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Chief Investment Officer

The Organization

Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations (“The Foundations”) believes in the best of Minnesota and the power of its communities. With roots in Saint Paul and partners across the state, the Organization represents Minnesota’s largest community foundation and the partner of choice for thousands of donors, nonprofits and community organizations that are working to address some of the biggest problems facing Minnesota communities. The Foundations inspire generosity to make Minnesota better for all who call it home. As an organization, it is resolutely focused on its strategic goals of advancing equity, strengthening communities and broadening philanthropic expression. In 2017, The Foundations and its partners granted more than $100MM to make a lasting impact in our communities.

The Foundations’ investment portfolio totals $1.5B. The Organization works to steward donors’ funds for prudent, long-term growth, in addition to supporting some impact investments.

The Saint Paul Foundation and Minnesota Community Foundation Investments

The Saint Paul Foundation (TSPF) and Minnesota Community Foundations’ (MCF) investment partnership, the Community Investment Group (CIG), provides unified professional management of various portfolios: Multi-Asset Endowment, Diversified Equity and Fixed Income. These portfolios invest with nearly 40 different investment managers.

CIG also has three outside partners: F.R. Bigelow Foundation, Mardag Foundation and The Jones Family Foundation. Their partnership in CIG provides them access to investment managers and alternative assets they could not access as a stand-alone portfolio.

The community foundations are also organized as a charitable trust with assets in excess of $300MM. The investments team oversees and collaborates with various trust companies to manage these portfolios.

F.R. Bigelow Foundation

In addition to its investment in CIG, the F.R. Bigelow Foundation has invested 10% of its total portfolio in an impact investment strategy. F.R. Bigelow Foundation recognizes that its fiduciary responsibility does not end with maximizing financial return and minimizing risk. It believes that fiduciary responsibility must include integration of prudent financial management practices with principles of social equality and inclusion, community development and corporate accountability. The investment team staffs the F.R. Bigelow Foundation’s investment committee in the management of this strategy.

Managing Various Donor Advised Programs

TSPF and MCF serve donors by offering donor advised funds. The investment team manages the Foundations’ suite of investment options as well as individually managed funds and financial institution partnership portfolios.

For more information about the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation (SPMCF) please visit: www.spmcf.org.

Position Summary

With the recent departure of its Chief Investment Officer (CIO), The Foundations is launching an external search for a successor. This person will have deep experience with investments and financial markets, have a proven passion for philanthropy, be an outstanding relationship builder, internally and externally, and possess a high degree of emotional intelligence.

With dual reporting to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the CIO will be a key member of the executive leadership team, provide leadership to The Foundations’ investment strategy, ensure effective manager due diligence and monitoring and oversee portfolio management. The CIO will staff the various investment committees of The Foundations, participate in donor and prospect cultivation, and present to CIG’s partners.

Reports to:   Chief Financial Officer (Christine Searson) and President and Chief Executive Officer (Dr. Eric Jolly)Direct Reports:  Director of Investments (+1 Investment Analyst) and an Investments Operations Assistant

Other Key Relationships:            

Vice President of Philanthropic Services (Jeremy Wells)
Vice President of Community Impact (Ann Mulholland)
SPMCF Management Team
SPMCF Board of Directors
Community Investment Group Investment Committee

F.R. Bigelow Investment Committee

Investment Consultant (Summit Strategies Inc.)

U.S. Bank Wealth Management

Various Investment Managers

Position Location:                      Saint Paul, Minnesota; up to 15% travel is expected

Key Responsibilities

Portfolio Structure and Management

  • In partnership with respective investment committees, lead development and implementation of investment policy and strategies that support organizational goals.
  • Review economic trend data and stay current with general capital market and alternative asset developments.
  • Lead strategic investment planning by performing asset class research and portfolio level analysis in support of asset allocation, portfolio construction and future investment commitments.
  • Oversee Individually Managed Funds and Financial Institution Partnership portfolios including manager due diligence, quarterly monitoring and as needed, annual reviews and annual investment reporting to finance & operations committee.
  • Serve as member of Foundations’ retirement plan and charitable trust committees.
  • Research and develop perspective on impact investing, supporting the F.R. Bigelow Foundation in this area.  

