Title: Program Officer – San Jose

Business Unit: Silicon Valley Programs, Sobrato Philanthropies 

Status: Full-time 

FSLA Status: Exempt 

Work Location: San Jose Nonprofit Center

Date Submitted: June 9, 2023

Job Summary

Reporting to the Senior Program Officer (SPO) – San Jose, the Program Officer (PO) – San Jose will support cohesive strategy implementation, grantmaking and portfolio management focusing on communities with the highest social vulnerability – East and Downtown San Jose. This PO will demonstrate deep knowledge about promising strategies and approaches advance a holistic, multi-generational economic mobility approach, strengthening paths to economic opportunity to increase financial security, well-being, and community cohesion. The SPO will make grant, tenant, and resource allocation recommendations that support partners' goals and community needs within the local ecosystem. The PO will work with colleagues across Sobrato Philanthropies to ensure effective and efficient planning, budgeting, grants management and reporting, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning. The candidate will center equity and community voice in engaging with partners and making recommendations and will enjoy the opportunity to build authentic partnerships with grantees and partners. 

Responsibilities and Tasks

Job Responsibility 1: Grantmaking Support and Portfolio Management

% of Time: 30

• Identifies potential grantees and projects, investigates and evaluates grant proposals, and presents recommended proposals for funding in written Board facing dockets. 
• Conducts site visits, provide technical assistance and thought partners and maintains an open, ongoing relationship with grantees.
• Advances proposal applications and grant renewal processes.
• Partners with grants management team to ensure solid grantmaking processes are in place from start to finish.
• Supports capital investment processes when there are aligned opportunities. 

Job Responsibility 2: Program Implementation, MEL and Admin Support

% of Time: 25

• Monitors community/program landscape, staying abreast of current research, policy, activities, and trends related to San Jose and Economic Mobility.
• Implements and adapts the geographic-based approach to community engagement, centering community, and capacity building. 
• Gathers information needed to inform program recommendations, including researching and summarizing background on community issues, prospective organizations, and active partners.
• Supports the implementation of the monitoring, evaluation and learning plan.
• Scopes and partners on assessment and learning activities to inform strategy and continuous improvement. 
• Monitors the performance of grantees through ongoing report review, site visits, and meetings. 
• Develops annual goals, corresponding activities, indicators of success, and a budget as part of the foundation’s annual planning and budgeting cycle.
• Participates in team meetings to coordinate work, report on progress, flag challenges and offer insights.
• Builds collaborative and positive working relationships and effective communication channels with all staff.

Job Responsibility 3: Community Engagement, Relationship and Network Cultivation

% of Time: 30

• Implements and support program community engagement strategy, including site activation. 
• Builds rapport with grantees to understand organizations’ and communities’ holistic needs, assets, and opportunities, and partner with colleagues to leverage full range of levers toward impact (policy, capacity building, SPRE, PRIs etc.) 
• Engages and creates relationships in an ongoing fashion with decision-makers, philanthropic partners, and stakeholders connected with the education and policy field
• Builds networks with key government, philanthropic, and nonprofit leaders to coordinate efforts and funding.
• Represents the Foundation to various constituencies including participation in outside conferences and meetings.

Other Responsibilities as Assigned % of Time:

% of Time: 15 

• Other duties as assigned 

Qualifications (Know How)

Education / Training

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree required or equivalent combination of education and work experience in the philanthropic, nonprofit, education, and/or public sector.

Experience/Technical Skills

• 5 years experience in grantmaking, strategically investing grant funds and other resources with due diligence and high accountability.
• Experience in program implementation in the philanthropic or nonprofit sector, with excellent project planning and management skills, ensuring deliverables are well-executed, on-time, and on budget. 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to effectively interact with diverse internal and external stakeholders. 

Desired

• Experience demonstrating program impact by aligning implementation with monitoring, evaluation, and learning. 
• Track record in community development, community engagement, community building or community organizing, understanding how to embed community voice, lived experience, and diversity, equity and inclusion in recommendations. 
• Experience using Fluxx Grants Management Software 
• Familiarity with East/Downtown San Jose

Competencies

• Ability to drive key deliverables effectively and efficiently. 
• Ability to be proactive and constantly prioritize responsibilities in a fast-moving and rapidly changing environment.
• Works well independently and within a team, demonstrating great initiative, flexibility, and collaboration.
• Exercises good judgment. 

Organization

Reports to: Senior Program Officer – San Jose

Direct Reports 

• None

Additional Information

The annual base salary range for full-time employees for this position is below. Please note that base pay may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

• $115,000 - $130,000 USD
• Highly competitive benefits package
• Full-time, exempt position

Work Schedule - This position is based out of 1400 Parkmoor Ave, San Jose, in office Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Hybrid on Wednesdays and Fridays. Occasional evenings and weekends may be required. 

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Sobrato Organization is an equal-opportunity employer committed to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are dedicated to building a team that represents a diversity of backgrounds, cultures, experiences, perspectives, and skills and to creating an environment and inclusion and belonging for all employees regardless of race, skin color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or parenthood. The Sobrato Organization is expanding, and we are interested in growing our staff to include diverse voices with different lived experiences.