The Rita Allen Foundation, a nationally prominent venture philanthropy organization, seeks a Finance and Operations lead to support its next phase of growth and impact at a pivotal moment. The Foundation invests in discoveries in their earliest stages in biomedical research, civic science, and philanthropic practice. Through its work in civic science, the Foundation seeds networks to accelerate learning, inclusion, and impact to ensure that science and evidence help to inform solutions to society’s most pressing problems.
Established in 1953, the Foundation is well-known for its long-standing Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Program, which has supported more than 225 early-career biomedical scientists conducting bold research that has reshaped fields—from neuroscience and immunology to cancer and pain research—and whose alumni have been recognized with Nobel Prizes in Physiology and Medicine and other prestigious honors. With the leadership of President and CEO Elizabeth Good Christopherson since 2009, the Foundation has emerged as a leader in civic science, co-creating the Civic Science Fellows program, which to date has supported more than 75 partner organizations and 70 next-generation leaders in creating new pilots, partnerships, knowledge, models, and ways of working that can help seed collaborations between science and society. This approach to convening and field-building is evident in the Foundation’s leadership of the Civic Science Funders Collaborative.
These efforts, spanning discovery science, civic science, and philanthropic practice, reflect a distinctive model: investing early, thinking collaboratively, and building knowledge and networks that strengthen the effectiveness of philanthropy. Today, the Foundation combines institutional strength with the agility of a “philanthropic lab”—established enough to take the long view, small enough to move with conviction, and committed to learning in the open. Increasingly, the Foundation also seeks to demonstrate what a more adaptive, collaborative model of philanthropy can look like in practice.
Its close-knit team is entrepreneurial, innovative, and ambitious, with every role carrying real scope and impact. Colleagues are deeply committed to the mission, take pride in their work, and enjoy working closely together in an environment that values both intellectual rigor and balance. There is a strong sense that people work at the Foundation not only because they believe in the work, but also in each other and in the culture itself.
Reporting to the President and CEO, Finance and Operations will serve as a senior operational leader, overseeing full financial stewardship and a range of internal operations. In a lean environment, this is a hands-on role responsible for the Foundation’s full financial operations, as well as human resources, technology, and administrative operations. The role blends strategy and execution, collaborating with leadership to shape how the organization functions and grows in a rapidly changing landscape, including the thoughtful integration of AI into its work. This leader will help translate vision into operational reality, anticipating needs, shaping priorities, and co-architecting systems that enable the Foundation’s continued evolution.
This is an opportunity for a doer and builder—someone energized by designing and implementing systems in support of a mission-driven organization. In doing so, Finance and Operations will be central in enabling a foundation that is not only advancing breakthrough ideas but also helping redefine how philanthropy can operate in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.
The Rita Allen Foundation has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist with this important search. Screening of complete applications will begin immediately and continue until the completion of the search process. For more details, including the full position profile and to submit inquiries, nominations, referrals, and applications, please see the Isaacson, Miller website for the search: https://www.imsearch.com/open-searches/rita-allen-foundation/finance-and-operations
John Isaacson, Partner
Phuong Ta, Managing Associate
Mindy Cimini, Senior Search Coordinator
We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds. The Rita Allen Foundation is committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, sex or gender, marital status or civil union status, age, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, military status, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic as established under law. All individuals are welcomed and encouraged to apply.