Investment Manager Due Diligence & Monitoring

  • Provide investment recommendations and share knowledge regarding markets and managers with investment committee.
  • Perform ongoing monitoring and due diligence on current investment managers including understanding their diversity policies and practices.
  • Proactively source and evaluate minority- and majority-owned investment managers across broad range of asset classes; maintain pipeline of prospective managers.
  • Work with consultant to perform due diligence on prospective managers including analysis of investment strategy, track record, manager competitive advantages/weaknesses, risk management, operation, team strength, reference checks, review of audited and unaudited financial statements, and review of investment documents.
  • Engage, manage and evaluate outside consultant.

Investment Committees

  • Staff investment committees of CIG, F.R. Bigelow Foundation and U.S. Bank Trust Portfolio.
  • Effectively support and collaboratively work with committee chairs to develop annual committee work plans, meeting topics and agenda and provide appropriate leadership.  


Donor/Prospect Engagement

  • Meet with donors and prospects; present Foundations’ investment portfolios and investment strategy in conjunction with philanthropic services team.

CIG Partners

  • Meet with leadership of CIG Partners to present CIG investment performance and investment strategy.

Team & Project Management

  • Motivate and lead investment team to ensure positive and collaborative environment, resulting in creation of a high performance and continuous improvement culture which values the contribution of each team member.
  • Conduct individual and team performance assessments; facilitate and support growth, training and development of team members.
  • Oversee process optimization efforts and technology enhancements for improved customer service, analytics and reporting.

Leadership Competencies

As a leader at The Foundations, the CIO is expected to demonstrate the following leadership competencies:

Functional Expertise

Demonstrates highly developed knowledge of investments and markets and thought leadership in the field. Stays abreast of trends and appropriately disseminates knowledge throughout the organization.

Cultural Competence

Models inclusion and champions equality by effectively engaging people of diverse cultures and backgrounds. Invests in building organizational capacity for inclusion and equality by maintaining an environment that is bias free. Possesses ability to work with colleagues with a range of passions including social justice, community collaborations and other interests.

Builds Talent

Develops and maintains high-performing teams and coaches other leaders to develop their own leadership capabilities. Ensures all leaders and team members challenge and support each other while respecting others’ unique roles and contributions.

Fosters Collaboration

Creates an environment that supports collaboration by facilitating communication and coordination across all parts of the organization. Builds an intentional and cohesive culture that aligns functional agendas and unites the team.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The candidate will possess a passion for institutional investing and the power of philanthropy to transform communities. They will have the ability to effectively delegate and manage up and down as well as teach and advise, and demonstrate strong organizational and planning skills. The ability to build collaborative relationships with key partners and naturally demonstrate an executive presence that both conveys authority and engenders trust are also critical to success.

Key skills and experiences desired include:

  • 15+ years of relevant experience working in institutional investment management within a foundation, endowment, pension fund, and/or large-scale family office environment.
  • Strong understanding of and experience in capital markets, portfolio construction and management, asset allocation theory and modeling, benchmark analysis and performance measurement.
  • Demonstrated track record of successful investments.
  • Experience performing research and analysis on various investment topics and conducting manager due diligence and monitoring.
  • Experience across multiple asset categories, to include publicly traded U.S. and international equity and fixed income, private equity, hedge fund, real estate, commodities and derivatives.
  • Familiarity with UPMIFA, donor advised funds, charitable trusts and impact investing.
  • Demonstrated authorship of strategic investment policies and plans.
  • Demonstrated experience serving on, staffing and/or leading investment committees.
  • Track record of leadership in a complex organization, where a need to balance deeply-felt traditions with change calls for strong leadership and sensitive change management skills.
  • Demonstrated success as player-coach with the ability to work alongside a team with attention to detail and quality.
  • Demonstrated experience leading and managing a team of competent professionals around aligned goals for the organization and the department.
  • Skilled at working independently with a sense of self-direction and with owning appropriate leadership responsibilities in the organization.
  • Demonstrated ability to effectively interact, communicate and collaborate with people from cultural backgrounds other than their own.
  • Experience working with and directing investment consultants.
  • Advanced degree preferred; CFA certification strongly preferred.
  • A strong work ethic, clear demonstration of honesty and integrity, and the highest ethical standards are assumed.

We consistently work to make our community a stronger, more equitable place. In order to fulfill our mission, we understand that employing a diverse team of knowledgeable, passionate individuals who reflect our community is vital.   To that end, the Foundation’s staff consistently works to ensure that our recruiting activities and hiring plan align with our commitment to equitable hiring practices.

 

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