Position Description
Executive Director
U.S.-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership

Title:                                     Executive Director, the U.S.-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership
Location:                             San Diego, California

The U.S-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership (BPP) seeks a bicultural, bilingual social entrepreneur to become the first Executive Director of this expanding philanthropic membership organization. The ideal candidate will be someone with a demonstrated passion for affecting social change and a commitment towards improving the quality of life in the U.S.-Mexico border region through expanded charitable giving, volunteerism and civic leadership.  Salary and benefits commensurate with experience.

• Responsible for working with board to develop overall strategy and policies for BPP
• Manages day to day operations of the BPP
• Recruitment and retention of BPP members
• Oversees capacity building assistance to member foundations
• Responsible for fostering cross-border programmatic collaboration between BPP members
• Fundraising
• Oversee special border-wide projects initiated by membership, such as border quality of life index or other research or development of best practices/toolkits
• Assist members to coordinate leadership activities on border issues
• Develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation system for the BPP
• Reports to Board of Directors

 Specific Responsibilities:

• Provide vision and leadership to launch a new independent, expanded border area philanthropic partnership
• Work with board to develop multi-year strategic plan and with staff to develop detailed annual program goals, objectives, timelines and evaluation criteria
• Within first several months of launch of new entity, design and oversee project to map capacity and interests of current BPP members, and to map capacity- building resources both within and outside of the network.
• Supervise two and a half staff in US BPP office as well as program staff in Mexico.
• Serve as staff liaison for appropriate board committees
• Manage and monitor BPP budget
• Write grant proposals and grant reports to new and existing funders and seek new funding sources to further BPP’s organizational mission
• Supervise the implementation of the BPP communications strategy, including publications and website maintenance as well as outreach with media (newspaper, television, radio) in the U.S. and Mexico.
• Position BPP among philanthropic affinity groups and donor circles as the authoritative source of information on charitable giving in the U.S.-Mexico border region.
• Supervise knowledge management and learning for BPP member organizations.

Qualifications:        

• Bachelor’s Degree required, Master’s degree preferred in the areas of public policy, public administration, non-profit management, business administration, social sciences, public health, or environmental policy.
• Outstanding abilities to develop and implement strategies, manage and mentor staff, manage complex initiatives and oversee budgets, planning and financial management
• Some prior policy experience a plus
• Extensive knowledge of the U.S-Mexico border region, its people, communities and geography
• Proficiency in Spanish and English, bi-cultural candidates are strongly preferred
• Excellent research, written and oral communications skills, plus marketing expertise
• Excellent interpersonal skills and experience in building cross-cultural relationships
• Capacity to simultaneously work on multiple tasks and projects, and set priorities for a challenging workload
• The capacity to provide leadership to individuals, organizations and businesses of diverse characteristics and experience
• Prior fundraising and donor development/relations experience
• An entrepreneurial mindset, able to identify and pursue opportunities
• A demonstrated commitment to high ethical standards and the values of the BPP
•  A demonstrated passion for the mission of the Border Philanthropy Partnership
• Willingness to travel extensively within the border region

Interested Candidates should submit a cover letter and resume with three references and writing samples in both English and Spanish to the following address by March 31, 2008:

U.S-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership
In care of:
Connie Tooker
International Community Foundation
11300 Sorrento Valley Road, Suite 115
San Diego, CA 92121
fax: (858) 677-2918
or via email to:  connie@icfdn.org

For More Information:
http://borderpartnership.hostcentric.com/press/english/15.html

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

BPP: History and Future Vision:

With 13 million people the U.S.-Mexico border region is a dynamic, fast growing region facing on-going trans-boundary health, environment, and socio-economic challenges due to the impacts of human migration, poverty and cross-border trade.   The ties that bind the sister city communities along the U.S.-Mexico border region are indisputable yet a wide range of barriers continue to exist attributed to language, culture, national security and public safety concerns which have become more pronounced since September 11, 2001.

In an effort to respond to the growing needs throughout the border region, the U.S-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership (BPP) was established in 2002 with the goal of expanding the level of charitable giving to benefit the people and communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. While much has been achieved by the BPP over the past six years, the communities along the U.S-Mexico border region continue to face enormous challenges.

Previously managed by New York based Synergos Institute, in August 2008 the partnership is being launched as an independent entity and seeks a candidate to launch and build the new organization.    The new entity will expand beyond its initial core membership consisting of community foundations and become a more inclusive partnership that will continue to strengthen community philanthropy while also actively involving foundations (private, public, corporate, family), corporate giving programs and individuals to do more to address the socio-economic challenges along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The newly constituted BPP, is being formed as a bi-national organization with staff working in both the United States and Mexico to:

• Collaborate and provide leadership on cross-border programmatic issues of common concern
• Mobilize more effective philanthropic resources to address border issues
• Strengthen the institutional capacity and further the sustainability of border foundations

BPP seek a dynamic, bold and visionary individual who will adhere to the BPP’s values, and feels passionate about its mission to lead a goal-oriented team to achieve the BPP’s vision. 

• BPP members will conduct their business as equal partners
• The BPP will be built on a foundation of mutual learning and respect, as demonstrated through trust, accountability and mutual responsibility. 
• BPP members will exhibit a strong commitment to the cross border collaborative nature of this network, by honoring differences in cultures and language.
• Partners will demonstrate interest in contributing to the development of community philanthropy along the U.S.-Mexico border region and a strong commitment to improving quality of life along the border
• The BPP will, through its membership, promote inclusiveness inviting all donors (foundation, corporations, individual) that are willing and committed towards expanding and promoting philanthropy in the U.S.-Mexico border region.