Senior Director, Community Planning, Real Estate Strategy and Investment Estate and

• 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.

At RWJF, we work toward three Generational Goals to transform health in our lifetime: Economic Inclusion for Family Wellbeing, Equitable and Accountable Public Health and Healthcare Systems, and Healthy and Equitable Community Conditions.

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, 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 associate vice president (AVP) of Foundation Services with a dotted-line relationship to the chief operating officer (COO), the senior director, Community Planning, Real Estate Strategy and Investment, will serve as the Foundation’s internal lead for community planning and partnerships, real estate strategy, and future land and facility initiatives in Newark, New Jersey. As RWJF advances its role as a Health Equity Catalyst and community partner, this position will help ensure that its real estate and community investments align with the Foundation’s mission, values, and long-term commitments. This is a highly collaborative, externally focused leadership role requiring engagement with a broad range of community, civic, development, and organizational partners.

The senior director will serve as RWJF’s primary liaison between the initiative’s external partners and the Foundation’s leadership and governance structure, coordinating project resources and ensuring that complex real estate, development, financial, community, and organizational considerations are translated into clear, well-supported decisions to in choosing the site for the Foundation’s future headquarters. The New Jersey department, as it refines its programmatic strategies, will be a critical partner in developing RWJF’s approaches and aligning the initiative with community and program needs. Above all, the senior director will serve as a steward of RWJF’s mission-related, long-term interests, helping ensure that major project decisions are feasible, responsible, community-informed, and aligned with the Foundation’s values.

Working closely with the AVP of Foundation Services, COO, executive leadership, and Board of Trustees, the senior director will build alignment, reinforce priorities, and help guide critical decisions throughout the initiative. The senior director will also partner and collaborate across a diverse group of external partners, including owner's representative/project manager, communications and public affairs advisors, government relations and lobbying professionals, real estate brokers, legal and financial advisors, municipal and community partners, and potential development partners.

The senior director will lead coordination of the initiative with external project management partners. This role is largely externally focused and will work with the staff of the New Jersey department. The successful candidate will bring a strong background in real estate planning and development, community development and engagement, and demonstrated skill working with external and internal partners to develop real estate and other community agreements, while applying sufficient technical fluency to understand and challenge professional recommendations.

The senior director will understand RWJF’s strategic, operational, programmatic, and community requirements and translate them into clear priorities and effective execution. They will ensure that Foundation leadership receives the timely information, analysis, recommendations, and support needed to make well-informed decisions; that external partners and advisors have clear direction and organizational access; and that mission considerations remain central throughout the initiative. Success will include helping RWJF identify and secure a future site for the Foundation’s new headquarters—one that meets its long-term needs, earns community trust and support, and establishes the Foundation as a committed neighbor well before occupancy.

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible, three-year-term appointment with the option to extend to four years. Employment is anticipated to conclude at the end of the term unless extended based on organizational needs, funding, and approval.

As with staff at all levels of RWJF, the senior director is expected to demonstrate a passionate commitment to equity and to the Foundation’s mission and Guiding Principles.

ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Executive and Stakeholder Engagement

• •Serve as the lead for the real estate/facilities initiative.
• •Work with the AVP of Foundation Services and the COO to develop and implement external engagement plans.
• •Translate complex technical, financial, development, design, schedule, community, and project information into materials appropriate for executive and governance-level decision-making.
• •Lead and coordinate project resources and external partners to develop decision-ready information, recommendations, and communications for executive and governance audiences.
• •Facilitate partner engagement and alignment, ensuring leadership is prepared for key decisions, risks, opportunities, and sensitivities.
• •Maintain clear communication regarding project progress, decisions, outstanding issues, and required actions.
• •Support the AVP of Foundation Services and COO in building alignment around project objectives, priorities, governance processes, and major decisions.
• •Coordinate advisors, project resources, and partner input to ensure information, analyses, recommendations, and materials are aligned, integrated, and decision-ready for executive and Board review.
• •Synthesize real estate, financial, community, operational, and organizational considerations into clear options, risks, opportunities, and tradeoffs that enable effective leadership decision-making.

Owner’s Representative and Project Team Interface

• •Under the direction of the AVP of Foundation Services, serve as the lead to work with the Foundation’s external owner’s representative/project manager.
• •Clearly communicate RWJF’s priorities, decisions, concerns, and organizational requirements to the owner’s representative.
• •Receive and review project reporting, recommendations, and decision materials developed by the owner’s representative and consultant team.
• •Work with the owner’s representative to determine what information should be elevated to RWJF leadership and how it should be framed.
• •Facilitate access to appropriate RWJF partners when project decisions require organizational input.
• •Challenge recommendations thoughtfully when appropriate, while empowering experienced external professionals to lead execution within their areas of responsibility.

Strategic Partnerships and Cross-Functional Leadership

Serve as RWJF’s lead coordinator