CLOSED - Database & Technology Manager - Charlottesville Area Community Foundation
This position closed October 19, 2023.
Position: Database & Technology Manager
Reports to: Director of Operations
Position Status: Exempt, Salaried; 40 hours/week
Salary: $72,000-$90,000 - robust employee benefits package detailed below
To apply: The preferred application deadline is October 19, 2023. Target start date is mid-January. See instructions below.
Position is based in Charlottesville, VA. Hybrid work schedule with time in the office expected. Preference will be given to applicants who reside in or are willing to relocate to the service area of the city of Charlottesville or the counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson, and Orange.
Preference will be given to those who are directly impacted by the work of the foundation. We seek candidates with diverse experiences, including those who have lived experience with the social challenges that we seek to address and with the communities that have experienced adverse effects of unequal social and economic systems.
About the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation
The Community Foundation was established in 1967 with a mission to improve the quality of life in Charlottesville and the surrounding counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson, and Orange. This region of more than 310,000 people includes a variety of rural and urban environments, and is home to a complex, and deeply painful American history. The region’s changing demographics present opportunities for greater inclusion, and the Community Foundation is deeply committed to being a community-centered, equity-forward organization that ensures our region is one where everyone can belong, contribute, and thrive. As a tax-exempt, nonprofit public charity, the Community Foundation works with local residents, nonprofits, and public and private organizations to facilitate philanthropy through several hundred donor funds and scholarships while making local investments through its own discretionary resources.
Our team believes that candidates who demonstrate and seek to develop the following qualities will find our organization an environment in which they can thrive:
Growth Mindset – to be willing and able to grow and change and do things differently. Go beyond what training or experience or upbringing has taught us and be open to having what we think we know challenged. Be humble, curious, and open-minded to explore ideas or opportunities that are new to us.
Innovation Orientation/Sense of Possibility – to bring to the work a “how can we” or “how could this be possible” as opposed to “we can’t” mindset. We can be in legal and ethical compliance and also question the way things have always been done and our assumptions about them in service of making change and progress.
Authenticity & Vulnerability – to be able to bring yourself and share yourself with the team. While we each can make choices about personal boundaries and parts of our lives and selves that we prefer to keep private, we can be genuine and true to ourselves with each other. This is crucial to building trust.
A Spirit of Solidarity & Differentiation – to recognize and value our shared fate and invest in each other’s success. At the same time, we appreciate each person’s uniqueness and do not equate experiences or assume that having similar identities (such as race, gender, or position) makes us the same.
Direct Communication – to speak our own truth and listen deeply to each other in order to really negotiate and engage in genuine relationships. We give and receive feedback thoughtfully and respectfully, recognizing that this is critical for individual and collective growth and accountability.
Responsibility for Learning – to do the personal work to dismantle internalized ideas about self and others, to see the larger system and our individual locations in it, and work together as effective change agents.
Position Summary
The Database & Technology Manager plays a leading role in ensuring the Community Foundation effectively utilizes its database, external-facing portal systems, and other technology products (e.g. Microsoft 365, Zoom, website, etc.) to deliver on its mission to improve quality of life as a community-centered, equity-forward organization.
The foundation recently transitioned to Foundant, a relational database that services our internal and back-end operations as well as public facing donor, grant, and scholarship activities. The Database & Technology Manager works closely with all departments in the usage of the Foundant modules and other technology resources to identify opportunities to refine technology policies and procedures that promote clarity, efficiency, and stability at the team level and with the governing board and volunteer committees. They also help to facilitate effective engagement with the foundation’s external stakeholders (e.g. Catchafire participants, donors, fund advisors, those who are applying for and/or have received grants or scholarships, and other community partners).
The Database & Technology Manager helps ensure our foundation keeps its commitment to leave our community a more inclusive and equitable place for those who come after us. We are looking for a team member whose strategic thinking, project management, technology expertise, creativity, and relationship skills are coupled with a deep connection to social progress and personal integrity.
Essential Functions
The primary responsibility of this position is to provide ongoing strategic oversight and technical support for all current and future technology resources that support effective business operations and healthy engagement with our community of stakeholders. The Database & Technology Manager collaborates with colleagues across the team to maximize use of technology tools so the foundation can meet its strategic goals.
