Associate Managing Director, Healthy Communities

About the Foundation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), located in Princeton, N.J., is a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime. To get there, we must work to dismantle structural racism and other barriers to health. Since 1972, we have focused on developing and promoting innovations in health and healthcare to improve the lives of millions. Through funding, convening, advocacy, and evidence-building, we work side-by-side with communities, practitioners, and institutions to achieve health equity faster and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.  

We take seriously our responsibilities, and we pledge to work in ways that reflect our Guiding Principles. These are rooted in equity and influence everything we do at RWJF. Equity, diversity, inclusion (EDI), and collaboration enable our staff’s wide range of experiences, passions, and perspectives to strengthen our ability to address our nation’s most pressing health issues and support a culture of belonging. Part of this work includes actively shaping an inclusive organization where all staff members thrive as we build and use our capabilities, voice, and power to advance health equity. RWJF offers a collaborative, collegial, and creative work environment. With a career at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, you will make a difference.  

About This Opportunity

Reporting to the managing director, Healthy Communities portfolio, the associate managing director will help to lead a team to develop and implement program strategy within the Healthy Communities portfolio.

The portfolio seeks to create equitable community conditions that allow everyone to reach their best possible health and wellbeing. The portfolio works collaboratively to support the Foundation’s Generational Goal to achieve Healthy and Equitable Community Conditions. The team is focused on advancing health equity by influencing and changing the systems that perpetuate concentrated poverty, inequitable access to opportunity, and structural racism in the development, governance, and financing of communities. Its work is advancing three broad aims:

• Increase visibility of structural racism’s impact on community conditions and health equity and elevate actionable data and solutions to dismantle barriers to opportunity.
• Increase public and private investments in neighborhoods and places historically excluded from opportunity in the past, without displacement, and to center community priorities and wealth-building.
• Identify and dismantle laws, policies, and government practices and procedures that perpetuate separation from opportunity and identifying and fine-tuning those that ensure protections from discrimination, exploitation, displacement, and other threats to health and wellbeing.

The associate managing director, in collaboration with the managing director, serves as the management team of the portfolio and leads the management and operations of a matrixed team in the development, implementation, and evolution of systems change strategies and strategic grantmaking. The associate managing director will have demonstrated abilities in complex project management; staff mentoring and teambuilding; and the development, execution, and evolution of systems change strategies and strategic grantmaking relevant to addressing structural racism. The associate managing director will have a demonstrated acumen in working collaboratively with others both inside and outside the Foundation.

As with staff at all levels of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, associate managing directors are expected to demonstrate a commitment to equity and to RWJF’s mission and Guiding Principles.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Core responsibilities for the associate managing directors are common across all four portfolios with some variations based on portfolio-specific structure and needs. Associate managing directors will perform other duties as assigned.

Strategy, Program Development, Monitoring, and Refinement:

Partner with the managing director to:

• Oversee and support an interdisciplinary team of skilled and motivated team members, including staff from other departments and units.
• Align all portfolio work, including portfolio program development and program implementation, with the Foundation’s overall Strategic Framework’s vision and Generational Goals.
• Identify connections and synergies across bodies of work.
• Oversee the curation and dissemination of learning resources, including targeted reviews of existing literature, surveys and research in the field, evaluation of current and past grantmaking, and learning from other organizations and partners.  
• Act as a thought partner to the managing director and team members for collaborative strategy formulation and refinement, including overseeing systematic learning and guiding the development of indicators of progress for the work.
• Guide strategy implementation, including managing program staff as they apply equitable grantmaking principles to developing and implementing programming and grantmaking, planning, and budgeting.
• Engage in external and field learning related to the portfolio’s work to track external trends and opportunities (e.g., conferences, webinars, grantee calls, publications and media).           

Portfolio Management and Operations:

• Develop, implement, and track annual work plans and budgets including efforts related to strategy evolution, strategic grantmaking, learning, teambuilding, operationalization of equity principles, and grantee and field engagement.
• Manage biannual grantee gathering and full team site visits.
• Oversee select portfolio operations (e.g., budgeting, concept development, agenda development) with other members of the portfolio management team (e.g., grants management specialists, program associates, program financial analysts, legal counsel, managing director).
• Manage relationships with grants management specialists and program financial analysts to oversee budgeting process, including forecasting, tracking, and reporting.
• Oversee select reporting functions (e.g., biannual updates for monitored projects; board materials; strategy review updates; tracking concepts).
• Manage the team’s application of equitable philanthropic practices.
• Manage program responsibilities in the event of staff transitions.
• Oversee grantee and partner communication and engagement including grantee gatherings, site visits, learning opportunities, and more.
• Represent the portfolio internally, including in meetings, on internal committees and workgroups, and through collaborative working relationships with peers in other portfolios, departments, and units.

