Director, Impact Investments & Strategic Initiatives

About Tides 

Tides is a nonprofit and philanthropic organization committed to advancing social justice. We work across the social sector to shift power to communities of color and other groups historically denied power. 

Centering equity and justice in everything we do, we collaborate in deep partnership with movement leaders, nonprofits, donors, foundations, and corporations to amplify the impact of their work by providing services like fiscal sponsorship, donor advised funds, grant making, and a variety of innovative solutions. Learn more at tides.org. 

About the Role  

The Director, Impact Investments & Strategic Initiatives will provide key client management support in partnership with the Vice President, Impact Investing. The Director will work directly with the VP, Impact Investing and other team members to serve clients with complex financial planning and impact investment needs and grow the Investments team strategies and offerings. The Director will work with Donor Advised Fund (“DAF”) partners to maximize the return and impact from their portfolios. In addition, the Director, will work with Fiscal Sponsored Project (“FSP”) partners to maximize the return and impact of their portfolios. The Director will help to manage an approximately $750 million Tides investment portfolio, designing and implementing strategies to optimize investment income from the portfolio. The Director will create and implement strategies to increase the Tides Assets Under Management (“AUM”). The Director will also participate in the longer-term cross functional projects to continually enhance the impact investment offerings and client experience and support key strategic projects for the Impact investing team. This role will drive impact and foster a culture that is grounded in Justice, Equity, Inclusion & Diversity (JEDI) and Tides core values – Future Focused, Accountability, Respect, Transparency and Collaboration.

What you will Do 

Core Duties 

• Regularly provide information about Tides impact investment services and solutions to new and existing clients including hundreds of DAF and FSP partners. 
• Maintain and evolve the impact investment strategic plan and roadmap to ensure progress based on learnings. 
• Participate in the development of new investment clients and discuss investment products and services, investment strategies, investment performance, risk profiles and review of market conditions. 
• Report to the finance team, executive leadership team, finance committee and board of directors regarding the Tides portfolio performance. 
• Evaluate the performance of investments and make timely changes to a portfolio due to cash flows, rebalancing, guideline changes to meet investment client objectives. 
• Assess the financial performance of existing investment partners and make recommendations as to potential changes/improvements in the investment options that Tides offers to its DAF and FSP partners. 
• Develop and present long-term capital sufficiency analyses based on client goals, current financial data, inflation and investment assumptions. 
• Maintain a current awareness of new impact investment strategies and instruments through regular investment research. 
• Leverage landscape analysis to identify leading impact investment trends and recommend alterations or enhancements to Tides investments products and services. 
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of investment screening processes with a particular focus on impact investments. 
• Regularly interact with clients regarding transactions, such as asset transfers and account opening procedures, researching client inquiries and conducting quarterly performance reviews. 
• Provide client account onboarding and structuring as well as assist in the spinout of partner funds
• Partner with the Vice President, Investments to prepare Board materials and summaries or for other client meetings. 
• Work closely with internal operations teams to document procedures and support process improvement efforts including streamlining workstreams, data collection, data management, knowledge management, onboarding and training of new clients. 
• Support ongoing efforts to optimize the client experience and investment returns. 
• Drive improved reporting in the investment process to increase customer satisfaction with Tides investment offerings.
• Monitor and report on risk factors to the financial sustainability of Tides including performance versus budget, investment income versus budget, AUM increases based on strategic impact investment initiatives and AUM decreases due to FSP spinouts. 
• Drive, evaluate and facilitate process improvement projects across cross-functional teams including Finance/Accounting, Marketing, Client Services, Strategic Partnerships, Legal, and Information Technology. 
• Leverage AI and other transformative technology to streamline the various elements of the investment and reporting process to increase efficiency.
• Utilize Asana to lead, monitor and complete impact investing projects. 

