POSITION PROFILE

On behalf of our client, the Bush Foundation,

Chandler Group Executive Search is conducting a search for the position of

COMMUNITY NETWORK
VICE PRESIDENT

DON TAYLOR

LINDSAY POLYAK

CHRIS COHEN

dtaylor@chandgroup.com
(952) 471-5403

lpolyak@chandgroup.com
(612) 963-5879

ccohen@chandgroup.com
(952) 471-5401

Think bigger. Think differently.

THE ORGANIZATION
The Bush Foundation (Foundation) is a private foundation based in St. Paul, MN
focused on investing in great ideas and the people who power them. The Foundation
was established in 1953 by 3M executive Archibald Bush and his wife, Edyth, and today
works in communities across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and the 23 Native
nations that share the same geography.
Through Community Innovation and Leadership programs, the Foundation invests in
individuals and organizations working on issues that are important to their
communities.
Through Communications and Convenings, the Foundation shares stories of the people
and organizations they invest in, and creates and supports events that inspire, equip and
connect people across the regions served.
The Foundation has two special focus areas Native Nations and Education through
which the Foundation builds deep partnerships with individuals and organizations to
advance specific goals in the regions served.
Bush Foundation Values
The Bush Foundation is guided by five key values which drive programmatic and
operational decisions. These stated values are:

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Spread Optimism.
We encourage individuals and organizations to think bigger and think differently about
what is possible. We are positive and supportive in our internal and external
interactions.
Work Beyond Ourselves.
We actively seek opportunities to work in true collaboration with others to have more
impact. We are willing to both lead and follow. We candidly share what we learn with
others.
Everybody Matters.
We are a champion for both excellence and equity inside and out of the Foundation. We
have fair, open and inclusive processes. We work to raise overall quality of life while
also closing opportunity and achievement gaps.
Steward Well.
We demonstrate appreciation for the Foundations history and thoughtfully build on its
legacy. We hold ourselves to high standards of integrity and accountability and conduct
ourselves in a way we hope would make founders proud.
More Good. Every Year.
We are a true learning organization and work to be smarter and more effective every
year. We never lose sight of the reason we exist: to do the most possible good with the
resources left to the community by Archibald G. Bush.
To learn more about the Bush Foundation, please visit their website.

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THE POSITION
The Bush Foundation seeks to fill the position of the Community Network Vice
President. The ideal candidate is an amazing manager of people, who has a deep interest
in, aptitude for and experience with fostering and supporting the success of talented and
creative individuals and teams. This person is a seasoned leader with significant
experience leading a complex organization or business units, including managing an
integrated marketing or communications strategy across business units or programs. In
addition, this leader must have a proven ability to forge strong connections in the
community and across sectors.
Responsibilities
Lead development of an integrated Community Network strategy that builds on
the strengths of the Leadership Programs Team, Community Innovation Team
and Communications Team and incorporates related work across the
Foundation.
Lead the Community Network Team, providing strategic and operational
direction and management support for all team members.
Support the leaders of the three teams on a day to day basis so they can meet
their team goals and deliver on organizational strategic priorities.
Build effective working partnerships with related organizations and leaders
across the region, helping to link and grow existing formal and informal
networks.
Use data and evaluation to assess and grow the regional network and to review
and refine team strategies and programming.
Serve as an active member of the Management team.
Key Competencies and Qualifications:
Exemplary leadership skills, with a commitment to employee development, and
an ability to encourage and bring out the best in others.
Demonstrated ability to quickly and authentically connect to people from a
variety of backgrounds and to show everyone that they matter.
Experience developing and leading execution of a strategy tied to individual
action or network action.
Knowledge or experience in managing an integrated marketing and
communications function.
Proven experience effectively managing cross-department or cross-organization
relationships, including leading people who do not report directly to them.
Experience working effectively with community organizations, as an employee
or volunteer.
Excellent listening and communication skills, including confidence in public
speaking.

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Knowledge and experience in building and using measurement frameworks to

demonstrate results and to further program impact.
Strong commitment to inclusion and creating opportunities for disadvantaged
and underrepresented communities.
Commitment to excellence and ability to set high standards for themselves and
for others, holding everyone accountable for success.
Excitement about the Foundations mission and belief in and embodiment of the
Foundations values.
Working knowledge of the region in which the Foundations programs are
active.
Experience in philanthropy, grantmaking, and leadership development is a
bonus.

Working Relationships
The Community Network Vice President reports to the President of the Foundation and
will have four direct reports: the Communications Director, the Leadership Programs
Director and two Community Innovation Managers. This role is a member of the
management team at the Foundation and will help guide overall strategy and policy for
the organization. Important external stakeholders to this role include Bush Fellows and
Bush Fellows Alumni, grantees and grant-seeking organizations, community, non-profit
and business leaders.

THE COMMUNITY NETWORK TEAM

The Community Network Vice President will lead the Community Network Team and
coordinate efforts to inspire, equip and connect individuals and organizations in the
region to more effectively lead change. The Bush Foundation believes that, if done right,
their efforts to build connections and to share knowledge can create as much value for
the region as the grants that they give.
This is a new position, leading a newly created team of teams. The Community
Network Vice President will build connections and alignment among three talented
existing teams the Leadership Programs Team, the Community Innovation Team and
the Communications Team representing a broad array of excellent existing programs.
The Community Network Vice President will support these teams efforts to:

Invest directly in individuals and organizations working to improve the region.

