Program Officer (2 positions)

The Northwest Area Foundation (NWAF) stands
alongside changemakers in its region of eight states and 76 Native
nations and funds work that leads to racial, social, and economic
justice. Its region includes Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. The Foundation’s
driving vision is that the people of its priority
communities—including Native Americans, communities of color,
immigrants, refugees, and people in rural areas—thrive on their own
terms. A key motivation is
a vision of a future in which the region’s rich culture of
engagement and opportunity makes the eight-state region a prized
place to visit, to invest, and live.

As we all emerge changed from the recent and ongoing crises—a
pandemic, economic turmoil, the upsurge for racial justice in the
wake of the murder of George Floyd, and mounting pressures on
NWAF’s priority communities—the Foundation continues to deepen its
commitment to supporting grantee-led change. Internally, it’s made
measurable progress to strengthen equity-centered systems designed
to support a deeply engaged staff and build an inclusive culture
and belonging. At this critical juncture in time, the Foundation
seeks two Program Officers to
join the program team led by Karla Miller, the
Foundation’s Program Director. Program Officers are the
Foundation’s primary relationship-holder with grantee partners
seeking to reimagine and restructure unjust systems.

This position is hybrid with in-person office time required at
least two days a week specifically on Wednesdays and Thursdays for
collaborative time with colleagues. Foundation staff may work from
home or other work-friendly environments, on Mondays, Tuesdays, and
Fridays.

ABOUT THE NORTHWEST AREA FOUNDATION

NWAF is a private foundation established in 1934 by Louis W.
Hill, son of the railroad entrepreneur James J. Hill, whose Great
Northern Railway linked the Twin Cities of Minnesota to the
emerging cities of the Pacific Northwest, Seattle, and Portland,
OR. Currently, its assets are near $500MM, annual budget is around
$25MM, and its staff consists of 20+ people. NWAF’s values
represent not just who the Foundation is, but who it aspires to be,
in decisions both big and small. The six organizational values are:
Social Justice, Grantees Come First, Trust, Listen and Learn for
Change, Heart, and Courage. The Foundation is committed to hiring
individuals who contribute to a richly diverse workplace. Hiring
decisions are guided by the Foundation’s commitment to support
grantees, who work to build the entrepreneurial spirit, strong
community ties, and untapped potential for Native Americans,
communities of color, immigrants, refugees, and people in rural
areas, all of which experience systemic barriers to thriving on
their own terms.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PROGRAM OFFICER

As the primary relationship-holder with grantee partners,
Program Officers (POs) work in close collaboration with other
program staff, particularly the Program Director, on all aspects of
the Foundation’s grantmaking and program-related investments,
including both day-to-day operations and broader strategy
development. More specifically, the POs contribute to programmatic
ideas and participate actively in grantmaking and program-related
investments (PRIs) by seeking, recommending, and managing grants
and PRIs that support communities to thrive on their own terms. POs
engage in this work in the following ways:

Deploy Foundation resources in mission-supportive
ways.

• Participate in the program team’s annual goal-setting
  process.
• Contribute to annual discussions about how and what the
  Foundation will fund, e.g., determining the focus of “targeted
  initiatives” that form the basis for a portion of the Foundation’s
  annual grantmaking output.
• Conduct outreach and networking to find organizations that are
  aligned with the Foundation’s goals and mission and could be
  grantee partners. This also includes listening to organizations and
  responding to funding inquiries. Outreach and networking often
  require travel within NWAF’s eight-state region.
• Based on grantee applications, POs put together written
  materials and verbal presentations for Foundation leadership,
  provide analysis for the Board, and offer recommendations for
  funding decisions.
• Conduct outreach and networking with other funders to advocate
  for opportunities for grantee impact while also fostering learning
  and sharing about more just, equitable funding practices.

Partner with grantees to reimagine and restructure
unjust systems.

• Build and maintain relationships with current and prospective
  grantee partners. The nature of the relationship varies from
  grantee to grantee, but in general POs can expect to enter these
  relationships with candidness, curiosity, and
  trust.
• Partner with grant applicants on all aspects of the proposal
  process. This includes supporting applicants in developing
  realistic proposals that are aligned with strategic funding
  priorities, within the scope of the program grantmaking budget, and
  within applicants’ capacity to deliver.
• Serve as primary contact for a set of the Foundation’s 100+
  active grants for the duration of their grants / investments. This
  involves staying connected to grantees’ work, having regular
  touchpoints via video/phone calls or in-person visits, reviewing
  grant reports, and providing thought partnership to grantees.
• Offer non-monetary support to grantees, including thought
  partnership, advocating or championing grantee partners’ work to
  funders and others in the community, sharing tools or resources,
  and connecting them to others doing similar work.
• Co-create opportunities to learn alongside partners. This
  involves identifying learning opportunities that support justice
  and systems change, and managing contracts with external
  consultants (e.g., researchers or evaluators) to carry out the
  work.
• Incorporate grantee feedback into the Foundation’s internal
  processes and its strategy.

