Located in Washington, D.C., the Associate Program Officer (APO) will report to the Deputy Director of Policy, Systems and Innovation, but will regularly engage with and be accountable to other members of the Philanthropic Partnerships Team on a project by project basis.
The APO will support the efforts of the Philanthropic Partnerships Team to encourage philanthropy in the United States and internationally. This role will focus on two principle activities: 1) improving policy and systems for charitable giving in the US and other geographies, and 2) supporting the team’s innovation initiatives, including Giving By All, a learning agenda focused on better understanding donor behavior.
Key duties and responsibilities:
- Contribute to the development of team strategies, providing analytical support, and coordinating and managing a range of strategy deliverables.
- Manage grants and contracts including reviewing proposals, drafting internal analyses, and driving the proposal management process with internal and external partners. Track the appropriate documentation, budgeting and reporting of grants and contracts. Interact and communicate clearly and consistently with grantees and partners in the field.
- Conduct research and analysis in support of Philanthropic Partnerships team, including research on internal and external environment for trends related to philanthropy; advise on strategy updates based on this intelligence.
- Provide project management for events or special projects, as needed.
- Prepare regular reports and presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences, summarizing facts, developments and recommendations on issues related to philanthropy.
- Assist with preparation for foundation leadership participation in events, trips and meetings with partners and other stakeholders; preparation to include the development of briefs, talking points and data packages.
- Support the shaping of the team’s monitoring, learning and evaluation strategy. Help design and operationalize processes and systems which will feed data and analysis from grants and research back into key strategy and portfolio management decisions.
- At least five years of work experience in a relevant role. Ideal experience to come from philanthropic advisory firms, advisory and strategy consulting firms, for-profit entities that provide investment services to individuals, impact investing firms, development offices for large organizations (colleges), and other firms that regularly advise individuals on their philanthropic giving.
- A track record of executing difficult, time bound tasks dependent on a wide variety of stakeholders
- Strong attention to detail, logical, systematic thinking and managing workflow while overseeing multiple priorities in a highly dynamic environment
- Experience conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis to inform decision-making
- Intellectual quickness, curiosity, discipline, resourcefulness and resilience
- Creativity and ability to easily adapt to changing environment
- Excellent analytical, writing & verbal skills for communicating with a broad & diverse audience.
- Demonstrated experience in high quality interactions and clear and consistent communications with grantees, contractors and partners in the field.
- Discretion in managing confidential and sensitive initiatives and relationships
- A deep commitment to the overall mission of the Philanthropic Partnerships Team, and an approach consistent with the foundation’s guiding principles
- A sense of humor and flexibility to adapt to a very dynamic environment
- Ability to travel up to 25% domestically, and 5% internationally
- Understanding of emerging trends in philanthropic giving, donor investment, and emerging investment options such as national donor-advised funds, community foundations, and impact investing is a plus
- Previous grantmaking experience is a plus
- Knowledge of US policy, global health, global development or international affairs is a plus
- Demonstrated proficiency using MS Office products
This is a Limited Term Employee role as part of our parental leave program and targeted for 16 months starting in October 2017, however the start and end dates for this assignment may change.