Build connections among individuals and organizations working to improve the
region.
Share the stories and lessons of individuals and organizations working to
improve the region to inform and inspire the work of others.

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Leadership Programs Team

The Leadership Programs Team builds on the Foundations long history of leadership
development by connecting leaders with people and ideas through the Bush Fellowship
Program and Leadership Network Grants as well as work with alumni. All programs
seek to develop leaders who are better equipped and connected to effectively lead in
their communities.

Bush Fellowship Program

Each year, 24 individuals are selected to be Bush Fellows. Bush Fellows receive up to
$100,000 to grow their leadership skills, either by pursuing an academic degree or a selfdesigned course of study and exploration. The program is very selective, with 632
applications in 2014.
The Bush Fellowship Program is one of the most flexible fellowship programs in the
country and attracts extraordinary people with extraordinary potential. There are
minimal requirements, other than periodic reporting and consultation with Foundation
staff. Optional professional development opportunities are also available.
Leadership Network Grants
Launched in 2014, Leadership Network Grants promote leadership development by
supporting other organizations that are developing leaders throughout the region. The
Leadership Network Grants Program strives to build capacity in and connections
between leadership hubs to create the strongest regional network of leaders in the
country.
Bush Fellows Alumni
There are nearly 3,000 alumni of past and present Fellowship programs, representing a
huge network opportunity that has yet to be realized. Alumni have become CEOs of
companies, Tony Award winners, leaders of Native nations, best-selling authors, and
influencers in a wide range of fields, regionally and nationally. The Foundation does a
number of things to build connections to and connections among Bush Fellow alumni,
including making this a major focus of the Communications and Convenings work.

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Community Innovation Team

The Community Innovation Team is focused on inspiring and enabling communities to

create innovative solutions to the challenges they face. There are two programs within
Community Innovation to which non-profit organizations may apply: Community
Innovation Grants and the Bush Prize for Community Innovation. Through these
programs, the Community Innovation Team provides encouragement, support and
resources to communities striving to innovate throughout the region.

Community Innovation Grants

Community Innovation Grants support communities in the use of problem-solving
processes that lead to more effective, equitable and sustainable solutions. This program
was launched in 2013 and is thought of as civic R&D, allowing communities to
develop and test new solutions to community challenges. The larger objective of this
program is to encourage effective community problem-solving with the hope that the
experience of these grantees will be useful to leaders across the region. In 2014, the
Foundation awarded over $4.9 million in Community Innovation Grants to 34
organizations.
The Bush Prize for Community Innovation
The Bush Prize for Community Innovation honors and supports innovative
organizations with a track record of making great ideas happen. Winners receive a
package of recognition, including a flexible grant of 25% of the organizations last fiscal
year budget, up to $500,000. These are organizations believed to be excellent models for
others. The Bush Prize began in 2013, with nine inaugural winners selected.

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Communications Team

The Communications Team works to maximize the impact of the Foundations

investments by amplifying, linking and promoting the great ideas and people theyve
invested in. The teams main priorities are to refine and maintain the Foundations
website, to create and deliver amazing events and materials that introduce and connect
leaders in this region to each other and to lift up the projects and people that the
Foundation has invested in through a proactive media relations strategy.

b Magazine
In 2014, the Foundations annual report was reimagined as an alumni magazine,
designed to showcase the work of and build connections among current and past Bush
Fellows, Rebuilders (see Native Nations, below) and grantees.
Events
In 2014, the Foundation implemented a new, large annual event called bushCONNECT,
designed in partnership with more than 30 other organizations. This event brings
together leadership hubs from around the region along with Bush Foundation grantees
and current and past Bush Fellows and Rebuilders. In essence, it is a physical expression
of the Foundations Network strategy. New annual events were also launched in North
Dakota and South Dakota in 2014, in conjunction with OTA events (see below). The goal
of these events is to bring together current and former grantees, Bush Fellows and
Rebuilders with-in each state.
OTA/Pollen
The Foundation has recently embarked on major funding partnerships with two
grassroots network efforts, OTA and Pollen, and is working as close collaborators on
content. OTA (based in Sioux Falls, SD) operates successful in-person networking events
and Pollen (based in the Twin Cities) is extremely effective at online networking with
over 8,000 members. Recent examples of collaboration include holding events in North
Dakota and South Dakota in conjunction with OTA events, as well as offering a
womens networking breakfast series in conjunction with Pollen.

