Senior Program Partner

Christopher Family Foundation; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 125,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Christopher Family Foundation (CFF) is a Westmont, Illinois-based foundation focused on employment, entrepreneurship, and community development on Chicago's West Side. The Senior Program Partner will shape grantmaking strategy, build relationships with West Side leaders and grantees, and help develop CFF's data and evaluation infrastructure.

The role emphasizes real influence, community-rooted work, and collaboration within a small, mission-driven team.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree and 7+ years of progressively responsible leadership experience in philanthropy and/or the social service sector.
• Experience in workforce development and/or small business development strongly preferred.
• Fluency in using data to drive strategy and to conduct analysis is strongly preferred; comfort with visualization tools is a plus.
• Grants management systems experience is a plus.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills.

Responsibilities

• Build genuine, trusting relationships with grantee partners and West Side stakeholders who shape our strategy and priorities.
• Act as a connector, helping partners access resources, networks, and opportunities that go beyond the grant check.
• Lead proposal review, due diligence, and grant recommendations.
• Represent CFF at site visits and community learning opportunities.
• Build data visualization tools that make our impact clear and compelling to the Distribution Committee.

Skills

Communication

Stakeholder management

Organizational skills

Community familiarity

Growth mindset

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Grants management systems

Job description

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

The Christopher Family Foundation (CFF) was created in 1997 by Jay W. and Doris K. Christopher, and is an outgrowth of the Pampered Chef, a business they founded in their home in 1980. Today, the Westmont, Illinois-based foundation is governed by a Distribution Committee (Board) consisting of multiple generations of the Christopher Family and views its work through two key lenses: the Christian perspective of its founders, and a focus on access and equity. Most of CFF’s funding is centered on Chicago's West Side, with special emphasis on the Austin community.

We invest in:

We invest in:

• Jobs that provide family-sustaining wages for people facing multiple barriers to employment
• Entrepreneurship pathways that build intergenerational wealth and stability
• High-quality education and youth development
• Access to healthy food

For more information about the Christopher Family Foundation, please see www.christopherff.org.

ABOUT THE POSITION

CFF is growing steadily and intentionally and we're building our program team to match our ambitions as we look for a strategic, relationship-driven team player to help shape what's next for our work in Employment and Entrepreneurship on Chicago's West Side, and to build the data infrastructure that will sharpen our impact for years to come.

This isn't a role where you'll sit behind a desk reviewing proposals in isolation. You'll be in the community, collaborating with grantee partners, and at the table when strategy is set. This is a unique opportunity where relationship-building, rigorous thinking, and real proximity to community all matter equally.

The Senior Program Partner is a new role that will build upon the work of the Foundation. The successful candidate can expect:

• Real influence, not just execution. You'll help shape grantmaking strategy, not just implement it with direct visibility into Distribution Committee decision-making.
• Community-rooted work. Success here means real relationships with West Side leaders, entrepreneurs, and grantee partners.
• A chance to build something. You'll work to develop CFF's data and evaluation infrastructure.
• A close-knit, mission-driven team.CFF is a small office with big trust. This role comes with genuine latitude to bring your own strategic voice to the work.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Strategic Portfolio & Relationship Management (50%)

• Build genuine, trusting relationships with grantee partners and West Side stakeholders who shape our strategy and priorities
• Act as a connector, helping partners access resources, networks, and opportunities that go beyond the grant check
• Identify and cultivate new grantee partnerships aligned with our Employment and Entrepreneurship strategies Lead proposal review, due diligence, and grant recommendations
• Represent CFF at site visits and community learning opportunities
• Build data visualization tools that make our impact clear and compelling to the Distribution Committee

Data & Evaluation Leadership (25%)

• Design and roll out CFF's evaluation frameworks and logic models
• Turn quantitative and qualitative data into insight, and insight into strategy
• Build and manage surveys, interviews, and other tools that help grantees tell their impact story
• Partner with our outsourced data vendor to build systems that track outcomes and strengthen grantee support
• Bring best practices in philanthropic evaluation and data management into everyday decision making

Organizational & Field Leadership (25%)

• Help design, adapt, and refine grantmaking strategy and new initiatives
• Build relationships with peer funders working in shared issue areas to inform broader, macro-level strategy
• Represent CFF at conferences and sector convenings
• Be a thought partner and contribute your voice and ideas to a growing, evolving program team

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

• A bachelor's degree 7+ years of progressively responsible leadership experience in philanthropy and/or the social service sector
• Experience in workforce development and/or small business development strongly preferred
• Fluency in using data to drive strategy and to conduct analysis is strongly preferred; comfort with visualization tools is a plus
• Grants management systems experience is a plus
• Strong Microsoft Office skills

DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES

• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• The ability to build trust across a wide range of stakeholders, from grassroots entrepreneurs to multi-generational foundation leadership
• A self-directed, organized approach and comfort in a small-office environment where your work is visible and valued
• Lived experiences, ties to or deep experience working in and for West Side Chicago communities (especially Austin), strongly preferred
• A growth mindset, a good sense of humor, and an outlook focused on possibility rather than limitation

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The salary range for this position is $125,000–$140,000, based on experience and CFF offers a generous benefits package.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT

This position presents the opportunity to work remotely one day a week and in-office four days a week at the Christopher Family Foundation office in Westmont, Illinois (shared with the family office). Time in the field, working with grantees or other stakeholders is also expected.

The Christopher Family Foundation does not discriminate based on race, color, religious creed, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, or any other basis prohibited by law. Reasonable accommodation will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.