Jobs Board

Investment Officer: Mission Related Investments (The California Endowment)

Company Name

The California Endowment

Company City

Los Angeles

Company State

CA

Job Location

Los Angeles, Sacramento, Oakland, Fresno or San Diego – California

Company Information

The California Endowment is a $4B+ private, statewide health foundation established in 1996 whose mission is to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. They are changing the narrative around health to ensure health and justice for all, and each day they, along with their community partners, seek ways to improve the state of health in California.

Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, they have regional offices in Sacramento, Oakland, Fresno, and San Diego, with program staff working throughout the state. They challenge the conventional wisdom that medical settings and individual choices are solely responsible for people’s health. Instead, they believe that health happens in neighborhoods, schools, and with prevention.

TCE CORE VALUES

• They believe every Californian deserves health, wellness, and justice.
• They are committed to diversity, inclusion, mutual respect, and transparency.
• They value youth leadership and champion marginalized voices.
• They recognize the impact of trauma on both individual and community health outcomes.
• They value learning through action.

And just as their values drive their work outside of the Foundation, their Code of Ethics drives how they conduct themselves inside the Foundation, with the goal of creating a healthy, productive workplace.

In the pursuit of this vision, TCE created an Impact Investing Program over a decade ago to provide strategic capital that lifts up vulnerable and disinvested communities in California and supports a world where capital is aligned with their mission and values. As part of that ambition, they are focused on addressing the historical and ongoing racial inequities in this country to advance greater racial equity through these investments.

Job Description

TCE has made a $250 million commitment to impact investing, and $50MM of this is allocated to Mission Related Investments (MRI). They are seeking a new Investment Officer who will act as principal steward for managing the emergent Mission Related Investments portfolio.

IMPACT INVESTING OVERVIEW

Although the majority of TCE’s impact investing has previously been in the Program Related Investments space, they are seeking to grow their Mission Related Investments in the near future. The Investment Officer will work closely with the Director, Impact Investing to develop strategy, growth, and management of this portfolio. TCE has made approximately ten MRIs and has started developing a pipeline of potential opportunities to explore, which this Investment Officer will get to expand and pursue. TCE’s most recent MRI priorities include advancing racial equity, affordable housing, and healthcare.

The Investment Officer will work with the Impact Investing Director to create a portfolio of market-rate venture capital, private equity and affordable housing investments that embody TCE’s mission and values. They must have a strong investments background, an understanding of the social/impact investing sector, and a passion to use capital to make a difference. The candidate must also have strong written and oral presentation skills with familiarity in working with an Investment Committee.

TCE is a highly collaborative and dynamic organization, so the Investment Officer will also need to work closely with other departments to tell the story behind the investments they are making so others across the organization can clearly and powerfully communicate the portfolio’s impact. There is also a need within the Impact Investing department to continually evaluate and refine its processes and operations, so it would be ideal to find someone who enjoys shaping and codifying best practices so that the portfolio’s growth can continue unhindered by operational constraints.

This position will manage junior team members on transactions and portfolio management, and they will report to the Director, Impact Investing.

YOUR POTENTIAL IMPACT

Strong candidates for this role will have a deep background in managing investments from origination to ongoing portfolio management post-closing and will be a strong communicator and project manager who cares deeply about TCE’s mission. Opportunities will include:

• Steward the MRI program, ensure alignment with TCE’s mission and strategy and the MRI strategy’s programmatic parameters.
• Lead the full MRI transaction cycle, including: impact theme landscape analyses, pipeline development and forward calendar management, preparation of investment memos, presenting to the investment committee and legal negotiations on approved transactions.
• Deepen TCE’s commitment to advancing racial equity through full transaction lifecycle and institutionalization of that commitment in MRI program portfolio management and policies.
• Ensure program meets ongoing financial reporting, valuation and audit responsibilities through managing the team’s portfolio management activities and operations.
• Learn about and support program-related investments as needed, through any portion of the PRI transaction lifecycle.
• Collaborate with internal TCE teams and external partners to develop pipeline opportunities that strengthen the alignment of MRIs with TCE’s mission and values.
• Monitor impact investing field and markets for pipeline, opportunities, and trends. Pro-actively recommend any changes to TCE’s MRI program, policies, and strategies based on this knowledge.
• Serve as a thought leader in the broader impact investing field and represent TCE at industry conferences and events.
• Support effective reporting out and partnership with the board, including financial and social performance reporting and exposure analysis.

Job Qualifications

THE QUALIFICATIONS YOU’LL BRING

• Undergraduate Business degree or related degree, MBA a plus.
• 7-10+ years of experience in investments or related field.
• Deep commitment to TCE’s mission and values and using capital to advance racial equity.
• Experience managing transactions across the full transaction lifecycle from origination to legal closing and ongoing portfolio management.
• Strong transaction due diligence capabilities with private equity and venture capital funds including assessing manager track record and performance, conducting financial modeling, understanding industry dynamics, and evaluating operational infrastructure.
• Familiarity with capital markets, impact investing and/or community development.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across diverse departments and organizations to drive results; demonstrated ability to cultivate strong relationships with internal teams, external investees/borrowers and co-investors.
• Prior experience managing direct reports.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; effective in formal and informal presentation settings.
• Results and detail oriented; demonstrated ability to establish and achieve goals.
• Ability to travel and work independently as a team partner.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

At The California Endowment, all staff members currently receive a compensation package that includes:

• A competitive salary aligned with TCE’s position level and salary bands and against similar organizations.
• A suite of benefits that includes choices for medical, vision and dental care, paid time off, a 401k retirement plan with employer match, disability insurance, life insurance, EAP, and education and commuter benefits.

How to Apply

More information about The California Endowment may be found at: www.calendow.org

This search is being led by Allison Kupfer Poteet and Rachel Burgoyne of NPAG. Candidates may submit their cover letter, outlining their interest and qualifications, along with their resume via NPAG’s website.

The California Endowment is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and to creating a work environment where the individual is valued and respected. The Endowment welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds and seeks to hire qualified staff reflecting the rich diversity of the communities we serve. We define diversity in broad terms to include race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, geography, and socio-economic status.

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