Program Officer, American Cities Program

The Kresge Foundation; Troy (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Kresge Foundation seeks a Program Officer for the American Cities Program based in metropolitan Detroit. This role advances the foundation's strategy to strengthen social, economic, cultural, and physical fabric of cities through grantmaking and collaborations.

You will manage a portfolio of grants tied to socioeconomic mobility, represent the program at public forums, and design initiatives aligned with national and local priorities, while partnering with colleagues across the foundation.

Qualifications

• Experience implementing program strategies and managing grant portfolios.
• Ability to represent the program at public forums and collaborate with national/local partners.
• Strong focus on socioeconomic mobility and addressing systemic inequities.

Responsibilities

• Implement program strategy building on Detroit experience.
• Manage and evaluate a portion of the program's grant portfolio.
• Represent the American Cities team at public forums and collaborate with partners.
• Design and implement grantmaking initiatives and lead select bodies of work.

Job description

Program Officer, American Cities Program

The Kresge Foundation is one of the top 20 largest private foundations in the U.S. Our staff of over 100 employees works to expand opportunities in America’s cities for people with low incomes. We do this through grantmaking and social investing nationally in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services and placed-based work in Detroit, Memphis, New Orleans, and other parts of the country.

Our state-of-the-art headquarters maintains an array of energy-efficient, water-conserving and health-promoting features. The foundation also operates an office in Detroit’s Midtown district.

ABOUT THE POSITION

The American Cities Program Officer will be responsible for the implementation of a program strategy that builds upon the foundation’s national and on-the-ground experience in Detroit to strengthen the social, economic, cultural, and physical fabric of other cities. The work is rooted in increasing socioeconomic mobility and addressing the systemic inequities in our society. The Program Officer will be a member of the foundation’s American Cities Program, a dynamic, multi-disciplinary team working proactively to advance the resurgence and revitalization of cities across America. The Program Officer will manage and evaluate a portion of the program’s portfolio of grants, represent the American Cities team and the Kresge Foundation at public forums, collaborate with partners at national and local-levels, design and implement grantmaking initiatives and lead select bodies of work associated with the program’s strategic priorities:

• Fostering cross-city exchange of knowledge between community development practitioners through research, publications, and convenings;
• Seeding and scaling innovative approaches to community development by funding and supporting national multi-city initiatives; and
• Stewarding the foundation’s place-based grantmaking in Memphis, New Orleans, Fresno, and a growing number of other cities.

The Program Officer will report to the Managing Director and work in close partnership with colleagues across the foundation.

This position is based in metropolitan Detroit.