Program Officer, Country Programs (WPF)

Wellspring Philanthropic Fund - New York, NY; New York (NY); On-site; USD 110,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Wellspring Philanthropic Fund is seeking a program officer to refine strategy and guide grantmaking across Latin America, partnering with local human rights and social justice organizations to advance inclusive, locally rooted approaches.

In this role you will collaborate with the Country Programs team and external partners, conduct due diligence, prepare evaluations, and contribute to learning plans while ensuring clear, respectful communications and adherence to high ethical standards.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of experience working on Latin America with local human rights and social justice organizations.
• Experience working in multiple Latin American countries strongly preferred.
• Collaborative, team-oriented workstyle with ability to coordinate with staff and peer grantmakers.
• Experience in other developing country contexts, including sub-Saharan Africa, a plus.
• Substantive grantmaking experience; experience with organizational development and leadership support a plus.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks independently.

Responsibilities

• Support program strategy refinement and grantmaking in Latin America through research, site visits, engagement of local experts, and proactive coordination.
• Act as point person for international program collaboration in Latin America and support Spanish language use and translation.
• Support learning and collaboration within the program team and across geographic contexts.
• Stay abreast of developments and trends and synthesize implications for Wellspring.
• For grants in which staff is directly responsible, conduct comprehensive due diligence, including monitoring and evaluating grantee performance, and ensuring reports.
• Manage relationships and maintain regular, respectful communications with all relevant partners.
• Prepare written summaries and evaluations of grant proposals; track spending; enter information in grants database; prepare and manage consultant contracts.
• Support the development of external reviews and strategic plans for the program; create presentations and written reports for internal learning.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as required.

Skills

Latin America experience

Grantmaking

Collaborative

Cross-cultural skills

Organizational skills

Research and writing

Discretion with confidential info

Job description

Wellspring Philanthropic Fund is seeking a program officer to support strategy refinement and grantmaking, as well as internal and external collaboration focused on advancing a locally-rooted, inclusive vision of human rights and social justice, with a focus on Latin America.

Key Responsibilities

• With the Country Programs team and in close partnership with local experts, support the program’s strategy refinement and grantmaking in Latin America through a combination of research; site visits; engagement of local experts, advisors, and organizations; and pro‑active coordination and collaboration with Wellspring and with peer grant‑makers.
• Act as point person at Wellspring for international program collaboration and coordination in Latin America. With the Country Programs team, develop and advance a learning agenda within Wellspring focused on the Latin American region; identify and engage the appropriate expertise, resources, and support to Wellspring programs to strengthen their work; and support Spanish language use and translation.
• Support learning and collaboration within the program team and across geographic contexts.
• Stay abreast of new developments and trends and provide analysis and synthesize implications for Wellspring.
• For grants in which staff is directly responsible, conduct comprehensive due diligence, including: monitoring and evaluating grantee performance; recommending new, renewal, and final grants; and ensuring grantees satisfactorily complete applications and reports.
• Manage relationships and maintain regular and responsive and respectful communications with all relevant partners.
• Prepare written summaries and evaluations of grant proposals; track spending; enter all information in grants database; prepare and manage consultant contracts.
• Support the development of external reviews and strategic plans for the program; create presentations and written reports for internal learning.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as required.

Knowledge and Skill Requirements/Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of experience working on Latin America with local human rights and social justice organizations required, including working with marginalized communities.
• Experience working in multiple Latin American countries strongly preferred; experience working with regional mechanisms and regionally‑focused organizations in Latin American a plus.
• Collaborative, team‑oriented workstyle required; ability to connect and coordinate with staff internally as well as with peer grantmakers externally to deepen impact.
• Experience working in other developing country contexts, including sub‑Saharan Africa, a plus.
• Substantive grantmaking experience strongly preferred; experience with organizational development and leadership support a plus.
• Strong organizational skills; ability to handle a variety of programmatic and administrative tasks independently and meet deadlines.
• Excellent research, writing, editing, and communications skills.
• Initiative, resourcefulness, flexibility, and strong cross-cultural skills.
• Ability to handle confidential information with complete discretion.
• Understands and values social justice, including racial and gender equity as an organizational operating principle – and is committed to continued learning on issues related to race, gender, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Salary and Benefits

Salary range: $110,000‑$120,000 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, up to $5,250 in annual student loan repayment or college savings assistance for qualified dependents and is committed to providing transgender‑inclusive healthcare.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Wellspring 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 Foundation’s service needs and business requirements. All personnel decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, assignment, training, promotion, discipline and discharge, are made without discrimination based on any protected characteristic as defined by law (e.g., race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, age, disability, gender identity or expression, sex, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, domestic partner status, veteran or military status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, and prior criminal convictions, as well as educational attainment).

Wellspring Philanthropic Fund believes we are strengthened by the diversity of our staff, and welcomes such diversity including race, gender identity or expression, educational attainment, disability, veteran status, and personal experience with the criminal justice system. We welcome applications from people of all cultures, backgrounds, and experiences, and we strongly encourage people of color and persons with disabilities to apply. We actively cultivate an institutional culture that reflects the values of respect, equity and inclusion that we seek through our work to amplify in the larger world.

NOTE: To be employed at Wellspring, you must be legally authorized to work in the United States. If you are not currently authorized to work in the United States and will need to be sponsored, please let us know in your cover letter.