ROW Collective Impact Director
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Class: Independent Contractor
Type: Part Time
Reports To: ROW Steering Committee
Compensation: Up to $50 hourly based on qualifications
Application Closing: February 17, 2023
Application Method: Apply online
Position Summary
Reconnecting to Our Waterways (ROW) is a Collective Impact initiative in Indianapolis that has worked purposefully since 2012 to improve the quality of life and ecology along Indianapolis waterways and surrounding neighborhoods. The Collective has been able to convene community partners to enhance quality of life through innovation, analysis, cultural advancement and investment along Indy waterways and neighborhoods. Examples of projects completed include greenway trail enhancements, ecological restoration, public art, educational signage, recreational outings and educational workshops.
Through our place-based model of authentic community engagement, we work to build capacity to support our partners’ work and to build hyper-local, democratic processes needed to address a wide range of challenges and opportunities in the neighborhoods we work. We do this by cultivating an affiliate network of resident-led, action-oriented change at the neighborhood level.
As a collective impact initiative, ROW seeks to align mutually reinforcing activities among partners offering resources (often organizations or agencies) and those (often resident-led affiliate committees) deploying them. To support this work, ROW maintains a small “backbone” organization led by a Collective Impact Director, who reports to the Collective Steering Committee, ROW’s governing body.
The Collective Impact Director serves as the visionary and visible leader of the collective, forging and stewarding entrepreneurial partnerships that enable collective members and community partners to increase their positive impact on Indianapolis. As manager of the Collective, the Director engages in: partnership and resource stewardship and development; strategic and innovative thinking; Steering Committee and consultant oversight; community relations; and effective communication.
Position Responsibilities
- Provide visionary, adaptive leadership, modeling values of excellence, integrity, inclusion, and innovation at all times and fostering a culture that reflects them.
- Manage the Collective as a safe and inclusive “table” where issues, opportunities, and conflicts can be openly discussed among members without judgment.
- Cultivate and align Collective Impact partnerships and resources for the mutual benefit of partners offering resources and those deploying them.
- Recruit new neighborhood affiliate committees to the Collective and develop a portfolio of ways to support and steward these affiliates as they grow.
- Provide effective and inspiring representation of the Collective to the broader community, including the media and other community and civic organizations, in ways that maintain and grow ROW’s reputation as a respected convener and community partner.
- Sustain and grow commitment to racial equity in all aspects of Collective functions, processes, and investments.
- Develop an entrepreneurial business model that sustains the Collective backbone functions, does not focus on a grants-based organizational growth perspective, and invests in the community. This includes stewarding and strategically developing strong relationships with local and national public, private, and philanthropic partners.
- Ensure that proper controls are in place to monitor and allocate Collective funds efficiently and effectively, including budgeting, compliance, and reporting, as well as deployment and administration of grants to Collective partners.
- Facilitate convenings of the Collective Steering Committee and Collective-wide events and activities including the annual ROWport celebration of accomplishments.
- Sustain a robust communications system to keep the Collective Steering Committee, Element and Waterway Committees, and the general public informed of Collective activities.
- Drive progress toward ROW’s strategic plan, including monitoring implementation progress and recommending changes based on evolving issues and opportunities.
- Hire, supervise, and monitor the performance of Collective contractors.