The Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation is seeking an Indigenous grantmaking strategy advisor to deepen our Indigenous-led grantmaking in Mississippi and expand our understanding of Indigenous feminisms and trends to create national complementary approaches to multi-racial power building. Desired start date is December 2021.
About the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation
Noyes offers multi-year general-operating support to grassroots organizations led by queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, people of color working to advance social justice on multiple fronts. We work on intersecting issues to advance racial justice and gender justice and build broad, progressive movements centered on what people and communities actually need.
Noyes began concentrating its grantmaking in New York State and Mississippi in 2019, following a national scan and synthesis of learnings from a pilot program. Within New York and Mississippi, we seek to advance multi-issue work led by those most impacted by injustice — particularly women of color and Indigenous people — as they have the lived experience of being disenfranchised by unjust systems and have the clearest view of solutions. A quarter of our grantmaking budget is dedicated to Indigenous communities as an acknowledgment of the erasure of Indigenous peoples that has persisted since the founding of the United States and within social justice movements. Advancing Indigenous sovereignty and the self-determination of all people is our best hope for creating a just, equitable, and sustainable society. Learn more about our grants, history, and approach here.
Strategy Advisor Need
Noyes is seeking an advisor that will operate as a strategist and program consultant with expertise in relationship building, grassroots organizing, and power mapping to strengthen our Indigenous-led grantmaking work in the South and understanding of trends and barriers to funding Indigenous ecosystems holistically. We are seeking an individual with experience in Mississippi and/or the Southeast with close relationships and understanding of the Choctaw Nation and Indigenous communities in the surrounding region as well as a pulse on Indigenous movement efforts nationally.
We anticipate this work taking approximately ten hours per week (approximately 40 hours a month). This is a six-month initial contract with the possibility of extension beyond the original term. We have budgeted an hourly rate of $60-$90 or a daily rate of $480-$900 if preferred.
Strategy Advisor Connection to the US South
The consultant must have substantive connections, a deep network, and a proven track record of acting in a productive field/movement building role in Mississippi or the broader Southern region. They also must have the ability and willingness to explore landscapes beyond their preexisting networks. First-hand knowledge of equitable development and approaching the work with a racial and gender justice lens.
Strategy Advisor must also:
- Have excellent relationship building skills and humble learning posture
- Possess strong consensus building skills in with diverse and not always aligned participants
- Be a strategic thinker with a track record of thoughtful strategy and ecosystem mapping
- Have deep knowledge of organizing at the community level
- Understand both the power and limitations of grantmaking as a tool, particularly within the context and nuance of funding in Indian country
- Ability to manage work and liaise with Noyes team virtually
- Take careful notes, capturing learnings that can be easily shared
- Have the ability to travel
Strategy Advisor deliverables:
- Cultivate and maintain relationships with community and movement leaders, philanthropic leaders, and tribal leaders and facilitate those interconnections
- Provide Noyes staff with information about local news, critical events, and key changes in the context of each place
- Communicate regularly with Noyes team, keeping in mind a healthy continuity of relationships and knowledge flow
- Produce an evolving overview of the local and regional landscapes, drawing on research Noyes has already done and expanding opportunities and issues we need to learn more about
- Identify potential grantees in partnership with the Noyes program officer
Noyes program officer will support strategy advisor with:
- Programmatic vision, ongoing feedback, and opportunities for advisors to provide input on Noyes’ strategic direction
- Grantmaking intake, processing, and decision-making
Apply
Interested consultants should submit a desired hourly rate, along with a resume and letter demonstrating your strengths to apply@noyes.org. In the letter, please share more about your values, commitment to building Indigenous power, and the communities most impacted by injustice that you consider yourself accountable to. We strongly encourage Indigenous cis and trans women, two spirit, and gender-expansive people to apply.
