The Bill and Melinda Gate’s Foundation is currently seeking an exceptional candidate to support the Developmental Education Solution on the Postsecondary Success Team. The Postsecondary Success strategy seeks to transform colleges and universities to increase their credentialing productivity to dramatically improve credential attainment and the eradication of equity gaps for low income and students of color. This strategy will assist in meeting the nation’s workforce development needs, specifically to produce 11 million more credentials in the United States by 2025, and concurrently to close attainment gaps by race/ethnicity and income.
Too many undergraduates (particularly low-income and students of color) are not succeeding in college. One major reason for this is their lack of success in critical mathematics and English courses - gateways to their program of study or major. There is growing evidence that acceleration and improvement of how students are accurately placed and how they achieve success in credit bearing mathematics and English courses are essential ingredients of a transformed educational pathway and improved success for students.
The Program Officer will help ensure that more colleges and universities scale such evidence based developmental education reforms to best meet the needs of today’s “new majority” postsecondary students. The Program Officer (PO) will report to the Deputy Director (DD) and support the Senior Program Office (SPO) as follows:
- Assist the Senior Program Officer and Deputy Director with strategic investments and portfolio management in developmental education, and other related student retention and student success interventions.
- Provide research and market analysis and provide insights required for effective, strategic grant making.
- Support ongoing developmental education portfolio management and contribute to both development and coordination of key investments related to this portfolio.
- Support the management and development of a portfolio of grants and contracts related to the Developmental Education Solution that best leverage the Foundation’s prior investments in this space, strategic and future vision with respect to the success of this approach and the broader goal of institutional transformation.
- Reviewing existing grant and contract progress and drafting analyses for internal use. Summarize lessons learned and support shaping of new investments and strategic goals based on investment outcomes and achievements.
- Consult with grantees and external stakeholders to achieve desired impact of grants; conduct site visits, provide technical guidance, convene meetings, and nurture and optimize relationships with key partners.
- Carrying out research and literature reviews, landscape analyses and other analytical reviews as assigned. Prepare and write briefs and synthesize existing literature. Provide written analysis of key topics for the SPO and Foundation Management.
- Providing support for preparation of materials and slide presentations on team initiatives or specific projects or topics as needed, including externally facing materials for relevant stakeholders, presentations to support knowledge sharing and deliverables for internal co-chair presentations.
- Consult with grantees to achieve desired impact of grants; conduct site visits when appropriate, provide technical guidance, convene meetings (internal and external) and apply and evaluate milestone-based performance objectives to achieve successful outcomes.
- Plans, manages and implements a wide range of activities in support of strategic planning, prospect and develop complex investment opportunities, grant management and external relationship management.
- Manage internal processes and portfolio progress while ensuring appropriate documentation, grant budgeting and reporting. Improve operational efficiency and effectiveness.
- Prepare and write briefs and synthesize existing literature. Provide written analysis of key topics for foundation management. Fulfill data requests from leadership.
- Excellent knowledge across technical area/expertise including policy (state policies relevant to this domain) and domain knowledge.
- Experience in scaling or leading a college or university wide undergraduate math, English reforms that generate measurable improved outcomes for underserved and students of color
- Experience with research methodologies and/or the deployment of evidence-based instructional and remediation strategies, co-requisite implementation and remedial approaches, mathematics pathways movement, curricular and pedagogical reforms at the postsecondary level.
- Experience in the implementation of such curricular reforms (such as math pathways) in grades 11-12 or in transition programs serving students seeking to succeed in postsecondary education.
- Thorough quantitative, analytical, writing, and verbal skills essential for communicating progress and stewardship with a broad and diverse audience including senior foundation leadership.
- Effective as a collaborator. You relish the opportunity of contributing to the foundation’s broader collective success and to improving both the PS strategy and the Solution team’s performance.
- Solicits and values feedback. Growth mindset and ability to adapt in a dynamic and feedback rich environment.
- Strategic thinker and doer – able to wrestle with complex and multi-dimensional problems
- Derives energy and positivity by working with critical stakeholders and partners across the PS strategy and in the field.
- Ability to work with efficiency, diplomacy, discretion, and integrity.
Education and Experience
- Preference for prior higher education instructional expertise including prior developmental math or English instruction and/or strategic philanthropy experience
- Preferable but not required: experience in the implementation or execution of redesign and scaled improvement of a major undergraduate developmental math or English program redesign or related student success effort on a campus or within a higher education system;
- Experience related to evidence-based reforms deployed in service of student success, institutional transformation, improved retention, success for undergraduates in their first academic year, and improved early momentum for undergraduates is also highly desirable.