Director, Public Market Investments

The Organization
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is one of the nation’s largest private philanthropies. More than
100 years ago, Annie E. Casey was a widow raising her four children near Seattle, Washington.
To support his mother and siblings, the eldest son, Jim, left school at age 11 to work for a local
delivery company. At age 19 Jim and a friend started a bike messenger service which
expanded to become the world’s largest logistics company, United Parcel Service (UPS.)

Despite his success, Jim never forgot the challenges of growing up poor and having to support
a family with little education, nor did he forget the value of the encouragement from his
mother. In 1948, Jim and his siblings established the Annie E. Casey Foundation, named after
their mother, to help build a brighter future for kids like them.

Mission: Develop solutions to build a brighter future for children, youth, families and
communities, particularly those who face the greatest barriers to success in the United
States.

The Casey Foundation focuses on strengthening families, building stronger communities and
ensuring access to opportunity because children, youth and young adults need all three to
succeed. The Foundation advances research and solutions to overcome the barriers to
success, help communities demonstrate what works and influence decision makers to invest in
strategies based on solid evidence. All of this is possible because of its endowment, which has
provided over $1.5B of support in the last decade alone.
For more information see www.aecf.org.

Investments
The Investments Team manages the Foundation’s $3.5B endowment to generate returns and
fund the Foundation’s grant making and operations. The team invests the portfolio in a variety
of asset classes including equities, fixed income, hedge funds, venture capital, private equity
and social-impact investments primarily through partnerships with talented investment
managers around the world.

Position Summary
The Director, Public Market Investments (Director) is a senior member of the Investments Team
and will work closely with the CIO and other senior team members. The Director will co-head
the day-to-day management of the endowment’s public investment strategies (currently just
under 60% of the portfolio) to achieve desired long-term return and risk objectives. Working
collaboratively with other senior team members, their primary focus will be on identifying new
opportunities and managing existing investments in equities and fixed income. They will be
substantively engaged in evaluating and monitoring investments in long/short equity, absolute
return and credit.

The Director will contribute to the team on matters of portfolio construction and asset
allocation. They will prepare and present portfolio reviews and recommendations to the
Investments Team and Board of Trustees Finance Committee, contribute to the evaluation of
new and existing investments in other asset classes, and help improve the team’s investment
processes and tools.

Reports to: Chief Investment Officer (total team = 10)
Direct Reports: Investment Analyst (shared resource)
Other key relationships: Director, Public Market Investments
Director, Investments Operations, Portfolio Management & Risk
Position Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Hybrid work environment; Investment Team is on site Mondays
and Thursdays
Travel: Up to 25% planned national and international travel estimated to
monitor and select investment managers
Benefits: The Foundation offers excellent benefits including generous
retirement contributions, professional development and personal
time off
 

Key Responsibilities
Portfolio Management, Public Market Investments
• Lead investment strategy, portfolio construction, and manager due diligence and
selection for public equity and fixed income asset classes
• Monitor existing investments (performance, exposures, risk profile, liquidity, holdings)
and recommend changes (capital additions/withdrawals, terminations)
• Research new investment opportunities and strategies
• Proactively source and develop relationships with best-in-class investment managers
across a broad range of asset classes
• Lead and conduct in-depth due diligence on prospective and existing managers
• Negotiate investment agreements and terms
• Contribute input, thought partnership and assistance to support other public asset
classes (long/short equity, absolute return and credit)
• Collaborate with Director of Investment Operations, Portfolio Management and Risk on
the management of a single stock holding and cash, operational due diligence, legal
reviews and investment closing process
Investment Team Leadership
• Promote a culture in which team members have shared ownership of the portfolio,
collaborate easily and effectively, and collectively learn and improve
• Prepare and present investment recommendations and comprehensive portfolio
reviews to the Investments Team
• Contribute to discussions related to investment recommendations brought to the team
by other Investment Team members.
• Contribute to and lead team projects, e.g., investment policy and asset allocation
review, thematic research, process improvements

Finance Committee
• Prepare and present investment recommendations and comprehensive portfolio
reviews to the Board of Trustees Finance Committee

General Management
• Supervise the day-to-day work of investment analyst (shared resource) and interns
• Conduct regular performance assessments
• Facilitate and support growth, training and development of team members
Ideal Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate will possess a passion for institutional investing, a belief in the power of
philanthropy to address unsolved social issues, and an appreciation for the importance of
aligning the Foundation’s investment activities with the organization’s mission and values.

