Special Initiatives Program Officer

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation; Los Altos, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 190,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental and vision coverage

Pension/retirement contributions (15%)

Adoption and fertility benefits

Tuition assistance

Job summary

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation seeks a Program Officer for Special Initiatives to lead the Philanthropy Fund and Special Opportunities portfolio, engaging with trustees and staff to shape strategy and grants across the foundation.

You will manage long‑term relationship grants, support ad‑hoc projects, and coordinate across initiatives, driving impact while aligning with the Foundation’s mission and values. Hybrid work in Los Altos with travel required.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in the social or philanthropic sector.
• Bachelor’s degree is required; an advanced degree is strongly preferred.
• Track record as a results‑oriented program manager within philanthropic, nonprofit, management consulting, academic or government contexts.
• Highly skilled and persuasive communicator with exceptional written, oral, interpersonal and presentation skills.
• This position requires travel a minimum of 20% of the time and occasional work outside regular hours to accommodate time zones.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Philanthropy Fund and Special Opportunities Portfolio, including grantmaking, diligence, and reporting.
• Engage with trustees, program staff, consultants, and grantees to ensure effective strategy implementation.
• Develop and oversee grant proposal processes and dashboards; manage complex multi‑institution collaborations.
• Provide project management, analysis, and partnership support for ad‑hoc special projects and cross‑foundation initiatives.
• Represent the Foundation in meetings, conferences, and with nonprofit and government leaders.

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Advanced degree

Job description

About The David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Founded in 1964 by David and Lucile Packard, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation (the Foundation) is a family philanthropy dedicated to supporting leaders and organizations around the world working to invest in children and families, protect and restore the natural world, and create just and inclusive societies. For more than six decades, the Foundation has advanced scientific innovation, championed reproductive health and rights, conserved and restored our natural world, and invested in the well-being of children and families. The Foundation’s goals today include:

• Build Just Societies: support a strong civil society and inclusive institutions and governance to build just and equitable societies for all people.
• Protect and Restore Our Natural World: champion bold climate solutions, an ocean that sustains us, and scientific innovation and discovery to secure the health and future of people and planet.
• Invest in Families and Communities: prioritize the importance of children having a healthy start and promoting resilient and vibrant communities where children and families thrive, so they have the power to shape their lives.

To achieve lasting change, the Foundation also strives to address root causes of longstanding problems, including building a thriving, resilient U.S. democracy; advancing racial justice in the United States and gender equity globally; and supporting a strong civil society around the globe.

Inclusive collaboration is the heart of the Foundation’s approach, with the belief that actively listening to and learning from people with a wide range of views is the best way to create solutions that match the scale and urgency of the challenges we face. The Foundation is dedicated to supporting community-based solutions shaped by the knowledge and experience of the people whose lives are most affected and informed by data, recognizing that meaningful solutions require patience, urgency, and supporting the conditions for transformational change. The Foundation is committed to addressing complex issues over the long term while making tangible progress today.

The Foundation’s Vision, Mission, and Values are as follows:

• Vision: A just and equitable world where both people and nature flourish.
• Mission: We work with people and communities to create enduring solutions for just societies and a healthy, resilient natural world.
• Values: Equity, Integrity, Belief in Individual Leadership, Thinking Big, Respect, and Effectiveness.

Special Initiatives Overview

The Special Initiatives team supports the effective allocation of four funds – (1) the Special Opportunities, (2) President’s, (3) Agility, and (4) Philanthropy Funds – and manages special projects, including new or one-time areas of work or cross-goal areas of focus. This role will partner closely with our Director of Special Initiatives, Grants Officers, Program Associate, President, trustees, and other staff across the Foundation to ensure effective implementation of our initiatives.

The Program Officer Role

The Program Officer will report directly to the Director of Special Initiatives. They will lead and manage the Philanthropy Fund, including the Philanthropic Field Advancement grants and membership grants. They will engage in philanthropic sector spaces to track emerging groups and donors and use those insights to inform and refresh strategy so that funding matches sector opportunity and need, as well as engage deeply with shifting trends in the field. The Program Officer will also lead the Special Opportunities portfolio, including engagement with trustees throughout the grant lifecycle, grant diligence and grantmaking, and cross-foundation information sharing as relevant. They will also manage long‑term relationship grants from the President’s Fund and Agility portfolios as needed.