Support partners via the full suite of NWAF
tools.

• Manage PRIs (directly or indirectly with CDFI partners), which
  involves having upfront conversations with potential borrowers to
  determine if a PRI is the right tool for their organization’s
  needs.
• Support ongoing investment monitoring:  how the
  investments have been used by the organization, their community
  impact, and ongoing financial health of the organization. PRI
  monitoring is done in partnership with NWAF’s finance team, partner
  CDFIs, and/or partner foundations.
• Share grantee work and the program team’s perspective and
  experiences by writing blogs for the NWAF website, in collaboration
  with the Program Director and the Communications Director.
• Provide capacity-building support by designing and hosting
  convenings that focus on building skills and knowledge, and
  connecting organizations to each other and resources.

Support Foundation processes.

• Prepare and present reports for Foundation leadership and Board
  members, in partnership with program team colleagues.
• Participate in Foundation-wide workgroups or task forces (e.g.,
  Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Steering Committee) and
  other cross-Foundation projects, as needed.
• Keep apprised of community context. Keep up to date on what’s
  happening in priority communities. Note trends in social justice
  movements and the nonprofit sectors, etc.
• Network with nonprofits and fellow funders to stay updated on
  community needs, expand networks of potential grantee partners, and
  deepen understanding of the Foundation’s region.
• Represent NWAF at events, e.g., attending conferences,
  participating on panels, attending local events, and participating
  in or joining webinars.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Candidates should have an active curiosity and passion for
NWAF’s mission and values and for working with partners that seek
to reimagine and restructure systems. Successful candidates will be
collaborative, positive, and able to deal well with ambiguity and
change. They will be adept at building relationships and able to
respond to issues with clarity and diplomacy. The ideal candidate
may or may not have philanthropy experience as other types of
professional experience, such as working across functional areas at
a nonprofit organization or a community development corporation,
can offer skills that are transferable to this role.

The ideal candidate will possess many, but most likely not all,
of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes,
and experiences:

• A minimum of seven years’ experience in the
  nonprofit, philanthropic, public, or private sector, working toward
  economic, social, and/or racial justice, preferably within NWAF’s
  region and with priority communities.
• Post-secondary degree (preferred), but individuals with lived
  and/or professional experience related to the core functions of
  this opportunity are encouraged to apply.
• Experience working in a collaborative, team-based
  environment.
• Lived or work experience with one or more of the Foundation’s
  priority communities (Native Americans,
  communities of color, immigrants, refugees, and people in rural
  areas).
• Experience building relationships with a variety of
  people, including experience creating welcoming and
  inviting spaces for dialogue, showing respect and solidarity with
  the work people are doing, and ability to inspire trust and nurture
  authentic partnerships. Brings an orientation of listening
  to learn, and asks organizations about their vision for
  the future, their aspirations, and how they incorporate justice,
  equity, diversity, and inclusion into their work.
• Understanding of / experience incorporating equity and
  justice into the workplace, and in relationships with community
  partners. A deep commitment to supporting and uplifting
  the expertise of priority communities and addressing structural
  bias.
• Proven commitment to racial, economic, and social
  justice. Ability to seek input from and value the
  uniqueness of people from different groups and identities. Works
  effectively with individuals of diverse cultures, interpersonal
  styles, abilities, motivations, or backgrounds. Challenges
  practices or policies that may be exclusionary.
• Understanding of mission-oriented and nonprofit
  organizations, including the ability to analyze
  organizational strategic plans, evaluation reports, financial
  statements, and organizational budgets associated with grant
  applications.
• Experience communicating to various audiences,
  e.g., including making small group and public presentations, and
  producing clear and compelling written documents. Experience with
  storytelling, including the ability to share the story of the
  Foundation’s and partners’ work in ways that speak to various
  audiences, while making sure the humanity of the work shines
  through. A deep commitment to supporting and uplifting the
  expertise of priority communities.
• Ability to bring innovation and a
  learning orientation to programs and systems that
  advance racial, social, and economic justice. Asks questions and
  probes for root causes; sees underlying or hidden patterns; looks
  beyond the obvious to understand why barriers exist/problems
  occur.
• Experience managing multiple priorities,
  organizing and prioritizing tasks, managing time efficiently,
  meeting deadlines, working independently, managing budgets, and
  collaborating with colleagues.
• Creative and critical thinking, including
  experience holding large amounts of information about context and
  trends in a topic area, or for priority communities, or for a large
  geographic region, and experience drawing on that knowledge base to
  make connections and offer ideas about how to improve work.
• Experience with or interest in learning various
  technology and software programs, including: Microsoft
  Office Suite, Google documents, Zoom, Salesforce and other grants
  management software, etc.
• Active driver’s license, an essential
  component of the travel requirements of this role (see next
  section).