Leadership Competencies Expected
• Functional Expertise Demonstrates highly developed subject matter knowledge and
thought leadership in their domain. Stays abreast of trends in the field and appropriately
disseminates knowledge throughout the organization.
• Sound Decision-Making Possesses strong intellectual curiosity and the ability to
analytically, conceptually and critically evaluate information to determine relative strengths
and weaknesses of ideas and proposals. Comfortable managing ambiguity and balancing
action with the appropriate level of risk.
• Results Orientation Proactively anticipates future needs and creates a mechanism for
overcoming hurdles, setting high standards for the organization and holding others
accountable. Ensures organizational strategies are translated into measurable objectives
and actionable plans.
• 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.
• Cultural Competence Personally models and promotes the organization’s commitment to
developing a diverse workforce and providing an inclusive environment where all
employees are respected and valued. Ensures that the organization’s leadership, policies,
programs and culture align to help the organization reach its full potential by mitigating
bias, attracting diverse talent and embracing the unique experiences and identities of all
people.

Qualifications Required
1. Compelled by the mission and purpose of AECF
2. At least 15 years of investment management experience, including managing a multiasset
class and/or multi-manager portfolio of $500MM+ in a foundation, endowment or
similar organization
3. Investment management leadership in public asset classes, including equities; direct
investing experience is a positive
4. Working knowledge of all asset classes is critical (private equity, public equity, debt
instruments, hedge funds, etc.)
5. Track record of outstanding long-term investment performance and accountability for
achieving objectives
6. Experience selecting, monitoring and building relationships with investment managers
7. Demonstrated leadership and supervisory skills and success supporting and developing
talented colleagues to succeed individually and as a team
Investment Skills and Experience
1. Superior investment acumen, i.e., ability to formulate and defend well-reasoned
investment decisions
2. Solid quantitative analysis and investment modeling skills
3. Willing to hold oneself and others accountable to achieving high levels of investment
and team performance
4. Broad knowledge of global capital markets, asset classes and financial instruments
5. Existing relationships with a broad network of investment managers, peers and other
institutional investors
6. Interest in exploring opportunities to more closely integrate ESG factors into investment
policies and process
7. Comfortable with the long-term approach of endowment & foundation investing
8. CFA strongly preferred

Workstyle Preferences
1. Highly self-motivated and comfortable working with minimal direction
2. Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities
3. Strong writing, public speaking and presentation skills, including ability to communicate
with trustees and other constituents in a clear and concise manner that builds
confidence without use of jargon
4. Eager to engage in discussion and debate, able to acknowledge and integrate diverse
perspectives, open to input and feedback
5. Independent thinker, intellectually curious and able to learn quickly and adapt to novel
situations
6. Low ego and team orientation; willing to support team workloads when necessary
7. Culturally fluent, able to work well with people from a wide range of cultural
backgrounds and dedicated to racial equity
8. Demonstrate leadership abilities, especially in a non-hierarchical environment
9. Strategic and pragmatic, able to establish priorities and execute against them
effectively
10. Strong organizational skills and attention to detail

To Apply
AECF has partnered with Doran Leadership Partners to lead this search. Please send your
resume to Kelly.Dettmann@DoranLeadership.com or Heidi.Westlind@DoranLeadership.com. Cover
letters are encouraged but not required.
Kelly Dettmann
kelly.dettmann@doranleadership.com
312.731.3069
Heidi Westlind
hwestlind@doranleadership.com
952.484.2108