Program Assistant (WF)

Wellspring Philanthropic Fund; New York, Washington (NY, District of Columbia); On-site; USD 50,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Wellspring Philanthropic Fund is seeking a Program Assistant to support the Children’s Economic Security team in New York. You will provide programmatic and administrative assistance, coordinate meetings and travel, and help manage grants portfolios under the Program Director and a small team.

The role emphasizes due diligence, donor communications, and collaboration with the grants management team to ensure timely, compliant grantmaking and reporting.

Qualifications

• Familiarity with issues affecting low-income children and families in the United States.
• Two or more years of experience in poverty alleviation or social justice work.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required.
• Excellent English writing, editing and proofreading skills.
• Strong analytical abilities.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Comfort with budgets and financial information.
• Ability to summarize complex documents and synthesize written material.
• Initiative, resourcefulness and flexibility.
• Proficiency with MS Office and relevant technology.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate meetings, convenings, and travel arrangements; support scheduling and logistics.
• Communicate with program officers and the program director about deadlines.
• Assist with drafting summaries of grant proposals and due diligence analyses.
• Track grantee work and outcomes; participate in meetings with grantees.
• Support donor relations materials, including donor education and presentations.
• Assist with documenting and reporting grant proposals and project updates.

Skills

Grantmaking coordination

Budgets & financial data

Donor communications

Programmatic & administrative support

MS Office proficiency

Research & due diligence

Stakeholder liaison

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Job description

The Program Assistant reports to the Program Director and supports the Children’s Economic Security team. The Children’s Economic Security Program at Wellspring seeks to achieve economic security and upward mobility for all families with children by strengthening their power and economic resilience. The Program Assistant provides both programmatic and administrative support for the team of three.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Administrative

• Assist team with tasks such as coordinating meetings, convenings; making travel and other logistical arrangements; and taking on other tasks as ne
• Communicate with program officers and the program director about upcoming deadlines.
• Help to process consultant contracts and expense reports as ne

Programmatic/Grants Management

• Coordinate the Children’s Economic Security Program grant portfolios as need This may include:
  • Preparing and tracking budget spreadsheets and grants calendars for the program.
  • Serving as liaison with the grants management team.
  • Serving as a compliance checkpoint to ensure that grantmaking stays within yearly budgets.
  • Supporting “due diligence” in reviews of grant proposals and applicant organizations, including determining where additional information is needed from the applicant.
  • In collaboration with the grants management team, entering records in the database and answering grantees’ questions about the proposal process.
  • Communicating with grantees as needed.
• Assisting program officers and the program director with drafting of summaries of grant proposals, conducting due diligence and writing analyses as needed.
• Assisting the program officers as needed with tracking grantee work and outcomes, including reviewing grant reports, participating in meetings with grantees, and reading and tracking news and research that relates to the work.

Research

• Conduct research as needed, including child and family economic issues, potential grantees, opportunities for grant-making and other topics as requested by team.
• Research and write donor-education materials and other materials for internal Wellspring use, such as donor presentations, staff meeting presentations, work plans, and annual reports.

Donor Relations/Communications

• Design donor presentation and lunch presentation slides, including by incorporating new tools and graphics to improve presentations.
• Participate in donor presentations when appropriate.
• Manage donor updates, including by collecting newsworthy items, drafting updates, and consulting with program officers on content edits.
• Support planning processes such as the evaluation and development of new strategic plans.
• Prepare, proofread and edit written work as requested.

External representation

• Coordinate calls and meetings and assist with the development of materials for funder education efforts, such as for conferences, affinity groups and donor collaborative funds.
• Represent Wellspring at site visits, conferences or other meetings related to current and potential areas of investment and prepare notes to support team knowledge sharing.
• Participate with other staff on internal Wellspring committees or working groups outside of the program’s scope.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS / QUALIFICATIONS

• Familiarity with, and commitment to, issues affecting low-income children and families living in the United States.
• Two or more years of experience working in a poverty alleviation or social justice effort, organization, movement, or program.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required.
• Excellent English language writing, editing and proofreading sk
• Excellent analytic abiliti
• Excellent organizational ski
• Comfort with quantitative information and
• Comfort with budgets and financial information.
• Ability to accurately summarize complex documents and synthesize written materia
• Initiative, resourcefulness and flexibility.
• Ability to handle confidential client information with complete discretion.
• Excellent interpersonal skills in a cross-cultural, team environm
• Ability to multi-task, work well under pressure to meet deadlines and work independ
• Demonstrated willingness to learn and be open to new id
• Familiarity and comfort with MS Office applications and other uses of technology, software, and social media.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in a nonprofit grant making, advocacy, or social justice
• Experience with grants management database
• Experience with data visualization and communication too

LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMER

The above job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required for the position. The team member may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

Salary range: $50,000 – $55,000 based on experience. Wellspring offers a very generous benefits package including payment of 100% of the health insurance premiums for employees (and 80% of the premiums for spouses, domestic partners and qualified family members). Wellspring also offers other benefits including life insurance, long‐term disability protection, a group 401(k) retirement plan (with an employer match), support for continuing education, and is committed to providing transgender‐inclusive healthcare.

ABOUT WELLSPRING

Wellspring Philanthropic Fund is a private grantmaking foundation dedicated to advancing the realization of human rights and social and economic justice for all people. Wellspring has offices in New York, NY, and Washington, DC.

Wellspring’s work is rooted in respect for the dignity and worth of every human being and is informed by the following beliefs:

• Social institutions and structures should promote the full realization of human rights and human potential, and should be accountable to these ends.
• The rights of all people are advanced when the rights of the most marginalized and vulnerable peoples are protected.
• Social justice movements should employ means that are consistent with their ideals, and should give agency to the people whose interests they seek to advance.
• As responsible stewards, we must strive to maximize the impact of our charitable investments.

As a private foundation, Wellspring’s key functions are to conduct research and education tailored to our mission; manage a grantmaking portfolio of various programs, administer grants and monitoring grantee performance; and work to promote the effectiveness of programs that receive donor funding.

Wellspring Philanthropic Fund hires, promotes and retains employees based on their professional qualifications, demonstrated abilities and work performance, as well as on the degree to which these qualities are required in the employment positions made available by the Firm’s service needs and business requirements. Wellspring welcomes candidates with diverse experience backgrounds and strongly encourages people of color to apply.

All personnel decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, assignment, training, promotion, discipline and discharge, are made without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, age, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic predisposition or carrier status, marital or familial status, domestic partner status, veteran or military status, sex, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law (each a “protected characteristic”). This policy also bans discriminatory harassment. Qualified candidates for employment having records of arrest or criminal conviction will be considered.