Arlington, Virginia

This is a unique opportunity to join a new in-house investment team and play an important role ensuring the work of Knight Foundation is well-funded into the future. We look forward to hearing what excites you about this opportunity.

The Organization:

Knight Foundation supports a more effective democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and in the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once published newspapers.  

Our approach is inclusive and non-partisan. We value freedoms of speech and the press, and we often embrace new and innovative technology to achieve our goals. Our drive to create positive change is amplified by our ability to collaborate internally and with our partners. We look for authenticity, agility, and accountability, knowing we are at our best when we leverage our collective strengths and experiences. We proactively approach our work with a sense of pride and responsibility – adapting, as needed, to the changing realities in our communities.

Please visit our website at www.kf.org to learn more.

Position Summary:

Knight Foundation seeks to recruit a Director of Private Investments to lead diligence and monitoring of global private investments spanning venture capital, growth equity, buyout, real estate, and natural resources strategies. Reporting to the Chief Investment Officer, the Director will be part of a new, highly collaborative in-house investment team for the foundation and help develop the strategy for private markets and every aspect of the manager relationship process, from sourcing to research, analysis, closing, and monitoring. The position is designed to build on historical successes while refining and reinvigorating our private investment efforts, including the selection and transition to new analytic resources that will support the endowment’s private market activities. As a key member of the investment team, s/he will also be integrally involved in portfolio construction, engage from time to time with the Investment Committee, and be a member of the broader organization based in Miami, Florida.

Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will be an integral part of a small, high-caliber in-house investment team and will ideally have oversight of a wide range of private asset classes. S/he will take a lead role in evaluating and monitoring external managers, and will participate in decisions related to asset allocation, portfolio construction, and risk management. 

Additional responsibilities include:

Lead the strategy, research, and recommendation / decision-making process for private investments and overall portfolio structure of the KF private investment portfolio.
Get to know and manage existing manager relationships and evaluate performance and investments to identify and recommend changes or upgrades.
Review all manager-provided correspondance/reporting, respond to and recommend action related to follow-on capital raises or co-investment opportunities.
Conduct thorough due diligence, including analysis of investment strategy, process, organization/team, realized and unrealized portfolio positions, and performance; implement and oversee the quantitative and qualitative analysis of opportunities, including analysis of investment merits and considerations, to make recommendations to the CIO regarding manager selection and sizing.
Establish institutional processes and deliverables for evaluating, monitoring, recommending, and reporting on managers and overall private investment portfolio exposures and performance, including forward looking private investment commitment pacing and cash flow modeling to comply with approved portfolio policies/parameters.
Actively manage and maintain a pipeline of investment private market opportunities.
Contribute to the development of investments systems and processes for tracking manager information, documentation, and managing deadlines; work with investment operations colleagues to develop and produce reports to monitor the portfolio’s allocation, performance, exposure, and liquidity.
Contribute to portfolio management decisions by monitoring the global economic and market environment, while researching long-term, thematic investment opportunities across private asset classes.
Lead the development of a range of client deliverables for committee reporting and presentations.
Support compliance reviews, internal and external audits, reporting requirements, as needed.
Direct and oversee the work and development of junior colleagues.

Things we look for in a successful candidate:

8+ years of experience sourcing and conducting due diligence on private investments at an endowment, foundation, family office, OCIO firm, fund of funds, or similar organization allocating capital to external investment managers; experience with co-investments and/or secondaries preferred.
Experience producing investment research and a demonstrated ability to incorporate rigorous qualitative and quantitative analyses in the evaluation of investment strategies, human and organizational dynamics, investment processes, and investment performance.
Track record of collaborating effectively with GPs, other LPs, internal team members, and trustees; strong business network to facilitate potential investment opportunities and for reference checking purposes.
Strong verbal, written, and presentation-based communication skills to convey complex investment and economic concepts, both orally and in writing, to diverse audiences with clarity.
Strong work ethic and a curious, analytical mindset, eager to develop and critically evaluate ideas in a collaborative setting.
Ability to contribute to team management and mentorship.
High degree of comfort working in a flexible, entrepreneurial environment.
Willingness to travel.

This position is based in Arlington, Virginia. Candidates should be local or willing to relocate to the DC area.

Knight Foundation offers competitive pay and a generous benefits package and is an equal opportunity employer.

Send your resume to: [email protected]

For more on Knight Foundation, visit www.kf.org.