Associate Director, Program & Grants Management

Milken Institute

Washington (District of Columbia)

Hybrid

USD 90,000 - 130,000

Full time

9 hours ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental &amp

Retirement Plan - 403b (5% match)

Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary &

Paid Time Off (Personal, Vacation, PTO

Family Leave (Maternity & Paterni)

Fertility Support

Disability Insurance

Flexible Spending Account (FSAs)

Professional Development

Job summary

The Milken Institute seeks an experienced Grants & Strategic Philanthropy professional to oversee grant cycles, design evaluation metrics, and coordinate award processes with partners, in a hybrid Washington, DC-based role.

You will manage funding programs, collaborate with academic institutions and nonprofits, and produce executive materials to support philanthropic initiatives. A graduate degree and 5–7 years of relevant experience are preferred.

Qualifications

Graduate degree in public health, life sciences, public policy, business administration, or a related field.
5–7 years of experience in grants management, philanthropy, program management, or a related field.
Experience managing grant or prize funding cycles from design to closeout.
Familiarity with funding mechanisms and nonprofit structures.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to develop executive-level materials.

Responsibilities

Build and manage grant and prize funding cycles from design to closeout.
Oversee funding applications, solicitations, and reviews in collaboration with project leads.
Lead external communications, proposals, and materials for applicants, awardees, and stakeholders.
Coordinate award processes with academic institutions, nonprofits, and partners; ensure compliance.
Develop evaluation frameworks and success metrics; track portfolio performance and inform strategy.
Communicate program updates and outcomes to leadership and funders.

Skills

Grant management

Program management

Analytical data skills

Written and verbal communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Thought leadership

Public speaking

Stakeholder management

Education

Graduate degree in public health, life sciences, public policy, business administration, or related field

Tools

SurveyMonkey

Docusign

Asana

Airtable

Job description

About The Milken Institute

The Milken Institute is a globally minded, publicly supported, non-partisan, and nonprofit think tank headquartered in Santa Monica, with offices in Washington, DC, New York, London, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore. For the past three decades, the Milken Institute has served as a catalyst for practical, scalable solutions to global challenges by connecting human, financial, and educational resources to those who need them. Guided by a conviction that the best ideas, under-resourced, cannot succeed, we conduct research and analysis and convene top experts, innovators, and influencers from different backgrounds and competing viewpoints. We leverage this expertise and insight to construct programs and policy initiatives. These activities are designed to help people build meaningful lives, in which they can experience health and well-being, pursue effective education and gainful employment, and access the resources required to create ever-expanding opportunities for themselves and their broader communities.

About The Milken Institute

The Milken Institute’s events and programmatic activities, involve the exchange of ideas with leaders from around the world. The Institute hosts more than 200 events each year, with our annual flagship event, Global Conference, bringing together 4,500+ participants from around the world, featuring more than 900+ speakers throughout 200+ sessions over the course of the event.

About Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy

One of four pillars at the Milken Institute, Strategic Philanthropy advises individuals, corporations, and foundations on the most strategic ways to ensure their philanthropic investments make an equitable, transformative impact, and offers tools and recommendations for making philanthropy more effective. In addition to in-depth research, reports, and guides, we design and build programs including funding initiatives, research collaboratives, large-scale innovation programs, and high-level events. Finally, we also foster peer learning communities to accelerate knowledge-sharing and promote partnership. Strategic Philanthropy’s three portfolios of programmatic work include SPARC (Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration), Environmental & Social Innovation Philanthropy (ESI), and Philanthropy Leadership Collective (PLC).

Responsibilities

Build and manage a centralized system to consolidate and track all aspects relating to award cycles — across the full Strategic Philanthropy pillar.
Build and maintain the funding application, solicitation, and review process in close collaboration with project leads.
Manage external communications, proposals, and materials for applicants, awardees, and stakeholders throughout each funding cycle;
Lead and manage external contracting and award process with funding recipients by engaging with academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and individuals, through close collaboration with internal program teams, Milken Institute leadership and legal counsel, as appropriate.
Lead internal grant and prize disbursement processes, partnering with Finance and Accounts Payable to ensure seamless fund distribution.
Lead awardee/recipient engagement, serving as point of contact to support compliance, reporting, and relationship management throughout the award lifecycle of the funding relationship.
Partner with project leads and funding partners to translate philanthropic goals into program design and architecture (award topic, funding mechanism, eligibility requirements, grant terms, timelines, scope) across grants, prizes, and co-funding opportunities.
Maintain program documentation (playbooks, standard operating procedures) to support institutional knowledge across cycles.
Support project leads on partner management across the pillar, including leading engagement with advisory boards, review panels and other partner stakeholders to support meeting facilitation, materials development, funding recommendations and follow-up actions as needed.
In coordination with project teams, design success metrics, evaluation frameworks and track portfolio performance across grants and prize funding mechanisms, providing analysis to inform strategic decision-making across the pillar.
Develop executive-level communications and literature in partnership with the communications team to convey program findings, funding opportunities, and strategic updates, building awareness of Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy and expanding engagement across advisory boards, philanthropists, researchers, and the broader nonprofit and philanthropic ecosystem.
Duties as assigned.

Requirements

Graduate degree in public health, life sciences, public policy, business administration, or a related field.
5–7 years of experience in grants management, philanthropy, program management, or a related field.
Experience managing grant or prize funding cycles from design to closeout.
Familiarity with the philanthropic, scientific and health funding ecosystem, including knowledge of key funders, research institutions, and philanthropic organizations operating in the space.
Familiarity with funding mechanisms and nonprofit structures.
Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple funding cycles and partner relationships simultaneously.
Experience partnering with Finance or Accounts Payable on fund disbursement or compliance processes.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to develop executive-level materials for diverse audiences.
Proficiency in grants and program management platforms or CRM systems, such as SurveyMonkey, Docusign, Asana and Airtable or comparable program-management platforms.
Experience designing or contributing to program evaluation frameworks/success metrics.
Analytical data skills with experience tracking and reporting on program or portfolio performance.
Collaborative, detail-oriented, and able to work across internal teams and external partners.
Desire and aptitude to develop thought leadership pertaining to philanthropic funding, including measures and stories of impact that further the mission of funding partners and the Milken Institute.
Comfort representing the Milken Institute and the strategic philanthropy team at external events and within professional networks.
Mission-driven with an interest in philanthropy, science, health, and/or social impact.

Working Conditions & Travel Requirements

This position will work in a professional office environment on a hybrid schedule consisting of three (3) days per week reporting in-person to the Washington, DC office location (Tuesday – Thursday), with the remaining two (2) days working remotely. Please understand, this schedule is subject to change at the Institute’s sole discretion.

This person will also be required to travel occasionally to other offices and/or venues to assist with events as needed, requiring occasional work outside of traditional hours. Additionally, this position requires interacting virtually on a regular basis with Milken Institute staff based in other locations in the United States and around the world.

Note

The statements herein are intended to describe the overall nature and level of work being performed by employees and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.

We are interested in qualified candidates who are eligible to work in the United States. Please note, we are not sponsoring visas at this time, being authorized to work in the U.S. is a precondition of employment.

Our Culture

The Milken Institute is proud to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or status as a veteran.

Every person at the Milken Institute is treated with respect, supported with resources and training, and exposed to a broad range of experiences. We foster a space for growth with opportunities to share knowledge and passion with both clients and colleagues. We are committed to building a diverse workforce and creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. Our leadership is actively involved in our commitment to diversity and inclusion, and fostering a culture that creates opportunities for everyone.

Benefits