Program Associate, Environment & Science

ABOUT THE DAVID AND LUCILE PACKARD FOUNDATION
Founded in 1964 by David and Lucile Packard, the Packard 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. To achieve lasting change, we also strive 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 our approach. We believe 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. We are dedicated to supporting community-based solutions shaped by the knowledge and experience of the people whose lives are most affected and informed by data. We recognize that meaningful solutions require patience, urgency, and supporting the conditions for transformational change. We are committed to addressing complex issues over the long term while making tangible progress today.

OUR VISION: A just and equitable world where both people and nature flourish.  

OUR MISSION: We work with people and communities to create enduring solutions for just societies and a healthy, resilient natural world. 

OUR VALUES: Equity, Integrity, Belief in Individual Leadership, Thinking Big, Respect, and Effectiveness.  

POSITION SUMMARY
This role will be responsible for leading, developing, and implementing the operations for grantmaking portfolios within the Field Support portfolio. The goal of the Field Support portfolio is to strengthen infrastructure that advances our priorities across the Environment and Science goal area. We fund organizations and platforms that grow the fields of practice and philanthropy in support of ocean, climate and science progress. This role will partner closely with the Field Support Program Officer, the Environment and Science Vice President, and other staff across the Foundation to ensure effective implementation of our portfolio and a positive experience for our grantees. The successful candidate will be adept at building trust and growing respectful working relationships, have an eye for details and systems/process improvement, and be committed to the Foundation’s mission, vision, and values.

In addition, the Program Associate (PA) is the primary contact for our grantees when it comes to ensuring the grantmaking cycle and process is understood, effective, and streamlined. Through partnership with the grantees, an understanding of their needs, and strong knowledge of our internal processes, the Program Associate works with many internal and external partners to contribute to initiative and Foundation goals. 

The Field Support portfolio sits within the Foundation’s Environment and Science (E&S) Team. The E&S team supports work to achieve the Foundation’s three goals, with a particular focus on the goal of protecting and restoring our natural world. To do this, we champion bold climate solutions, an ocean that sustains us, and scientific innovation and discovery to secure the health and future of people and our planet. Across our globe, the fate of both people and our natural world are inextricably linked, and all solutions must account for both.

This position reports to the E&S Operations Manager with a dotted line to the Grants Officer, who will provide expert guidance and oversight on grantmaking processes and quality of work. They will participate in a cross-Foundation cohort of peers committed to developing effective operational processes for grantmaking and strong, trust-based relationships, designed to support the work of our initiatives and grantees.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Grantmaking & Initiative Operations
Process and execute all grants within an assigned portfolio, including creation of grant files, initial due diligence, set up and track payments and reports on various timelines, and ensure accurate and timely set-up, review, and submission of files and information within the grantmaking system through each step of the grant lifecycle, leveraging developed expertise in research, legal compliance, grantmaking systems, and financial grantmaking requirements 
Work with Program Officers and the E&S Vice President on the development of grantmaking plans as needed; support and/or lead the implementation of plans leveraging knowledge of prior work with grantees, identification of opportunities for collaborations across the Foundation, and with an in-depth understanding of budgets, timelines, and grantmaking requirements 
Proactively identify, develop, and lead implementation of operational processes and tools for initiative collaboration and planning, with an eye towards equity, effectiveness, and easing grantee burden to better serve the Foundation’s grantees, partners, and goals 
Serve as a Fluxx Grants Management System expert on the initiative team, with working knowledge of the back-end database structure, fields, and user-interface, along with grant file requirements and associated rationale for those requirements; develop Fluxx dashboards to enable effective creation and team tracking of grants 
Work in close partnership with Grants Officers to ensure accuracy and adherence to grantmaking policies, procedures, processes, and timelines.
Utilize existing tools to track portfolio budgets in partnership with the Grants Officer and goal/initiative colleagues
Be aware of current research and policy changes within the relevant issues areas and geography; in partnership with Grants Management, support Program Officers and Associate Program Officers with development or refinement of processes as needed
As needed, support the quarterly Board docket preparation process for the initiative team; draft other written materials as needed, such as correspondence with grantees and briefing documents for site visits 
Support and occasionally lead training and adoption for Field Support team, as it relates to internal systems, processes, and policies; onboard new staff to grantmaking practices 
Provide coverage for the Environment and Science Operations Team on contracts and event planning as needed

Grantee Partnership
Build strong partnerships with grantees by deeply understanding their work, their unique needs and processes, and their local jurisdiction requirements to collaboratively identify the most effective, relevant pathways to funding while ensuring a positive grantee experience 
Serve as a key point of contact for grantees for needs related to initiating and moving the grant through its full lifecycle, creatively problem solving as complex grantmaking issues arise, and negotiating in multiple directions to meet internal and external requirements 
Invest in learning and understanding initiative strategies and key partners to draft grant summaries, inform work with grantees, and support strategy development, measurement, and refinement 
Support grantees as they navigate Foundation systems and requirements, providing training and documentation, as well as troubleshooting support, as needed
As needed, provide advance, on-site, and/or remote logistical and administrative support for domestic and/or international grantee meetings and convenings and, as needed, support, and occasionally lead, meeting facilitation

Organizational Collaboration & Process Improvement
Actively participate in the cross-Foundation Program Associate cohort, designed to establish a center of expertise, process ownership, and align practices across goal teams for grants operations
Collaborate with the Foundation’s GDO team to create greater operational cooperation, transparency, and accountability for the Foundation, including supporting our ability to gather insightful data to guide our work 
Provide ongoing feedback/ideas and contribute to Foundation-wide process improvements to grantmaking operations; act as representative for specific needs of the initiative and associated geographies within these conversations 
With other Program Associates and initiative teams, identify, manage, iterate, and/or implement internal processes required to ensure alignment and coordinated implementation for workstreams and partners/grantees spanning multiple teams 
Participate in, and/or lead guest speaker events, cross-Foundation working groups, and program forums to enable learning and systems/process improvement across the Foundation
Pursue ongoing professional development opportunities and participate in Foundation-wide training