Database Administration
Serve as point person with Foundant personnel and the Foundant peer community to maximize learning and optimization of the foundation’s use of its modules
With support from the Director of Operations, facilitate Foundant “super user group” to ensure interdepartmental communication, learning, and refinement of processes
Develop and maintain a central knowledge base of key Foundant processes and procedures, while facilitating any customized training for team members
Review and distill Foundant Release Notes, providing recommendations for adoption of new functionality
Serve as primary support for team members in their use of Foundant modules
Training
Onboard and train staff on all of the foundation’s technology tools (Foundant, Microsoft 365, Zoom, website, etc.)
Provide strategic guidance and technical support on other technological components of the foundation’s work (e.g. communications, meetings, file storage and sharing, etc.)
Develop, and support the deployment of, training resources for external stakeholders as needed
Technical Leadership and Support
Stay up to date on leading cyber security practices and make recommendations to ensure the foundation is proactive in implementing and maintaining its protocols
Provide support to the Director of Operations regarding the foundation’s IT maintenance, licensing requirements, and upgrade needs
Manage the creation, maintenance, and deployment of internal operating procedures (e.g. data entry, workflows) and training resources related to technology tools
Consult across areas of function to assess data needs and create applicable data use and maintenance procedures that increase operational efficiency and advance a collaborative, data-driven approach to the foundation’s work
Support the creation of reports and impact dashboards as requested
Qualifications: Education, Work Experience, Skills, and Lived Experiences
We encourage applications from candidates who have lived experience with the social challenges that we seek to address and with the communities that have experienced adverse effects of unequal social and economic systems. Relevant lived experiences will be weighed equally with professional experiences. The work of the foundation is explicitly but not exclusively centered in racial equity, this position will operate under this lens.
While this position leads several key areas of our work, it is not our expectation that candidates have a mastery across all areas; instead, we encourage candidates to apply who have self-awareness and humility around areas they will need to grow in and the motivation and aptitude to lead the learning required to hit the ground running. We do require that candidates understand and value racial equity as an organizational operating principle and be committed to continued learning on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
3 or more years of experience with relational database management systems and an aptitude to learn new technologies quickly and thoroughly
Excellent computer, communication, and project management skills
Ability to translate complex and technical ideas/language for team accessibility
Proficiency with Microsoft 365 suite of products (Excel, Outlook, Teams, Word)
Ability to train others and provide technical support
Strong customer service orientation rooted in curiosity, patience, and an eagerness to learn and act as a thought partner with colleagues and partners, as well as the ability to appropriately handle confidential information
Attention to detail and demonstrated ability to perform complex work accurately, efficiently, and completely while meeting deadlines
Demonstrated ability to act both independently and as part of a collaborative team
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with fund accounting systems (e.g. Foundant, FIMS, Blackbaud)
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with experience reviewing reports and data, drawing out and summarizing salient points, and efficiently translating business needs and opportunities into technical solutions
Familiarity with data analytics
Experience in and knowledge of the nonprofit sector, foundations, philanthropy, and investment management
Total Compensation Package Including Benefits
The Community Foundation offers a robust employee benefits package, including:
flexible work hours and location
institutionalized ½ day Fridays that don’t require PTO
paid parking
100% of employee health insurance paid
the opportunity to participate in a 401(k) with up to 6% employer match
20 days of personal time off in the first year of employment, plus 15 paid holidays
$100 per month maximum telecommunications reimbursement to offset phone/internet expenses
up to 12 weeks paid parental leave (16 weeks for multiples)
60% Short Term Disability and 60% Long Term Disability + $100K life insurance
opportunities for professional development and growth
The Community Foundation provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristics protected by federal, state, or local laws. This applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, leaves of absence, compensation, and professional training.
How To Apply
Submit the following by filling out this form.
Résumé
Three references (We will not contact references until later in the hiring process.)
Cover letter (Please address how your lived experiences and past work history have prepared you for this position—specifically how you will align with the foundation’s racial equity journey which is built upon practices of inclusivity, mutual aid, solidarity, liberation, healing, and power-building)
