POSITION DESCRIPTION
THE CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT - EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT - COUNSEL

April 1, 2014

The Opportunity

The California Endowment (TCE) is seeking a strategic leader and counsel with exceptional interpersonal and execution skills and extensive organizational management skills to serve as the foundation’s new Executive Vice President-Counsel. The EVP-Counsel position is key senior leadership senior role within the Foundationwith key responsibilities in the following areas: 1) working closely as a chief advisor to the President and CEO on matters of governance, organizational and operational effectiveness, and organizational strategy in pursuit of key results; 2) contributing as an integral member of the seven-member executive Committee; 3) serving as the foundation’s Chief Ethics Officer and legal counsel; and 4) leading several important internal functions including Grants Administration, Contracts Management, Human Resources, and Internal Audit. The EVP reports directly to the President and CEO in the foundation’s corporate headquarters in Los Angeles.

The Foundation

The California Endowment (TCE) is the state’s largest private health foundation, created in 1996 with a mission to improve health, and access to health care, in underserved communities. Headquartered at the Center for Healthy Communities in downtown Los Angeles, the foundation maintains offices in Sacramento, Oakland, Fresno, and San Diego. The Endowment was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. The Endowment challenges the conventional wisdom that medical settings and individual choices are solely responsible for people's health. The Endowment believes that health happens in neighborhoods, schools, and with prevention. For more information, visit The Endowment’s Web site at

The “Building Health Communities” Plan

The foundation enters the fourth year of a ten-year strategic plan called Building Healthy Communities (BHC). With this strategic plan, the Board of Directors has approved a set of goals to guide the foundation’s work through the year 2020, all focused on underserved and low-income communities:

  1. Health care for all Californians – every Californian deserves access to quality, affordable health care (The Health Happens with Prevention Campaign)
  2. Improved health and wellness in California’s schools – improved opportunities for physical fitness and healthy eating, along with healthy, safe school climates (The Health Happens In Schools Campaign)
  3. Improved health opportunities in neighborhoods – improved land use planning in service of healthy activities: green space for parks, walkable and “bike-able” communities, healthy food access opportunities (The Health Happens in Neighborhoods Campaign).

The foundation pursues these goals through an organizational structure that integrates two bodies of work: the “Healthy Communities” work, which centers on a place-based, community-building strategy in 14 underserved communities across the state; and the “Healthy California” work, which focuses on statewide policy changes in support of the three aforementioned goals.

Key Responsibilities

The following are the key responsibilities of the EVP-Counsel:

  • Strategic Advisor to the President & CEO. Serve as a chief advisor to the President and CEO, providing counsel on matters in support of the Board of Directors and excellence in governance, organizational and operational effectiveness, and organizational strategy in pursuit of key results. Represent the President and CEO, as needed, in both internal and external settings.
  • Internal Organizational Leadership. Support the leadership of the President and CEO in establishing and maintaining a culture of effectiveness, fluid communications, transparency and teamwork at TCE. Strengthen alignment among programmatic, operational, and administrative functions. Solve intra-organizational issues when they arise through collaboration and creative problem solving. Contribute to a sense of community working with staff in TCE’s five different geographical settings across the state. Serve as a member of the executive committee.
  • Legal Counsel. Provide legal counsel to the organization to better inform the strategic and tactical decisions made by TCE, and provide guidance and developcreative solutions to support the achievement of the foundation’s programmatic objectives.
  • Chief Ethics Officer. Serve as the Chief Ethics Officer for the Foundation ensuring responsible stewardship, proper governance, compliance with all laws and regulations, avoidance of actual, potential or apparent conflicts of interest, and a commitment to the standards of integrity, ethics and transparency.
  • Functional Leadership. Oversee the Grants Administration, Contracts Management, Human Resources, and Internal Audit functions.

Qualifications

TCE seeks an individual with exceptional wisdom and judgment, and who is substantially committed to the values of the Foundation, e.g., the highest ethical standards, a strong appreciation for diversity and inclusiveness, transparency in all that the Foundation does, precious stewardship of the resources in the Foundation’s trust, and a sense of passion for the mission of the organization.

Key qualifications include:

  • At least 10-15 years of experience of senior-level management/leadership is required. Senior leadership experience in the nonprofit and/or philanthropy sectors is a must, and experience in working directly with governing boards is critical.
  • Law degree from an ABA accredited university and knowledge of laws pertaining to foundations and nonprofit sector governance is crucial. A current California license to practice law is desired.
  • A track record as a program leader/manager and a strategic and tactical problem solver able to work at the big picture level and also at the operational, problem solving level.
  • A leader known for his/her thoughtfulness and ability to work collaboratively and creatively with internal stakeholders to solve strategic and day-to-day operational issues.
  • Exceptional interpersonal, teamwork and a strong appreciation for intra- and inter-organizational collaboration is a must. A “management by walking around” ethos is necessary.
  • A strong orientation of sound fiscal stewardship is required.

Application Process

Interested applicants should send a resume, cover and salary information by email to:

Martha Montag Brown & Associates

Email:

Phone: 818.790.8873

The California Endowment offers a competitive compensation and benefits package.

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