Staff Management and Development:

Collaborate with the managing director to:

• Foster and lead a diverse, collaborative, and inclusive work environment that welcomes points of view from staff with diverse professional, cultural, social, and ethnic backgrounds and who range from seasoned experts to those earlier in their career.
• Maintain and model team norms and equity principles.
• Support staff’s development around diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracist practice and plans including participating in the Healthy Communities portfolio’s health equity workgroup.
• Coach and support the leadership and expertise of the team to advance the portfolio’s strategies.
• Assure the development of workplans for each portfolio staff member to support performance and professional development.
• Support the professional growth and agency of staff, including triaging opportunities for program staff to represent the portfolio’s work.
• Manage recruitment and onboarding of new staff.

Grantmaking Processes:

• Evaluate proposals for alignment with the Foundation’s Strategic Framework and the portfolio’s strategic priorities, strength of the proposal, including health equity and racial justice dimensions, potential impact, value for dollars requested, and the applicant organization's capacity and stability.
• Implement and promote practices and procedures for equitable grantmaking.
• Work in collaboration with departments across the Foundation to monitor financial status and oversee the portfolio budget.
• Oversee and manage workflow of grantmaking practices, in collaboration with portfolio grants management specialist, financial analyst, and program associate.
• Serve as facilitator between program staff and operational staff in program development and grants management.
• Serve as a backup to the managing director on grant approvals.

Minimum Requirements

• Commitment to racial and health equity and the Foundation’s vision, values, and Guiding Principles. Demonstrated personal and professional commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, including an understanding of structural racism and other systemic biases and their impact on health; proficiency in identifying equity issues and applying equity and justice principles in promoting Healthy and Equitable Community Conditions.
• Demonstrated understanding of applying systems-level change approaches in promoting healthy and equitable community conditions e.g., in the community development system, housing, and financing.
• Experience building equitable practices within an institution committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion as part of antiracist practice; and in fostering an inclusive environment working effectively with people from diverse professional, cultural, social, and ethnic backgrounds.
• Ability to work in an ambiguous, dynamic, and matrixed environment.
• Experience managing complex initiatives; ability to apply strategic thinking and management skills across the portfolio's work.
• Experience developing and managing budgets tied to strategic priorities.
• Experience managing and coaching staff through change initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability and acumen in communicating clearly both internally and externally.
• Ability to prioritize and handle multiple priorities at the same time.
• Supervisory experience and experience managing work teams, consultants; experience mentoring staff and colleagues at multiple levels; orientation to teambuilding.
• Exhibit sound and unbiased judgment and critical problem-solving skills. Able to make decisions, justify recommendations, and be responsive and clear.
• Acumen and objectivity in developing, executing, and evolving program strategy and grantmaking.
• Demonstrated commitment to learning.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills. Interest and ability in managing team/unit administrative processes and operations.
• Ability to travel, including site visits and representing RWJF at outside meetings.
• Education and experience equivalent to an advanced degree and six (6) or more years of extensive experience, proven leadership, and recognized in the field for specific content knowledge in healthy community conditions or systems change, and progressive management and supervisory experience.

Physical Requirements/Working Conditions

The incumbent will perform job duties in a typical business office environment. Specific physical abilities required by this job include operating basic office equipment. The incumbent will be required to attend meetings, both in person and off-site via phone or videoconference. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. RWJF is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Position's Assigned Office Location

This position is assigned to our Princeton, N.J. office.

Hybrid Flexible Purpose (HFP) Explained

As of January 1, 2023, the Foundation has implemented a model we call Hybrid: Flexible Purpose (HFP). RWJF’s new operating model is the infrastructure (e.g., policies, practices, protocols, procedures, systems) that forms the basis for how the day-to-day operations are managed, culture is built and nurtured, and mission is delivered. This model is designed to meet the needs of the organization while giving employees as much flexibility as possible. On-site participation is determined by job responsibilities, organizational and team-level requirements, and mandatory gatherings throughout the year. While there are no fixed days per week, all employees are expected to plan their time on-site and cover commuting expenses as needed to meet those expectations. Learn more about our operating model and in-office requirements.

Salary

The non-negotiable starting salary for this position is $182,000. Candidates who the Foundation determines have directly related experience exceeding the minimum requirements may be provided a higher starting salary of up to $200,200. All salary offers are non-negotiable.

Benefits

RWJF offers comprehensive health and retirement benefits to employees, generous paid time off, and more. Why work at RWJF? Learn more about the benefits of working at RWJF.

Transition Stipend

A transition stipend is provided to all new hires to aid in costs related to transitioning to a new job. 

How to Apply

• Applicants should submit a resume and one-page letter of interest by the stated deadline.
• Internal RWJF applicants should submit a resume and letter of interest through the Internal Jobs Hub app in Workday.

Application Deadline

Monday, September 8, 2025, by 10 a.m.ET.