Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group LLC Boston • Washington, DC • Atlanta • Europe • Latin America
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation Chief Operating Officer Battle Creek, Michigan
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a leading philanthropic force helping communities create the conditions children need to thrive and the nation’s fifth largest foundation, is seeking nominations and applications for the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO). Reporting to the President and CEO, the COO will assume responsibility for the leadership, coordination, and strategic transformation of systems and resources related to human resources, technology, program and organizational services, quality and organizational effectiveness, and engage at the highest levels in the fulfillment of the foundation’s mission. Specifically, s/he will be responsible for overseeing the organizational operations, fostering teamwork, integration and alignment, cultivating and maintaining a great service culture, and developing and monitoring policies, philosophies, and organization-wide systems to accomplish the programmatic mission of the foundation. In recent years the foundation has sharpened its focus on improving conditions for vulnerable children, concentrating on three key factors of success and their intersections: education and learning; food, health and well-being; and family economic security. Across these three areas, WKKF has committed to approaches that undergird racial equity and healing, leadership, and community and civic engagement. The successful candidate will be a proven leader able to provide supportive management to a highly talented leadership team, and bring a systems-oriented approach to ensuring alignment between functional areas. S/he will bring a broad understanding of best practices in management, operations, technology, and organizational development, including experience managing through a period of significant change and transformation. The COO will possess a strong team orientation, a high tolerance for ambiguity, and the willingness to test assumptions and drive decision-making in the absence of certainty. S/he will be a humble yet charismatic leader with demonstrated ability to motivate a team, engender trust, and nurture an environment that celebrates and supports cultural, social, and ethnic diversity. S/he will be a key spokesperson and culture carrier for the foundation.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is being assisted by Katherine Jacobs, Allison Kupfer Poteet, and Nureen Das of the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group. Please see application instructions at the end of this document. HISTORY AND MISSION In 1930, breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg donated $66 million in Kellogg Company stock and other investments “to help people help themselves” launching the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The foundation began its work in Michigan, but by the 1940s had expanded its work internationally and was breaking ground in areas such as rural children’s health, “mainstreaming” children with disabilities, and the development of the healthcare profession. By its 50th anniversary, the foundation was among the world’s largest private philanthropic organizations and, now in its 83rd year, the foundation celebrates over $7 billion spent toward helping people to help themselves. In 2007, the foundation reviewed, revised, and refocused program goals toward helping vulnerable children and realigning with W.K. Kellogg’s original intent. The new mission statement reads:
“The W.K. Kellogg Foundation supports children, families, and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society.” To bring the vision of this refreshed mission into action, the foundation unveiled a new strategic framework for its programming. Previously, both the organization and its grantmaking were structured around individual programming areas. The new framework, built on 80 years of grantmaking experience, places the optimal development of children at the center of all its work and calls for healing the profound racial gaps and inequities that exist in our communities. To achieve this, the foundation’s work and investments are organized toward attaining three strategic goals, Educated Kids; Healthy Kids; and Secure Families. Within and around each goal are commitments to Community & Civic Engagement, Racial Equity, and Leadership - because all are necessary for communities to create the conditions under which all children can thrive. This sharpened focus on the nearly 30 million vulnerable children in the United States reaffirms the foundation’s commitment to W.K. Kellogg’s goal “…to help children face
the future with confidence, with health, and with a strong-rooted security in the trust of this country and its institutions.”
Taking a place-based approach to its work, the foundation concentrates as much as two-thirds of its grantmaking in a limited number of specific places where they believe they can have maximum impact. Within the United States, priority places include Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans. Internationally, they also include micro-regions in Haiti and Mexico with additional work in north eastern Brazil and southern Africa. In addition to this, the foundation’s Mission Driven Investments program, had dedicated $100 million from its endowment investing in nonprofit and for profit entities that advance the mission and generate both social and financial returns. These investments remain consistent with the foundation’s program areas of interest with emphasis on the U.S. priority places including Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans and internationally in southern Africa. OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FACING THE COO Direct reports to the COO include: the Director of Human Resources and Organizational Services; Director of Program Services; Vice President, Information Systems and Technology; and Director, Quality and Organizational Effectiveness. The COO will bring a sophisticated understanding of how to develop organizational capacity and operationalize the strategic vision by executing plans and tracking progress, identifying gaps and reorganizing to fill them, balancing best-in-class practices with attention and dedication to mission, establishing and consistently communicating organizational priorities, and assuring alignment and cross-cutting integration of work, strategic vetting of ideas, and innovative problem solving. Specifically, s/he will provide leadership in the following areas: Organizational Systems, Infrastructure and Services
Ensure that efficient and effective systems, processes and practices are in place to accomplish the goals and objectives of the foundation’s programming functions. S/he will develop plans for the cost effective maintenance, development and implementation of services, systems and management tools which support grant making and administrative operations and contribute to organizational effectiveness.
