Senior Director of Purpose & Social Impact at Zell Family Office – Chicago, Illinois

COMPANY OVERVIEW:

The Zell Family Office (ZFO) is a division of Chai Trust Company LLC, a private Illinois trust company which has served the needs of Sam Zell and his family for decades. ZFO was created in 2022 to provide a suite of services to three generations of Zell family members. ZFO goes beyond traditional wealth and capital management, focusing on helping the family to flourish in all aspects of life. Its services include investment management of a complex and significant set of investment portfolios and assets, accounting and reporting, tax, treasury and trust, and legal and compliance. ZFO fosters the family’s human capital development through learning and governance support. Every part of ZFO is dedicated to protecting and growing the family’s human and financial capital and supporting the family’s legacy.

For more information, visit www.zellfamilyoffice.com

POSITION OVERVIEW:

The Senior Director of Purpose & Social Impact oversees the strategic, programmatic, and operational direction of three family foundations’ philanthropic portfolios. This role partners closely with family members, foundation boards, and internal stakeholders to ensure all philanthropic efforts are aligned with the family’s purpose, mission, and values. This role provides strategic leadership, manages key relationships with grantees and partners, and ensures that the foundations operate with excellence, impact, and integrity.

As the family seeks to expand its philanthropic strategies to reflect the diverse interests of its members, this role will be pivotal in advancing those varied philanthropic objectives. This role will work with the foundation boards to thoughtfully prioritize activities—ensuring high-quality vetting, analysis, and curation—while protecting the time and focus of family principals. This role reports to the Managing Director, Family Engagement & Learning and will supervise a team supporting initiatives that cultivate meaningful engagement for multiple generations of the family.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Leadership & Governance

• Define and refine collective and respective family foundations’ mission, vision, values, purposes with stakeholders.
• Lead strategic conversations with the foundation boards to develop policies, priorities, and long-term philanthropic direction. Ensure philanthropy-related information is communicated clearly to all stakeholders.
• Develop multi-year strategies and frameworks for assessing progress and impact.
• Provide regular briefings, insights, and recommendations philanthropic trends, opportunities, and risk considerations.
• Partner with the Investment team to align investment strategies to each foundation’s mission(s).

Grantmaking & Portfolio Management

• Set priorities for grantmaking portfolios, including focus areas, partnerships, geographic priorities, role of impact investing, and approaches to impact measurement.
• Oversee the full lifecycle of grants, from sourcing and due diligence through recommendation, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Research and analyze organizations, initiatives, and systems-changing opportunities aligned with the foundation’s aims.
• Assess applications for strategic fit, organizational capacity, financial sustainability, and potential for measurable impact.
• Leverage a broad network of program officers and philanthropy peers across many impact areas to identify promising grantees and inform high-quality recommendations.

Relationship Management & External Engagement

• Serve as the primary point of contact for nonprofits, providing a professional and effective layer between external partners and the foundation boards.
• Represent the foundations in philanthropic networks, convenings, and collaborative efforts.
• Identify opportunities to amplify the foundations’ influence through partnerships, co-funding, or innovative initiatives.

Program Evaluation & Learning

• Lead analysis of programmatic outcomes, ensuring grants and initiatives are effective, aligned with the sponsoring family member’s goals, and responsive to changing community needs.
• Identify emerging trends, risks, and new opportunities across the foundations’ focus areas.

Family Engagement & Team Leadership

• Partner with the Family Engagement & Learning team to establish trusted relationships with family members to be a strategic thought partner for their personal and family foundation philanthropy matters.
• Partner with the Family Engagement & Learning team to ensure high-quality educational, engagement, and learning opportunities for multiple generations of the family on impactful philanthropy.
• Create joyful, meaningful, and engaging philanthropic experiences that reflect the family’s values and make giving a source of connection and enjoyment.
• Foster a collaborative, mission-driven team culture grounded in respect, excellence, and curiosity.
• Manage consultants, internal staff, and other external partners as needed.

Operational Excellence

• Ensure strong philanthropic operations, including due diligence, compliance, documentation, and reporting.
• Develop processes that improve efficiency, transparency, and accountability.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education/Experience

• 12+ years of progressive leadership experience in philanthropy, private foundations, grantmaking, social impact, or related fields; prior experience as a grant maker is required.
• Strong strategic thinker with experience advising boards, executives, or ultra-high-net-worth families; experience working with a family office is strongly preferred.
• Deep understanding of nonprofit management, financial analysis, and impact measurement.
• Ability to guide principals and board members on the pros, cons, and compliance requirements of various charitable giving structures, including donor-advised funds and private foundations.
• Strong network across philanthropy, issue-focused fields, or community impact ecosystems across an array of issue areas.
• Experience managing teams and developing cross-functional leaders.
• Working familiarity with best practices in private foundations.

Other Qualities/Characteristics

• Exceptional communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build trusting relationships across diverse communities and sectors.
• High degree of discretion, emotional intelligence, and judgment working in a family office environment.