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Outreach
Work is underway toward an annual regional tour that will serve as outreach across all
Bush Foundation programs as well as a listening opportunity to better inform about the
Foundations work.
Event Sponsorships
The Foundation sponsors external events that advance the Community Network Teams
goals and/or raise visibility of the Foundation programs. A new, open process for this
funding was rolled out in 2014, with $600,000 awarded in grants.
Website
In 2014, Bush Foundations website was redesigned with a goal of simplicity and clarity,
while acting as a stronger tool to inspire, equip and connect leaders. New features
include searchable profiles of past and current Bush Fellows, as well as learning logs for
Bush Fellows and grantees to publicly share their progress and lessons learned
(currently in development).
Social Media/e-Communications
The Foundation is currently active on Facebook and Twitter, and is also in the midst of
developing a new approach to e-communications, with quarterly news digests that
complement the annual b Magazine.
Media Relations
The Foundation has ambitious goals for building stronger relationships with key media
outlets in the region, and utilizing these relationships to share the amazing work that
Foundation-supported individuals and organizations are doing. The ability to get media
attention for partners doing great work is a core strategy for how the Foundation
supports partners efforts, as well as how leaders are informed and inspired.

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ADDITIONAL FOUNDATION PROGRAMS & TEAMS

In addition to guiding the three teams that make up the Community Network Team, the
Community Network Vice President will also be responsible for ensuring that the work
of the Community Network Team integrates with and amplifies related work across the
Foundation, including:
Native Nations Team
The Native Nations Team is working to spread the understanding and practice of
nation-building strategies in the 23 tribes in the region. Bush Foundation is regularly
hosting or facilitating meetings of tribal leaders within and across tribes by providing
technical assistance that links the tribes to experts in governance and communitybuilding. One of the teams core strategies is the Native Nation Rebuilders Program a
leadership program for members of the 23 tribes who are committed to learning about
and spreading nation building strategies. Though the Native Nations Rebuilders
Program is not managed by the Leadership Programs Team, it is a core leadership
program for the Foundation and a significant element of the Community Network Team
strategy.
Education
In 2009, the Foundation implemented a 10-year, $40 million initiative to transform
teacher preparation in the region through deep partnerships with 14 higher education
institutions. In 2014, the Foundation launched the Education Ecosystem Grant Program
to provide operating support to key education organizations that provide data, public
policy advocacy and/or share best practices to support the education initiative and work
of other education reform efforts. In 2015, the Foundation will begin adding new major
education initiatives to the portfolio, guided by a goal of increasing post-secondary
success for students of all backgrounds. The Community Network should ensure that
the education grantees benefit from and contribute to the Foundations overall network
building work.
Internal Leadership Development
In 2013, a new position was created to focus on internal people development. The
Foundation offers collective professional development opportunities plus generous
allocations for individual professional development, including participation in the
leadership programs of other organizations. In addition, the Foundation recently
launched the Ron McKinley Philanthropy Fellows Program, in partnership with
Minnesota Council on Foundations, to bring the Bush Foundations longstanding
commitment to leadership development into the heart of the Foundations philanthropic
operations. The program is designed to attract professionals to philanthropy from
communities that are underrepresented in foundation leadership, with a current
emphasis on racial diversity. In January 2014, the first cohort of four Ron McKinley

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Fellows joined the Bush Foundation, with two new Ron McKinley Fellows arriving in
January 2015.
Strategy and Learning Team
The Strategy and Learning Team at the Foundation works across the organization to
ensure that each team has strategies in place to learn from the investments they are
making in communities and to share those learnings in ways that will benefit a broader
audience. Toward this end, in 2014, this team launched the Bush Learning Papers,
consisting of staff-authored reflections on lessons learned. Bush Learning Papers will be
published and released quarterly.
Finance and Program Operations Team
The Finance and Program Operations Team is integral to all Foundation work. Finance
is responsible for the Foundation fiscal budgets and all aspects of the Foundation
financials including investments and payout. Program Operations is responsible for the
due diligence and grantmaking processes, with overall management of the core
grantmaking data system. In 2015, this team will spearhead the transition from the
current database to SalesForce. This shift will integrate grantmaking with improved
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) functionality, increasing organizational
capacity to track and manage relationships.

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ABOUT CHANDLER GROUP EXECUTIVE SEARCH

Chandler Group Executive Search is a unique retained executive search firm committed
to providing a better experience for clients, candidates and their families.
With an experienced team of leaders from many different industry sectors, we conduct
senior executive searches for clients in non-profit, education, healthcare, financial
services, technology and manufacturing. We are locally and nationally recognized as a
top-ranked search firm by several publications.
Our unique approach is based upon several core values and best practices that are
applauded by our clients:

We consider each search a unique experience rather than a transaction. We value

long-term relationships and consider ourselves as true partners with our clients
and candidates.
We work in teams. By combining our expertise and challenging one another, we
deliver better solutions to our clients and ensure responsiveness to both clients
and candidates.
Cultural fit is as important as skills and experience. We spend significant time
upfront in the process understanding clients cultures and values. This is
carefully matched with the style, career needs and experience of the candidates
as well as the needs of their families.
We are committed to diversity and all its aspects which stems from our belief in
the inherent richness of diversity of perspectives, experience and thought.
We provide newly placed executives with a guided process for integration into
the new organization to facilitate an effective and supported start-up through the
assignment of an independent, professional executive coach.

To learn more about this position or to submit your resume, contact Don Taylor,
Lindsay Polyak or Chris Cohen (contact information can be found on the cover page).
All inquiries will remain confidential.

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