Senior Program Officer, Walton Family Foundation

ABFE; Bentonville (AR); On-site; USD 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Senior Program Officer to lead impactful initiatives in the Home Region program. This role requires a dynamic individual with a strong background in education and philanthropy, who can manage diverse grants and foster relationships with grantees. The ideal candidate will possess exceptional communication skills, a strategic mindset, and the ability to navigate complex issues in the philanthropic landscape. Join a mission-driven organization that values diversity and is committed to creating opportunities for communities in Northwest Arkansas and beyond. If you are passionate about education and making a difference, this is the perfect opportunity for you.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in Education or philanthropic environments.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills are essential.

Responsibilities

• Manage a diverse portfolio of grants and strategic projects.
• Support colleagues and manage relationships with grantees.

Skills

Written Communication

Public Speaking

Financial Analysis

Relationship Management

Problem Solving

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Master's Degree

Job description

Senior Program Officer, Walton Family Foundation

Job Description

The Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. The children and grandchildren of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, lead the foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. The Foundation’s giving is focused on three areas: improving K-12 education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. The Foundation also invests in areas of deep personal interest to individual family members.

Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, with offices in Washington, D.C., Jersey City, New Jersey and Denver, Colorado, approximately 110 staff conduct the day-to-day operations of the foundation.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

The Walton Family Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building and maintaining a culturally diverse workplace. We encourage women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status of protected veteran, among other things or status as a qualified individual with a disability.

Position Overview

The Walton Family Foundation is seeking an experienced, skilled, highly motivated, and entrepreneurial individual to join the foundation as a Senior Program Officer based in Bentonville, AR.

About the Position

The Senior Program Officer will manage a diverse portfolio of grants and strategic projects in service of the Home Region program’s strategic plan. Specific duties include the following:

1. Support and professionally develop colleagues in service of the program’s mission and goals.
2. Help manage individual relationships with grantees and potential grantees. This will include performing sourcing proposals, due diligence on proposals, shepherding proposals through the foundation’s approval process in a timely manner, monitoring grantee progress toward objectives.
3. Manage topical categories of work, ensuring alignment of grants with the foundation’s mission and strategies. This includes partnering with the Home Region program director and other senior staff to work on the foundation’s grant budget and strategy.
4. Help shape philanthropic investment plans primarily aligned with career-connected learning, workforce pathways and high-quality education strategy development.
5. Identify potential new partnerships and opportunities including identifying prospective grantees and funding partners.
6. Assist grantees in developing and implementing maintenance, monitoring, and funding strategies that lead to the achievement of strategic goals.
7. Collaborate with foundation colleagues, including members of the foundation evaluation and communications teams to implement, refine, and expand the foundation’s impact.
8. Manage workflow and processes with grantees, across foundation offices, and with key stakeholders.
9. Review budgets or appropriate expenditures, review legal documents, monitor grantee operations, review financial and narrative reports and work with our administrative team to ensure timely payments.
10. Provide superior customer service; be proactive in anticipating needs and provide accurate, timely resolution of issues when they arise.
11. Other projects and assignments as requested by the Home Region team, foundation leadership, and/or family members.

Who we are looking for

Qualifications required for your success

The Senior Program Officer must possess the following professional qualifications:

1. A Bachelor’s degree; relevant master’s degree or higher preferred.
2. At least 10 years of work in Education, Career Education, or philanthropic environment.
3. Strong written communication skills with experience in producing both brief and longer written products in a timely fashion for internal and external audiences.
4. Public speaking experience with the ability to convey complex issues to internal and external audiences.
5. Knowledge of economic, financial and accounting principles (e.g., experience navigating financial statements, an organization’s budget); familiarity reading legal documents.

Additional helpful experience includes:

1. K-12 teaching, administration, or other education experience.
2. Experience with building technical career pathways.
3. Management/strategic planning consulting.
4. Nonprofit management.
5. Philanthropic or grant development and management experience.

Personal attributes that support your success

The Senior Program Officer should ideally possess the following attributes:

1. Ability to give and receive feedback graciously.
2. Superior communicator who treats everyone with respect.
3. Demonstrated success in building effective relationships and networks to achieve results.
4. Self-directed and decisive problem solver who can also be flexible.
5. Intellectual agility and the ability to analyze, think critically, and understand emerging education reform issues.
6. Proven skills at organization and time management.
7. Exceptional attention to detail, even while managing multiple projects simultaneously.
8. Ability to anticipate issues and problems in advance and propose possible solutions.
9. Possess unquestionable ethics and personal integrity.
10. Effective team member who is also able to act independently.
11. Willing to travel up to 20% of the time.