Beyond grantmaking responsibilities, this Program Officer will also provide flexible project management, analysis, research, and partnership support for ad hoc special projects, as well as work to provide internal leadership and coordination across initiatives, contributing to cross-foundation strategic areas of exploration.

Grantmaking – Special Opportunities and Philanthropy Fund

• Lead the development and implementation of strategy for both the Philanthropy and Special Opportunities Funds, in partnership with the Initiative Director.
• Clearly and consistently communicate with grant recipients, staff and other partners in a transparent, timely, and respectful manner.
• Partner with a Grants Officer, Program Associate(s), consultants and grantees to ensure effective grantmaking and operations of the strategy and that deadlines and budgets are met or readjusted as needed.
• Manage the grant proposal process and contribute to the shaping of proposals as needed.
• Manage complex processes involving multiple institutions and individuals in a team arrangement.
• Review and resolve legal, financial, and technical issues raised by specific grants and grant reports.
• Produce high quality and timely quarterly Board docket materials, including strategy documents and dashboards.
• Effectively represent the Foundation and the initiative when meeting with current and potential grantees, giving presentations and attending public forums and conferences on topics of relevance, and when interacting with nonprofit, intergovernmental and private sector leaders, elected officials, academics, collaboratives, and journalists.

Special Projects

• Provide analytical, project management, and relationship management/partnership support on ad-hoc projects as needed.
• Provide data analysis and research as needed to support new and emergent needs.

Internal Leadership

• Given the high volume of both co‑funded and adjacent grants, provide core support to enable strong internal awareness and coordination with initiatives as relevant.
• Support on cross-Foundation areas of exploration, such as climate resilience.

Desired Qualifications

While no one candidate will possess all the qualifications listed below, the ideal candidate will be passionate about The David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s mission and bring many of the following skills and experiences.

Education and Experience

• A minimum of 7 years of experience working in the social or philanthropic sector.
• A Bachelor’s degree is required for this role; an advanced degree is strongly preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• A commitment to the vision, mission, and values of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
• A flexible, adaptive, can‑do mindset and orientation.
• The ability to engage on a number of complex topics and issues simultaneously, and to distill key points and critical information.
• Track record of success as a results‑oriented, thought leader and program manager within a philanthropic, nonprofit, management consulting, academic or government context.
• Innovative, strategic, and analytical thinker skilled in understanding and meeting ever‑evolving circumstances and challenges.
• Highly skilled and persuasive communicator with exceptional written, oral, interpersonal and presentation skills.
• Proven ability to build effective partnerships and networks and sustain collaborative relationships at multiple levels both internally and externally.
• Self‑directed and decisive combined with flexibility and capacity to give and receive feedback graciously.
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in a team‑based and collegial workplace.
• Committed to inclusion and deeply value creating a workplace that is supportive of difference; experience with diverse teams and success at navigating cross‑culture communication.
• Devoted to growing one’s own cultural competence and willing to actively participate in the Foundation’s efforts to integrate justice and equity in all facets of our work.
• Administratively self‑sufficient.
• This position requires the ability to travel a minimum of 30% of the time. In addition, work outside regular business hours may be necessary to accommodate time zone differences and support key responsibilities.

Work Location, Compensation and Benefits

The position is full‑time. The salary range for this position is $190,000 – $230,000 annually. This salary range is an estimate, and the actual salary may vary based on various factors, including without limitation individual education, experience, tenure, certification, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data. Offers are based on the candidate’s years of experience and our practice of upholding salary equity within the foundation.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation offers excellent benefits for eligible employees. Current benefits include medical (HMO and HDHPs), dental and vision coverage; 15% employer contribution to employee retirement plan; life insurance, disability insurance vacation, sick leave; an adoption benefit; fertility benefit; a financial wellness program; health advocacy services, paid time off to volunteer for nonprofit organizations; matching grants for employee contributions to tax exempt organizations; commute assistance; tuition assistance.

The Packard Foundation ’s current Hybrid Work Policy is that staff are expected to be in the Los Altos office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays each week with some additional days required. This position requires the ability to travel a minimum of 20% of the time. In addition, work outside regular business hours may be necessary to accommodate time zone differences and support key responsibilities.

The Packard Foundation’s current Hybrid Work Policy is that staff are expected to be in the office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays each week.

The Foundation is an equal employment opportunity employer, which means we recruit, hire, assign, train, promote, compensate, provide benefits, discipline, and discharge (and all the other terms and conditions of employment) based on merit, qualifications, job requirements, and other legitimate business factors.