Company Name
W. K. Kellogg Foundation
Company City
Battle Creek
Company State
MI
Job Location
Hybrid/Remote
Company Information
In 1930, breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg established the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) with the desire “to help people help themselves”. Since its inception, WKKF has supported children, families, and communities as they strengthen and create conditions to help propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals, and as contributors to society.
Presently, the Foundation’s teams are focused primarily on three key dimensions of family and community life that impact the success of children: Education and Learning; Food, Health and Well-Being; and Family Economic Security.
WKKF receives its income primarily from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Trust (WKKFT), which owns substantial equity in the Kellogg Company in addition to its own diversified portfolio of investments. Together, the assets of the Foundation and the Trust total more than $8 billion.
W.K. Kellogg partners with other foundations to support the Equitable Enterprise Initiative at the Institute for the Future (IFTF). The Equitable Enterprise a two-year program supported by the Conrad N. Hilton, John Irvine, Robert Wood Johnson, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and The Ford Foundation that explores how the structure of enterprise has exacerbated inequality in the United States and how a future of more equitable business practices and a more humane economy might look.
IFTF was founded in 1968 as an independent, public-interest nonprofit and a spinoff from RAND Corporation with original support from the Ford Foundation.
• Expanding Equity Report (January 2024)
• Lifting Up the Future for Children with IFTF (February 2024)
• Facing the Future with IFTF
For more information visit https://www.wkkf.org/
Job Description
The Opportunity
The Vice President of Strategy (“VP”) is responsible for creative and strategic program leadership, impact and ends achievement (both domestic and international). As part of this role, they lead oversight and ensure alignment to the strategic framework resulting in positive systemic change within communities and programming efforts. Internationally, the VP will serve as the liaison between the foundation and their priority places in Mexico and Haiti and will additionally lead Kellogg’s engagement with global initiatives like Racial Equity 2030, Baobá Fund, and Earth University.
Responsibilities
The Vice President, Strategy will be responsible for creative and strategic program leadership, impact, and ends achievement, both domestically and internationally. This individual will lead the oversight and will ensure the alignment to the strategic framework resulting in positive systemic changes within communities and programming efforts.
Specific responsibilities will include:
• Provide effective leadership for a well-developed, clearly articulated, and unified vision and direction for programming in assigned areas that are aligned with the foundation’s mission, vision and core values and addresses broad social and policy issues.
• With the support of the Director of Program Strategy, lead national grantmaking strategy, identifying and engaging leadership and other partners for change efforts, ensuring commitment and readiness to persevere through the change process.
• With the support of the Director of International Programs, provide visionary leadership to our programs in Mexico and Haiti. Engage local stakeholders in these geographies in idea generation and co-creation activities around vulnerable children, families and communities with a special lens for social inclusion and racial equity.
• Facilitate strategy and systems change dialogues, including effectively addressing sensitive issues such as racial inequities, mental models/assumptions, power dynamics, and historical contexts.
• Develop and maintain strategic relationships to leverage participation of other foundations, businesses, governmental agencies, and other key decision makers and stakeholders in alignment with WKKF core values and program interests.
• Maintain accurate and current knowledge about policies, trends, systems, issues, movements, and other relevant data to assess the national landscape and identify key leverage points and capitalize on emerging opportunities on behalf of vulnerable children and families.
• Leverage the impact of the foundation’s grantmaking in regions, maximizing our efforts in community engagement, innovative partnerships, leadership development, investments and policy advocacy.
• Stay abreast of local, national, and international trends and current issues affecting the region and be knowledgeable of and involved with organizations and groups across the globe who are key supporters or potential partners.
• Oversee organizational services, systems, processes, and management tools to support grantmaking and operations and contribute to organizational effectiveness.
• Also ensure accountability of all people leaders within areas of responsibility for effective talent leadership and management that is consistent with desired culture, agile behaviors and WKKF values.
• Responsible that all staff are informed of organizational mission, vision and direction, guiding principles, identity, goals, objectives, strategies, and core values.
• Represent the Foundation at national and international events, supporting the Chief Strategic and Impact Officer and other Foundation leadership on an as-needed basis.
Job Qualifications
Professional Experiences and Qualities
This VP should have the following qualities:
• Strategic thinking and leadership skills: The ability to manage and model organizational vision, strategy, values, purpose and culture.
• Execute and manage strategy: The ability to drive results through successful accomplishment of grantmaking impact goals.
• Develop human capital: Be able to empower, coach and develop people, modeling agile practices and demonstrating WKKF’s commitment to racial equity, community engagement and leadership.
• Communication: Should be able to engage WKKF staff and external constituents, delivering timely, consistent, aligned, authentic communications at all levels.
• Drive innovation: The ability to deliver industry insights and promote continuous learning and improvement.
• Integrity: Should have high level of ethics and commitment to WKKF mission, vision, and core values. And should demonstrate absolute integrity and discretion.
The ideal candidate should also possess, at minimum, the following qualifications:
• Minimum of 10 years’ work experience or equivalent in fields relevant to assigned responsibilities.
• Minimum of 5 years’ work experience or equivalent managing and leading teams.
• Distinguished in fields related to organizational effectiveness and process improvement.
• Bilingual desirable, particularly Spanish and/or Haitian Creole.
• Experience in the philanthropic sector strongly preferred.
• Successful experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team and working effectively with people from diverse cultural, social and ethnic backgrounds.
• Knowledge of human resources management/supervision, policy and legal compliance.
• Distinguished in the development and management of business process management.
• Commitment to collaboration and teamwork with executives and staff at all levels.
• Demonstrated sound reasoning, creativity, and good judgment, coupled with problem-solving skills across unique and varied situations.
• Ability to translate business requirements into practical, effective solutions.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to facilitate supportive relationships internally and effective collaborations externally.
• Ability to manage and motivate staff through effective leadership, mentoring, communications, coaching, development, facilitation, evaluation and rewards.
• Knowledge of international and ethnic cultures, systems, and an ability to build and maintain positive relationships and networks with people and organizations across the globe.
• Ability to make complex, multidimensional decisions in a mission-driven, strategic organizational environment.
Education
Bachelor’s degree is required; master’s degree in a related field is preferred.
How to Apply
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