, trends, and developments in the Programs grantmaking areas, remaining current on fast-changing political and legislative developments and emerging funding needs and opportunities;
• Prepare written and other communication as needed to educate colleagues and the Board on developments relevant to the Program and to share learning from our grantees and Programs;
• Remain educated on best practices in philanthropy, in particular as they pertain to environment grantmaking, and incorporate those best practices into the Programs grantmaking;
• Generally serve as an ambassador for the Foundation and its programs, representing it with affinity groups and donor collaboratives, and at conferences and other events; and
• Leverage Foundation resources to develop funding pools and other partnerships with peer philanthropic organizations.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of eight years of professional experience working in the fields of not for profits, government, and philanthropy;
• Strong familiarity with issue areas pertaining to the climate crisis and how to mitigate it, including a real-time awareness of how the changing climate is impacting communities and the innovations being deployed in response, and the major players involved in these efforts.
• Masters degree or higher in a relevant area of expertise preferred;
• Policy, organizing, and/or legal expertise or experience in service of the environment preferred;
• Exceptional research, analytical, and problem-solving skills;
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills;
• Ability to travel up to 10% time;
• Spanish proficiency a plus;
• Experience working with Board (s) of Directors preferred;
• Strong proficiency in the use of Google Suite, Zoom, and Microsoft Office computer applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and Power Point;
• Ability to structure documents clearly and concisely to communicate key points to a variety of audiences;
• Proactive, curious, independent, and eager and able to solve problems and manage multiple complex projects simultaneously; and
• Enthusiasm for working as a part of a highly collaborative and high performing small team, with a sense of humor, positive attitude, and a strong moral compass.

How to Apply:

Interested applicants should e-mail a resume and cover letter tohumanresources@overbrook.org. Please include Associate Director, Environment YOUR NAME in the subject line. In your short cover letter, please address why you are interested in working at The Overbrook Foundation. Due to a large volume of requests, we will not be able to confirm that we received your application. No phone calls please.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment. We value a diverse and inclusive workplace and encourage candidates from underrepresented communities, including BIPOC individuals, to apply. Applicants who need reasonable accommodation during the hiring process may contact us. Thank you in advance for your interest and work on this application.

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