The Foundation
We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.
The Team
The foundation’s U.S. Program works to expand access to life-changing opportunities We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.
That’s why our focus in education is ensuring that all students – especially Black, Indigenous, and Latino students, and students from low-income backgrounds – have an opportunity to earn a degree or certificate that prepares them for a successful career and fulfilling life. Our Postsecondary Success strategy seeks to support transformation in colleges and universities to ensure that many more Black, Indigenous, and Latino students, and students from low-income backgrounds, obtain quality, affordable credentials that offer value and lead to economic mobility. This strategy is working to ensure that race/ethnicity and income are no longer predictors of student success.
The Transformation at Scale team is accountable for a portfolio of investments designed to help hundreds of colleges accelerate their transformation progress. We do this by investing in intermediaries and other partners to work with member colleges on deep and comprehensive change. To do this work, intermediaries strengthen their organizational capacity, and collaborate deeply with one another so that they can work smarter together towards achievement of shared goal. We work closely with other teams on integrated strategies that will bring what we know and what we’re learning about success and value for focus students.
Note: This is a 9-month limited-term engagement. The application deadline is Monday, June 17 (11:59 PM PDT).
Your Role
The Senior Program Officer, Transformation Networks at Scale will lead, at the strategy level, the “intermediaries for scale” investment portfolio, and provide team leadership in support of transformation networks. You will co-design network strategies and investment approaches to serving approximately 250 colleges and universities in the US higher education system to improve the experience and outcomes for Black, Indigenous, Latino, and students from low-income backgrounds. You will manage up to four high-potential partners developing networks that support change in institutions that lead to scalable advances in measures such as student retention, course completion, and overall student experience change. You will ensure that challenges and opportunities experienced by intermediaries for scale inform foundation learning and equitable approaches to continued partner support. Reporting to the Deputy Director, Transformation at Scale, you will work closely with peer program officers, and up to five strategy portfolios.
What You’ll Do
Working together with colleagues from across the Postsecondary Success strategy, and with partners in the field, the SPO is accountable to:
- Promote racial and socioeconomic equity for Black, Latino, and Indigenous students, and students from low-income backgrounds
- Apply literacies related to racial, socioeconomic, and intersectional identities and their relevance to postsecondary education reform in every aspect of the role
- Develop, plan, and implement a wide range of activities in support of the strategy; includes regular, collaborative strategic planning for the “intermediaries for scale” portfolio
- Synthesize and document key findings from multiple fields (higher education and others) to inform approach to investing in network intermediaries and developing their capacity for work at scale; provide research and analysis to support leadership decisions related to networks and scale
- Co-develop complex and interdependent investment opportunities; manage critical relationships and investment planning with multiple colleagues and shared partners
- Provide clear, concise and insightful written analyses and recommendations; includes reviewing letters of inquiry and grant concepts or proposals; offer leadership and consultation to internal colleagues regarding intermediary partner selection, diligence, development, and evaluation of efficacy
- Manage complex grant agreements, including external relationships with up to four key partners in the strategy; offer guidance as organizations develop their own capacity to achieve programmatic goals
- Conduct site visits, convene meetings, evaluate milestone-based performance; provide technical guidance to selected partners on localization and adaption at scale, integrated solutions at scale, and the sequencing and stages of goals and time to impact when working at scale
- Manage internal processes and portfolio progress while ensuring appropriate documentation, grant budgeting and reporting; work closely with colleagues to continuously improve operational efficiency and effectiveness.
- Draft and edit progress and final reports for existing investments; make recommendations based on learning and impact progress
- Represent objectives and activities to foundation leadership; represent the foundation with partners who may include public and private entities, grantee organizations, other funders, universities, think tanks, or government agencies
- Lead and collaborate with foundation colleagues in related program areas to take advantage of cross-team and cross-sector investment; lead and serve alongside colleagues in building improvement networks and learning communities that are unequivocally focused on equitable student success
Your Experience
For the success in the role, the SPO must demonstrate:
- Equity-minded leadership: Understanding of racism as a structural system that minoritizes and discriminates against Black, Latino, and Indigenous students; knowledge of the ways that racism intersects with other systems and the mechanisms for redefining these systems; an unwavering belief that students could be much more successful if institutions better served them.
- Experience growing change initiatives from proof of concept to greater scale
- Knowledge of and experience with higher education institutions, membership organizations, technical assistance providers, and the collaborations that support them in improving student success – especially colleges serving Black, Latino, and Indigenous students
- Proven diplomat and collaborator in complex and demanding environments
- Commitment to straight-forward, open, and transparent interactions; extremely clear and consistent communications with variable audiences
- Highly self-activating and efficient; goes to where the work is, and brings others along
- Graduate degree in education, public policy administration, social enterprise or equivalent, with professional experience in a related field, is preferred
- Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.
- The salary range for this role is $166,300 to $249,500 USD. We recognize high-wage market differences in Seattle and Washington D.C., where our offices are located. The range for this role in these locations is $181,200 to $271,800 USD. As a mission-driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our mission. New hires salaries are typically between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint. Actual placement in the range will depend on a candidate’s job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as evaluated during the interview process.
Hiring Requirements
As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.
Candidate Accommodations
If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process
Inclusion Statement
We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — and we support this diversity through all our employment practices.
All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.