Director, Knowledge Strat & Org Learning

Director, Knowledge Strategy and Organizational Learning

Reporting to the Vice President, Knowledge Management, the hybrid role will report 2 days in one of our 5 office locations (Los Angeles, Oakland, Fresno, Sacramento or San Diego).

The California Endowment (The Endowment) is a private, statewide health foundation established in 1996 whose mission is to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians.

Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, the Endowment has regional offices in Sacramento, Oakland, Fresno and San Diego, with staff working throughout the state. We challenge the conventional wisdom that medical settings and individual choices are solely responsible for people's health. We believe that health happens in neighborhoods, schools, and with prevention.

Position Summary:

The Director, Knowledge Strategy and Organizational Learning is a senior, cross-functional leader responsible for designing and advancing The California Endowment (TCE)'s approach to knowledge management, learning, and continuous improvement in service of our mission. This role will build and implement a comprehensive knowledge ecosystem that enables TCE to effectively collect, analyze, synthesize, and share insights across the enterprise and with external partners. The Director, Knowledge Strategy and Organizational Learning will also serve as a champion of Trust-Based Philanthropy (TBP), ensuring that knowledge and learning practices reinforce equitable, transparent, and relationship-centered grantmaking.

This position will report to the Vice President, Knowledge Management. In partnership with the VP, Knowledge Management and the Director, Evaluation and Learning, this position will foster a culture of learning, collaboration, and innovation while strengthening TCE's ability to measure impact, inform strategy, and contribute to broader field-building efforts.

Key Responsibilities:

• Knowledge Strategy and Management: Develops and implements a comprehensive knowledge management system that enables the collection, analysis, sharing, and use of insights across the enterprise.
• Directs the assessment and development of organizational, departmental, and individual training plans and programs related to knowledge management
• Collaborates with cross-functional teams to ensure that knowledge practices inform strategy development, implementation, and refinement. This includes standardized knowledge-sharing practices, including documentation, learning agendas, and repositories.
• In partnership with Evaluation and Learning, leads sense-making processes with staff, board, and grantees to understand progress and identify strategic shifts or adaptations.
• Ensures knowledge is accessible, actionable, and integrated into decision-making at all levels.
• Leverages technology platforms to enhance knowledge capture, collaboration, and reporting.
• Leads organizational development and learning efforts centered around living into the tce+ principles, advancing racial justice, and embedding learning and equity throughout the enterprise knowledge system.
• Trust-Based Grants Management: Serves as a champion for Trust-Based Philanthropy (TBP), ensuring that grantmaking practices are streamlined, equitable, and rooted in partnership, reducing the administrative burden on grantees.
• Oversees TCE's grantmaking effectiveness team in charge of the grants management systems, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and operational excellence.
• Establishes efficient, responsive processes for grant record maintenance, payment tracking, and grantee support, emphasizing transparency and accessibility.
• Ensures that grantee perspectives and community knowledge are meaningfully integrated into organizational learning.
• Staff Management and Development: Leads, mentors, and manages grantmaking effectiveness team that oversees the grants management systems, including the internal team, consultants, and vendors.
• Sets clear strategic goals and performance expectations and conducts performance reviews for direct reports.
• Provides ongoing performance management by providing guidance, clear and consistent feedback, and supporting opportunities for learning and development for communications staff.
• Fosters and leads a diverse, collaborative, and inclusive work environment that welcomes points of view that are inclusive of each person's professional, cultural, social, ethnic, and experiential backgrounds.
• Cross-Functional Alignment, Collaboration, and Innovation: Fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement among leaders, staff, and grantee partners, while also building internal trust and alignment.
• Collaborates across the enterprise to enhance operational efficiency and ensures that knowledge systems support decision-making and innovation.
• Designs and facilitates learning spaces such as learning sessions, after-action reviews, communities of practice, and strategy sessions.
• Supports enterprise-wide projects related to learning, strategy execution, and change management.
• Field Building and External Engagement: Represents TCE in national and regional philanthropic learning spaces, contributing thought leadership and learning from the field.
• Engages and builds relationships with philanthropy colleagues, academic institutions, and community-based evaluators and leaders to advance shared knowledge and field-wide practices.
• Promotes inclusive and accessible dissemination of insights to diverse audiences, supporting shared understanding and community empowerment.
• Identifies and integrates external best practices into internal systems and approaches.
• Measurement, Evaluation, and Accountability: In partnership with the Evaluation and Learning Lead, partners with leadership to identify the most meaningful indicators of progress, helping to define what success looks like in advancing health and racial equity – and building systems to track, share, and act on that data.
• Develops tools to measure learning effectiveness.
• Develops internal capacity for data analysis and storytelling that drives learning and accountability across the enterprise.
• In partnership with Evaluation and Learning, partners with leadership team to establish benchmarks and systems to track performance and impact aligned with TCE's strategic goals.
• Collaborates across teams to amplify findings and lessons learned with key internal and external stakeholders.
• Resource Management: Manages departmental resources and budget with efficiency and transparency, ensuring alignment with enterprise-wide goals and values.
• Oversees vendor relationships (e.g., evaluators, facilitators, technology providers).
• Allocates resources strategically to maximize organizational learning and impact.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Desired Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Deep understanding of health equity, racial equity, social determinants of health, and systems-change approaches.
• Excellent relationship building, facilitation, and interpersonal communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Strong understanding of grants management systems, data platforms, or knowledge-sharing tools.
• Proven success in leading enterprise-wide initiatives, collaborating across different departments to achieve a shared outcome.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment with competing deadlines.
• Experience advancing trust-based philanthropy practices.
• Strong collaborative skills and cultural competency, with experience engaging diverse populations and stakeholders.
• Strong project management, strategic thinking, and organizational skills.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook).

Minimum Experience:

• Minimum ten (10) years of experience in knowledge management, organizational learning, evaluation, or strategy with five (5) or more years of management experience.
• A bachelor's degree in public health, public policy, or related field is equivalent to four years of relevant experience.
• Deep understanding of and commitment to tce+ principles, ensuring that all engagements with staff, partners, and grantees are rooted in trust, transparency, and shared power. Champions TBP as a guiding principle in organizational processes and decision-making.
• Experience designing and implementing knowledge management systems or learning frameworks.

Salary Range:

Target Hiring Range: $186,475 - $233,094

Full Salary Range: $186,475 - $279,713 Compensation offers are determined based on the candidate's relevant experience, market data, and internal equity. Most offers fall within the target hiring range, with the full salary range reserved to support growth and progression over time in the role.

TCE Benefits and Perks

• Shared medical and dental premiums for employees and eligible dependents
• 100% employer-paid benefits: vision, life and AD&D,