Special Projects 

• Review and refine the “deal evaluator” tool within the Shift Power matrix to ensure it aligns with Tides strategic impact goals and risk appetite. This involves assessing current evaluation criteria, recommending adjustments and collaborating with the investment’s team to finalize 
• Support the development and completion of the impact investing strategic plan, conducting market research, aligning investment strategies with organizational goals 
• Oversee the comprehensive review of Tides investments policy statement, ensuring it reflects current best practices and aligns with the organization’s mission and values. Engage stakeholders to gather input and secure buy-in for proposed changes. 
• Institute and implement a portfolio rebalancing effort on a quarterly basis
• Develop, refine and review the investments operation manual that outlines processes, protocols and procedures for Tides impact investment activities. Ensure the manual is comprehensive and supports consistency in operations. 
• Lead the onboarding and training and development of junior team members of the impact investing team including, but not limited, fellows from HBCUs.
• Assist the VP in the finalization of the Tides impact investment model, ensuring it integrates financial performance with social and environmental impact. Collaborate to validate the model and prepare it for implementation. Update the model based on market, strategic and portfolio changes. Report on the results from the investment model to the finance team, executive leadership team, finance committee and board of directors.
• Identify and establish key impact metrics that will be used to measure the effectiveness of the Foundation’s investments. 
• This role will supervise all junior team members including HBCU fellows, when applicable. Additional supervisory duties may occur in the future contingent team growth. 

What you will Bring 

• Passionate about Tides’ mission, vision, approach and values. 
• Strong knowledge of investment products, services, basic investment/accounting concepts and terminology like IRR, TWR, distributed capital, performance benchmarking, cash flows, etc. 
• Knowledge of direct investing and complex solution-making through investment policies, procedures and strategies. 
• Knowledge of the impact investing field, strategies and approaches a plus. 
• Expertise in fixed income is critical for this role. 
• Ability to deal with ambiguity, vagueness, and complexity; Highly autonomous and emotionally intelligent. 
• Ability to improve the end-user experience, working with business stakeholders, and thrive on the challenge of solving complex business problems in a fast-paced, rapidly growing organization. 
• A self-starter with the ability to anticipate needs and act ahead of direct guidance in a fast-paced environment. 
• A problem-solver - eager to optimize projects and processes for overall business operational efficiency. 
• Ability to be resourceful, proactive, reliable, trustworthy, and assertive when necessary. 
• Attention to detail, dedication to accuracy and a “no task is too small” mentality. 

Ideal Experience  

• 15 - 20 years of experience in strategic planning and implementing successful investment strategies 
• 15 - 20 years of experience in investment management with expertise in policy development and compliance. Experience with similar organizations highly desirable. 
• 15 - 20 years of investment measurement and evaluation with a focus on developing and implementing metrics in an investment context. 
• 5 - 10 years of combined work experience in impact investing, wealth management, investment advisory, asset management, financial services or socially focused enterprise 
• 5 – 10 years of demonstrated experience in client facing roles. 
• BA/BS degree or the equivalent combination of education and experience or background in Finance/Investments related field / quantitative field preferred. 
• Experience using MS Office Suite to manipulate data, validate and visually represent information for presentations. 
• Experience with other tools including general documenting tools like Word, PowerPoint, and Google Sheets/Docs/Slides. 
• Prior experience or ability to learn and manage cloud software like Addepar, Salesforce, NetSuite and Asana. 
• Experience with quantitative data management. 
• CFA, CFP, CAIA distinction(s), a plus.

Compensation 

Tides is committed to providing a competitive compensation package. We value pay equity and account for factors such as your location within the U.S., your skills and your relevant experience, and we will not ask for your salary history. 

Your starting salary will fall into one of three ranges: 

● $159,200 - $199,000 (Most of the United States) 

● $173,000 - $217,000 (Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. metro areas) 

● $191,000 - $238,800 (New York City & San Francisco metro areas) 

Please note, these metro areas are examples and not a complete list. Our Talent Acquisition team will review your application and confirm your placement within this structure with you at the beginning of the interview process. 

Application Instructions

Please submit your resume and a cover letter expressing why you are well-qualified for this role and your motivation for joining the team at Tides. For best consideration, apply by Monday, February 17, 2025 at 11:59pm ET.

Life at Tides  

Working at Tides connects you with world-class teammates, enduring relationships, and an inspired sense of purpose - while our employee benefits support our team’s talent and well-being. Our hybrid work model supports staff who are based across the United States, in addition to maintaining our offices in New York & San Francisco. 

Equal Employment Opportunity 

We look forward to reviewing applications from all qualified jobseekers. We strongly encourage applications from women, people of color, and bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the LGBTQIA+ communities. No applicant will be discriminated against because of their race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, or medical condition including acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we encourage and will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Where required by state law, we utilize E-Verify as a part of our employment authorization process. 

Applicants with Disabilities 

Reasonable accommodations will be made so that all who are interested may participate in our interview process. If you are in need of an accommodation, please advise in writing at the time you apply.