Posted on October 17, 2012

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Knowledge Manager

The Knowledge Manager is an internal education catalyst responsible for effectively capturing and disseminating organizational and field-based knowledge so that industry best practices and REDF’s experience and expertise are integrated into the organization’s practices and decision-making with the goal of strengthening REDF’s impact and effectiveness advancing the social enterprise field.

S/he will acquire a deep understanding of REDF’s key program elements and will develop a body of best practice findings, ideas, and sources of subject expertise from REDF’s portfolio, formal studies, and practitioner interviews. The Knowledge Manager will establish processes to facilitate the collection, sharing, and retention of social enterprise field knowledge, contributing to the REDF’s employment social enterprise model development as well as identifying and managing product and tool development.

Through this role, there is the opportunity to have a significant impact on REDF’s strategic direction and drive critical work to increase REDF’s impact. REDF is committed to building and supporting a deep and broad culture of knowledge sharing as a means to centralize and preserve great ideas and best practices, leading to improved outcomes and increased sustainability. The Knowledge Manager reports to the Director of Evaluation & Knowledge.

See What a Job Can Do

REDF creates jobs that change lives. For individuals facing life’s greatest barriers, access to gainful employment can seem impossible. REDF has pioneered a venture philanthropy model to employ those who are overcoming chronic poverty, homelessness, criminal history, substance abuse or mental illness by investing in nonprofit-run businesses called ‘social enterprises.’

Since 1997, REDF (The Roberts Enterprise Development Fund) has provided funding and business assistance to a portfolio of social enterprises and has helped employ more than 6,700 people in two of the most diverse regions of the country – the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. Now we’re taking our model to scale and working across our state’s innovative business environment. We will create jobs for thousands more Californians while developing a replicable social enterprise model to bring adults and young people into the economic mainstream throughout the country. In order to accomplish these ambitious goals, REDF is embarking on a significant fundraising effort.

Responsibilities

• Assemble and codify REDF’s employment social enterprise best practices and contribute to REDF’s effort to ensure knowledge is treated as a strategic asset in organizational operations. Formalize, monitor, and expand REDF’s methods for acquiring, sharing, and integrating best practices.
• Establish processes and systems for capturing, managing, and championing organization-wide knowledge sharing
• In partnership with cross functional teams help build and optimize REDF’s knowledge management infrastructure
• Influence and support organizational culture, practices and policies that enable greater innovation, knowledge sharing, and evidence-based decision making
• Contribute innovative ideas, methods, and new relationships to REDF to support the expansion of REDF’s impact through effective knowledge integration and dissemination

Coordinate REDF Best Practice Product Creation and Dissemination

• Create and execute a strategy to cultivate and capture knowledge related to promising and best practices being tested at REDF. Establish and maintain protocols and timelines for monitoring practices being tested/piloted, compiling results, and integrating lessons learned
• Identify, establish, and implement tool and presentation production priorities; coordinate with appropriate REDF staff and consultants to set priorities and manage production
• In coordination with appropriate staff, plan and coordinate content for knowledge sharing events such as social enterprise webinars, beyond-portfolio trainings, and workshops

• Manage, edit, and produce industry-leading reports and other published materials that capture promising practices and emerging research on social enterprise and transitional job impact
• Identify and implement original, innovative research methods and strategies for capturing best practices and increasing REDF’s evidence base
• Cultivate a deep understanding of trends and cutting edge research strategies impacting REDF through regular review of academic literature, white papers, journals, blogs and other media

Essential Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree is a must. Master’s Degree preferred or will consider equivalent experience in knowledge management, public policy, program development, or evaluation
• Five (5) years experience, including at least two years as a Program/Policy Analyst, Consultant or Manager responsible for critical research, analytical, and organizational deliverables, and working with limited supervision.
• Exceptional writing, interviewing, relationship management and other communication skills, able to tailor communications to a wide variety of audiences
• Strong interest in and familiarity with one or more of the following: social change, workforce development and social entrepreneurship, public policy, community economic development and employment-focused social enterprises
• Experience managing large, complex projects with multiple stakeholders involving people, technology, and funding
• Expert in process creation and implementation
• Self-starter, who shows initiative, and is unafraid of risk or ambiguity
• Highly developed conceptual, analytical, and innovative problem-solving ability; demonstrated ability to handle complex knowledge management issues
• Proficiency in MS Office suite of applications (Visio a plus). Comfortable working with technical resources to manage client and project relationships, including Salesforce.
• Able and willing to travel periodically to Southern California and to other parts of the U.S.
• Superb inter-personal skills and professional presence
• Passion for REDF’s mission and target population

Desired Qualifications

• Some knowledge of nonprofit accounting and finance best practices
• Masters Degree (e.g. MBA, MPP, MSOD)
• Business or entrepreneurial background with solid knowledge of social impact field
• Experience with content management and enterprise databases, especially Salesforce
• Knowledge and understanding of current information technologies, with keen sense of what to deploy and when

Characteristics

High ethical standards, good sense of humor, sound judgment, team player, multi-tasker, self-starter, eager for feedback, flexible, commitment to REDF’s mission and a demonstrated commitment and passion to serve the community.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

Physical Demands

Position is considered sedentary and no unusual physical requirements are necessary to perform most daily tasks. Position requires extended period of sitting, with much of the work done at a computer workstation and telephone. Certain computer applications, programs, and documents may require an ability to differentiate colors, shapes, and symbols.

Position requires the ability to drive an automobile independently (must have a valid CA driver’s license).

The Rewards

• Ability to help craft REDF’s next 15 years of impact
• Work with passionate, dedicated people
• Apply your passion for social change in your career
• Operate with a high degree of autonomy in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
• Competitive, comprehensive benefits package

Application Instructions

Join Us!

Please submit resume and cover letter as one file through REDF’s online portal.

Visit our website for additional job opportunities with REDF or with an organization in our portfolio.

REDF is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in every aspect of its relations with staff members and prospective employees, and will not discriminate against applicants for employment because of race, creed, color, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sex, or sexual orientation. REDF encourages employment applications from people who are representative of the culturally and ethnically diverse communities REDF serves.