Fwd: FW: Open position at Rockefeller Foundation

[Jocelyn Wyatt]

Really interesting position at Rockefeller Foundation.

------ Forwarded Message
From: Zia Khan <zk...@rockfound.org>
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:03:58 -0700
To: Zia Khan <zk...@rockfound.org>
Cc: "Manasan, Joselito" <JMan...@rockfound.org>
Subject: Open position at Rockefeller Foundation

Hello All –

We are looking for good candidates for a new position at the Rockefeller Foundation that could be very exciting for the right person.  If you know someone who would fit this role and be interested, I would appreciate your forwarding this email and job description to them.  Below is some context about what a “Search” means at the Foundation to help frame the attached job description.

The Foundation has a slightly different model than most philanthropies.  Instead of long-standing program areas, we create time-bound initiatives that cut across issue areas and sectors.  Initiatives are focused on problems facing the poor and vulnerable, particularly as they relate to providing opportunities that create equitable growth and to building resilience against shocks and chronic stresses.  A few examples of our work include promoting improved health systems and universal health coverage; building climate change resilience in Asian cities and African agriculture; promoting more equitable and sustainable transportation in the US; and building the field of socially beneficial “impact investing”.  We do our work largely by funding a set of partners through grants.  They work with us as a collective and address the policy, technology, economic, and social dimensions of a problem to help achieve systemic change and sustained impact.

The earliest stage of our initiative development process is called “Search”.  In this stage, we try to frame problems and scope the viability of potential solutions that would have the most impact.  Essentially it’s a Research and Development function.  Some examples of what we’re currently considering in Search:
•         Can we redesign water systems for the poor from a user’s perspective so that one system serves multiple needs?

•         Can we design a set of interconnected policies and market rules from scratch to create a more equitable city?

•         Are there innovative social network and behavioral mechanisms to influence nutrition and control obesity?

•         Where are the opportunities in global supply chains to involve the poor and vulnerable for employment?


We regularly meet with leading thinkers and institutions to identify and shape potential Searches, which tend to be highly innovative and exploratory efforts.  It is from this portfolio of Searches that we eventually choose ideas for further development into potential initiatives.

A strong candidate would have generalist skills to integrate across fields of expertise, analytical skills to design hypothesis-driven research, design skills to quickly imagine and test innovative solutions, execution skills to get things done, a passion for helping the poor and vulnerable, and a career interest in working on social and environmental challenges.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Cheers,
ZK

Zia Khan
Vice President, Strategy and Evaluation
The Rockefeller Foundation  |  420 Fifth Avenue  |  New York, NY  10018



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