Provide executive leadership for the development, implementation and maintenance of processes, policies and procedures across all operational functions, e.g.: grantee tax eligibility; systems accessibility; and information planning and technical architecture.
Partner with program services to develop and refine the annual budgeting process, define budget reporting needs and propose annual operating budget and allocations to the President/CEO.
Oversee the operational management of facilities, meetings and travel, food, mail/copy, records/archives, and graphic production services to maximize the utilization of facility assets and deliver high-quality, cost effective services.
Serve as a key contributor on the Program Leadership Council, informing and helping drive decisions around new initiatives, projects and long-range plans aligned with WKKF mission, overall strategic direction, vision, guiding principles and core values.
Human Resource Management
In collaboration with the Director of Human Resources and Organizational Services, provide leadership for talent acquisition, development and management, ensure that the talent framework, design and processes (e.g., recruitment, selection, training, development, rewards and recognition, performance management, salary administration, position classification, and benefits) are consistent with the foundation’s values and make decisions that are focused on increasing the performance of the organization.
Lead the cultivation and promotion of an environment which fosters a high performance learning culture, high morale, teamwork and effective talent management and utilization.
Seek opportunities to promote a culture that celebrates all the dimensions of diversity within the foundation, recognizes individual and team contributions, and fosters mutual respect and growth.
Communications
Ensure all staff within areas of responsibility are informed of organizational and area mission, vision and overall direction, guiding principles, identity, goals, objectives, strategies and core values.
Develop and maintain positive working relationships with Board of Trustees and staff, and with relevant external individuals and groups, including collaborating with other philanthropic and nonprofit organizations.
Facilitate open, honest communication, sharing of information, and conflict resolution both within areas of responsibility and across the organization.
QUALIFICATIONS OF THE IDEAL CANDIDATE While no one person will embody all of the qualifications listed below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the professional and personal abilities, attributes and experiences:
A minimum of 15 years or more of leadership experience, preferably in a complex, mission-driven organization of national/global scale, particularly in the context of growth and change. A thorough understanding of the full range of business functions and systems, including strategic development and planning, information technology, budgeting, human resources, quality and organizational effectiveness; The highest level of ethics and integrity and a demonstrated commitment to WKKF’s mission, vision and core values; a customer-service orientation; Recognition through a highly visible body of work that reflects a commitment to organizational excellence and efficiency, servant leadership, management of collaboration and effective teamwork, operational management and administration, promotion of diversity and racial equity, and outstanding stewardship of financial and human resources; Highly developed facilitation, coaching, and engagement skills; comfort with managing diverse group dynamics and leading toward common desired outcomes. Highly developed emotional intelligence and active listening skills, and the ability to use interpersonal skills and political acumen in collaborative, diplomatic ways; Clear strategic and operational vision and exceptional skill in synthesizing information and translating vision into action steps for the long and short term; Strong leadership ability, highly developed communication and presentation skills and ability to translate financial terms into understandable language. Ability to design and operate distributed financial systems with experience in other countries desirable; Demonstrated relationship builder with the ability to engender trust and understanding internally (with board and staff) and collaborate effectively externally (community partners); A natural mentor, coach and motivator with the capacity to effectively support and develop senior leaders with deep content expertise and national profiles; Sound, seasoned judgment and ability to provide values-based servant leadership, with particular attention to the foundation’s core values; humility and capacity for self-reflection; Comfort with and the ability to work effectively in the context of low-income families and communities, including appreciating historical contexts, discerning nuances of
relationships and power dynamics, understanding racial/ethnic realities, and respecting community needs and desires; Knowledge of international cultures, systems and an ability to build and maintain positive relationships and networks with people and organizations around the world; Ability to work with an active and participative board of trustees; Ability to travel when necessary on both a domestic and international basis, as position responsibilities require; and Deep recognition of and appreciation for the history and the legacy of the foundation.
APPLICATIONS AND NOMINATIONS This search is being conducted with assistance from Katherine Jacobs, Allison Kupfer Poteet, and Nureen Das of Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group. Nominations and applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. Candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, and applications will be reviewed as they are received. Please submit nominations and/or applications including a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, your resume (in Word format), salary history and where you learned of the position to the following address:
[email protected] The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and proudly values diversity. Candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group (NPAG) is an executive search and consulting firm dedicated to serving the mission-driven community. We partner with global mission-driven clients in the academic, nonprofit, and public sectors to deliver highly-tailored, innovative, and strategic senior- and executive-level search services. For more information, please visit www.nonprofitprofessionals.com.