EXPECTED PROGRAM OFFICER TRAVEL

As an integral part of the program team, travel is an
anticipated requirement for this role, involving participation in
in-person gatherings like site visits and the annual Board retreat.
Additionally, POs may be called upon to represent the Foundation at
conferences or host Board and staff members attending
program-related events.

Travel commitments are expected to range from 15% to 20% of a
PO’s working time under standard circumstances. In summary:

• Occasional travel is required.
• 15% to 20% travel equates to approximately once per month.
• A typical schedule of travel per year includes 9–10 trips, each
  2–3 days long.
• Travel days often require work outside of typical business
  hours.
• Travel is by air and car. Maintaining an active driver’s
  license is required due to the nature of traveling within the
  region.
• Travel is domestic, primarily in NWAF’s eight-state region,
  which includes travel to rural and remote parts of the region.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• The Northwest Area Foundation operates in a hybrid fashion.
  Employees are expected to be in the office at least 2 days per
  week, on Wednesdays and Thursdays, with the option to work from
  home up to 3 days per week in accordance with NWAF policies. The
  in-person work environment is an office setting with a designated
  workspace at the Foundation’s office in St. Paul, Minnesota.
• This position requires regular use of a computer and other
  office equipment and communication technology such as, but not
  limited to, videoconferencing equipment, telephone, copy machine,
  and printer.
• Work is performed in an office environment with minimal
  exposure to excessive noise, dust, fumes, vibrations, and
  temperature changes. Frequent use of office equipment including
  computers, printers, and copiers.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified
individuals with disabilities to perform the principal duties and
responsibilities of the position in accordance with applicable law
and NWAF policies.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The Program Officer is a full-time, exempt position reporting to
the Program Director. NWAF offers a competitive and holistic
rewards package that includes salary and benefits. The anticipated
starting salary for this position is in the range of $100,000 –
$115,000.

The actual starting salary will be commensurate with the years,
breadth, and depth of relevant experience, education,
certifications, credentials, special skills, accomplishments, and
other factors relevant to the position.

NWAF’s benefits are generous and include:

• Competitive compensation, including relocation support when
  applicable.
• Strong medical, dental, and life insurance benefits for staff
  and their dependents with competitive monthly premiums and flexible
  spending accounts.
• Minimum of four weeks of paid time off, and 12 floating
  holidays.
• Retirement programs, including 403(b) matching at 50% of
  deferrals up to annual maximum of $5,000, with access to financial
  planning resources.
• Money purchase pension plan, after one year of service, in
  which NWAF makes a generous contribution that vests over a
  four-year period.
• Matching gift program for charitable donations one-to-one match
  up to $2,000.
• Additional benefits such as an employee assistance plan, paid
  parental leave, and tuition reimbursement.

TO APPLY

More information about Northwest Area
Foundation may be found at: www.nwaf.org.

This search is being led by Cara Pearsall and Robert Diggs of
NPAG. Candidates may submit
their cover letter, outlining their interest and qualifications,
along with their resume via NPAG’s website by Friday, March 1,
2024. NPAG welcomes expressions of interest and/or
nominations submitted via this
form.

An Equal-Opportunity Employer with a Commitment
to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

NWAF is an equal opportunity employer and all
employees and applicants for employment are afforded equal
opportunity in every area of hiring and employment without regard
to race, color, ethnicity, religious creed, national origin,
ancestry, sex, gender identity, age, disability, mental illness,
sexual harassment, sexual orientation, genetics, military/veteran
status, citizenship, arrest record, and any other legally protected
characteristic.

The above statements are not intended to encompass all
functions and qualifications of the position; rather, they are
intended to provide a general framework of the requirements of the
position. Job incumbents may be required to perform other functions
not specifically addressed in this description.