Senior Director, Grantmaking and Capacity Building, Liberty Hill Foundation

Position Title: Senior Director Grantmaking and Capacity Building

Reports to: Chief Program Officer (CPO)

Position: Full-time Exempt

Location: Hybrid-Onsite; Los Angeles California

Salary: $141900 - $177400

Organization Overview

For 50 years Liberty Hill Foundation has been at the center of Los Angeles fight for justice and equity. We are a laboratory for social changewhere bold ideas are tested refined and scaled to strengthen movements and improve lives across Los Angeles County.

Our North Star is to build power in communities most impacted by systemic oppression to achieve justice and equity. We pursue this through strategic grantmaking leadership development and alliance building that support organizers advocates and community leaders working to advance racial economic environmental and social justice.

At Liberty Hill we hire skilled results-oriented staff who bring both expertise and heart to this work. We hold ourselves to high standards of collaboration accountability feedback and learning recognizing that reflection and adaptability strengthen both our organization and the movements we serve.

We live our values of Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) every dayshaping how we work with one another how we partner with communities and how we make decisions. As we mark 50 years of powering movements we are laying the groundwork for the next 50: a more just inclusive and equitable Los Angeles for all.

Position Overview
The Senior Director Grantmaking and Capacity Building (SDGCB) provides senior-level leadership for Liberty Hill Foundations external grantmaking and capacity-building strategies including expertise on best practices for capacity building in movement organizations and for social justice organizers. Reporting to the Chief Program Officer this role is responsible for shaping aligning and advancing how Liberty Hill resources movements through grantmaking and capacity-building work that reflects community needs organizational priorities and best practices in progressive philanthropy.

In parallel the SDGCB holds primary responsibility for staff leadership and supervision within Liberty Hills capacity-building portfolio directly managing Program Directors and ensuring alignment performance and impact across program areas. This role anchors quality coherence and strategic execution while partnering closely with Liberty Hill Foundations senior leadership to advance organizational priorities.

The SDGCB serves as the organizations senior grantmaking strategist overseeing participatory grantmaking programs such as the Community Funding Board core funds including the Fund for Change Liberty Vote! Rapid Response grantmaking and donor-advised fund and giving circle grantmaking on the grantee side. The role owns the external grantmaking lifecycle from strategy and program design through execution systems staffing and continuous improvement.

What You Will Do

Supervision Leadership and Organizational Influence

• Serve as a senior leader providing clear leadership supervision and coaching to develop Program and grantmaking staff and other staff with direct responsibility for performance alignment and results across grantmaking and capacity building functions including current programs such as Ready to Rise Department of Youth Development Incubation Academy. Environmental Leadership Initiative (ELI) and EJ Ready
• Supervise and provide clear leadership and decision-making for Program Directors overseeing Ready to Rise Department of Youth Development ELI and EJ Ready ensuring consistent high-quality and equitable practice while respecting program-level implementation ownership.
• Build leadership capacity and internal bench strength fostering a culture of accountability collaboration learning and continuous improvement.
• Partner with Advancement Finance Operations and senior leadership to support board donor and funder engagement related to grantmaking and capacity building and integrate insights from these portfolios into broader organizational strategy and learning.

Grantmaking Strategy and Implementation

• Lead the conception and evolution of Liberty Hills grantmaking strategy ensuring alignment with organizational priorities movement needs and the evolving philanthropic landscape.
• Steward core grantmaking programs including LibertyVote! participatory grantmaking programs such as the Community Funding Board the Fund for Change and Rapid Response funding.
• Ensure the same community-driven approach to making funding decisions across all our grantmaking DAFs and giving circles..
• Serve as Liberty Hills primary internal philanthropic advisor for DAFs and giving circles providing strategic oversight of dockets and grantmaking recommendations in close partnership with the DAF team.
• Represent Liberty Hill in participatory grantmaking cycles and donor-facing grantmaking engagements as needed.
• Set and steward the governance systems and decision-making frameworks for the external grantmaking lifecycle ensuring alignment with organizational priorities institutional learning and long-term sustainability.

Capacity Building Strategy and Implementation

• Set and steward Liberty Hills overarching capacity-building strategy in alignment with grantmaking priorities and movement needs.
• Directly supervise Program Directors responsible for capacity-building implementation across our programs.
• Coach and support Program Directors as senior leaders ensuring quality consistency and equity across capacity-building efforts.
• Identify strategic gaps opportunities landscape issues and resource needs to ensure high-quality effective innovative approaches to capacity building to support movements.

Leadership Collaboration and Organizational Influence

• Work closely with the communications team to enable impact reporting and storytelling.
• Partner with Advancement Finance Operations and senior leadership to support board donor and funder engagement related to grantmaking and capacity building.
• Support fundraising from foundations and institutional funders for capacity-building and grantmaking work in collaboration with Advancement.
• Ensure insights from grantmaking and capacity building inform organizational strategy learning and continuous adaptation in alignment with the strategic plan.

• BA/BS or equivalent experience with a preference for a combination of personal lived/professional experience.

• 8 years of experience supervising people and teams with a demonstrated track record of effective coaching and people management to achieve meaningful impact.

• 5 years of experience supervising mid-career or senior-level program leads.
• Significant senior-level experience in social justice grantmaking philanthropy or related movement-facing work with responsibility for complex multi-program portfolios.
• Deep understanding of the Los Angeles County grantmaking and organizing ecosystem including strong relationships with community partners and knowledge of movement needs would be an asset.
• Demonstrated ability to conceive and advance strategy influence organizational direction and lead execution of high-impact initiatives.
• Experience with participatory grantmaking models strongly preferred; experience with donor-advised funds giving circles.
• Knowledge of capacity building approaches in social justice organizations; technical training or curriculum design expertise.
• Fluency in grants administration systems policies and workflows..
• Some experience with government-funded contracts or publicly funded programs.
• Excellent strategic communication skills and the ability to translate complex ideas for executive leaders board members donors and community partners.
• Demonstrated commitment to justice equity diversity and inclusion and the ability to integrate these values into leadership and decision-making.
• Resilience sound judgment and comfort making high-stakes decisions that shape organizational impact.

Location and Work Structure

• This position is based in Los Angeles County and follows Liberty Hills hybrid work model. All staff work in the office at least four times per month and attend in-person organizational addition as with all senior leadership roles this position requires regular in-person engagement with external partners government agencies and community organizations across the region. Candidates must be available for in-person meetings convenings and site visits as part of ongoing relationship-building and program execution.

• Liberty Hill offers comprehensive benefits including 100% employer-paid healthcare generous paid time off (including a two-week Winter Break and one week Summer Break) wellness stipends 403(b) match and remote work support.

How to Apply

Liberty Hill has retained the services of Charity Search Group to coordinate the search for this position. To apply please complete this online application. If you have questions or need accommodations please contact Mariya Yurukova at or visit .

Liberty Hill is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to having a workforce that reflects diversity at all levels of the organization. We recognize the importance of not viewing individuals based on a single identity and we thrive on being equitable in our recruitment process as well as in our efforts to be inclusive of all employees.

Required Experience:

Exec