Program Officer

Inside Philanthropy; Baltimore (MD); Remote; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) retirement plan

Travel reimbursement

Job summary

The Osprey Foundation, a family foundation focused on WASH, seeks a Program Officer to advance grantmaking from proposal reviews to synthesis of lessons learned. The role emphasizes analytical judgment, strong writing, and constructive interaction with grantees and partners.

Reporting to the WASH Team, you will manage reviews, budgets, and donor communications, contributing to strategy execution and continuous learning as the foundation sunsets in 2029.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Five+ years of professional experience in grantmaking and grant management.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong judgment and analytical skills.
• Ability to understand and analyze organizational budgets and financial statements.
• Proven capacity to engage constructively with grantees and partners.
• Demonstrated ability to stay organized, manage multiple tasks, prioritize, and meet deadlines.
• Curious and comfortable asking probing questions and receiving candid feedback.
• Reliable, responsive, and able to work independently; knows when to seek input.
• Eager to learn and grow in the role.
• Discretion in handling confidential information.

Responsibilities

• Assess and engage with grantees, review materials, analyze orgs and alignment with strategy.
• Prepare grant reviews and recommendations using foundation templates.
• Track reporting, renewal, and payment deadlines; coordinate with grants administration.
• Maintain records in Foundant of grantee reports and correspondence.
• Contribute to annual WASH program planning, budgeting, and strategy updates.
• Synthesize learnings across the WASH portfolio and prepare learning notes and briefings.

Skills

Verbal and written communication

Analytical skills

Judgment

Budget/financial analysis

Grantee engagement

Organization and time management

Curiosity and probing questions

Discretion with confidential info

Learning and growth mindset

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Graduate degree preferred

Tools

Foundant Grants Management

Job description

SUMMARY OF THE ROLE

The Program Officer (PO) will play a key role in the Osprey Foundation’s grantmaking on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), from initial proposal reviews to analyses of grantee reports to synthesis of lessons learned. This role requires strong analytical judgment, excellent writing skills, and the capacity to turn proposals, budgets, reports, and partner conversations into clear written analyses and recommendations for foundation leadership. It also calls for the ability to interact thoughtfully and constructively with grantees and other partners and to work closely with the small Osprey team.

THE FOUNDATION

The Osprey Foundation is a family foundation that acts as a catalyst for empowered, healthy, and fulfilled lives. Our partners work in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the United States. The foundation focuses primarily on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and cleaner cooking, with additional initiatives in international health, interfaith relations, and social justice. Earlier this year, Osprey announced that it will sunset on December 31, 2029. We expect to operate at full capacity through that date, which is why we are hiring for this role now.

THE WASH TEAM

The Program Officer will join a team of two people who manage Osprey’s WASH program. Louis Boorstin, Managing Director, leads the overall program and has a particular background in innovative finance. Susan Dundon, Director, leads the largest program area, systems strengthening, and has a diverse background in international and US grantmaking.

THE WASH PROGRAM

Osprey’s WASH program has four main areas, all of which are pursued from a systems-change perspective:

• Moving beyond one-time investments in infrastructure to strengthen the local systems essential for delivering sustainable WASH services at scale;
• Seeding innovative and scalable models that create game-changing improvements in the way WASH services are delivered in underserved communities;
• Catalyzing innovative financial approaches that use subsidized funding more effectively and increase access to repayable finance;
• Advocating for change through collaboration with grantees and other WASH funders and by challenging the sector to adopt systems approaches with the potential for greater impact.

Osprey also has a cross-cutting initiative that expands our investment in menstrual health and hygiene (MHH), a critical yet often overlooked aspect of gender equity in WASH. Osprey supports select WASH initiatives, NGOs, and social ventures through grants, impact investments, and expert advice on strategy, funding, and operations. Our 2025-2030 WASH Strategy, including an overview and separate briefs on each program area, is accessible on our website here. Further information on Osprey’s approach to catalytic grantmaking as a relatively small foundation can be found here.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Assessing and Engaging with Grantees

• Review materials submitted by current and prospective grantees, including concept notes, grant proposals, interim and final reports, budgets, work plans, monitoring and evaluation reports, and other information.
• Assess and analyze the organizations/initiatives and their activities, including strategies, implementation capacity, leadership, financial standing, and governance.
• Consider the alignment of each organization or initiative with Osprey’s 2025-2030 strategy and priorities.
• Conduct independent background research and due diligence on current and prospective grantees, identifying important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks.
• Build constructive working relationships with applicants, grantees, funders, and other partners to enhance our understanding of their activities and interests through periodic communications and interactions.

2. Preparing Grant Reviews and Recommendations

• Analyze and distill complex information from multiple sources (concept notes, grant proposals, budgets, financial statements, grantee reports, research, conversations with grantees and partners, etc.) into clear, concise written reviews and recommendations, taking colleagues’ input into account.
• Use the foundation’s templates for reviewing concept notes, grant proposals, and grantee reports to prepare written analyses and recommendations for internal review and approval.

3. Grants Administration

• Track reporting, renewal, and payment deadlines, and follow up as needed.
• Coordinate with the foundation’s external grants administration team, which prepares and sends grant agreements and processes payments, to ensure that grants move forward accurately and on schedule.
• Maintain accurate and complete records in the foundation’s grants management system (Foundant) of grantee reports, documents, and key correspondence.

4. Learning, Strategy Support, and Knowledge Management

• Contribute to annual WASH program planning and budgeting as well as to potential updates of the WASH strategy.
• Review grantees’ reports, evaluations, and other materials to identify and synthesize common results, challenges, and lessons across the WASH portfolio.
• Analyze patterns and developments across grants and prepare clear summaries for internal discussion.
• Track relevant research, evidence, and developments in the foundation’s areas of interest, including the WASH sector.
• Prepare learning notes, briefings, and other materials that help the foundation to assess its impact.

Activities 1 and 2 are expected to comprise about 70% of the workload, though this may vary depending on the needs of the WASH team.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Five+ years of professional experience in grantmaking and grant management within philanthropic or institutional settings.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong judgment and analytical skills.
• Ability to understand and analyze organizational budgets and financial statements.
• Proven capacity to engage constructively and respectfully with grantees and other partners.
• Demonstrated ability to stay organized, manage multiple tasks, prioritize, and meet deadlines.
• Curious and comfortable asking probing questions and receiving candid feedback.
• Reliable, responsive, and able to manage work independently while knowing when to seek input from colleagues.
• Eager to learn and grow in the role.
• Discretion in handling confidential information.

Preferred

• Graduate degree in a relevant field.
• At least ten years of professional work experience, including the philanthropy experience noted as required above.
• Experience in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector.
• Familiarity with systems strengthening, market-based approaches, or other approaches relevant to the foundation’s work.
• Experience in monitoring and evaluation of organizational approaches and impact.

CONDITIONS AND COMPENSATION

The Osprey team and this position are fully remote. An East Coast (U.S.) work location is preferred but not required. Occasional travel for team meetings, conferences, and grantee visits may be available but is not necessarily required.

The position can be structured as either part-time (minimum 60% or 24 hours per week) or full-time. Subject to good performance, the position is expected to continue through December 31, 2029, when the foundation plans to sunset.

The expected compensation range is $90,000 - $130,000 annual base salary (or equivalent for a part-time position). Placement in the range will depend on relevant experience and capabilities. The Foundation does not offer employer-sponsored health insurance. The Foundation does offer a 401(k)-retirement savings plan for employee contributions. Total compensation may include an allowance for the absence of benefits. The foundation will reimburse approved work-related travel and office supply expenses.

The Osprey Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.