Program Associate, California

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. 

Department Overview

Since its inception, the Packard Foundation has been committed to investing locally in partnership with those working to ensure that the promise and possibility of California is attainable for all. Today, the California Communities Initiative (CCI) team works to achieve the Foundation’s three goals, with a particular focus on the goal of investing in families and communities. We support partners working in six counties and at a statewide level to promote resilient and vibrant communities where families thrive, so they have the power to shape their lives.

Position Summary

This role will be responsible for leading, developing, and implementing the operations for grantmaking portfolios within the California Communities Initiative. The goal of the California Communities Initiative is that California communities are strong and resilient places where people create enduring solutions for stable housing, healthy environments, vibrant communities, and policies that ensure community-based services help all children and families thrive. At a local level, the initiative focuses on six counties including Fresno, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and San Mateo. This role will partner closely with the director, program officers 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 California Communities Initiative sits within the Foundation’s goal to Invest in Families and Children. Under the Families and Children goal, staff collaborate with leaders and organizations to promote resilient and vibrant communities where children and families thrive and have the power to shape their lives.

This position reports to the Initiative Director 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 Associate Program Officers 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 the California Communities Initiative team, as it relates to internal systems, processes, and policies; onboard new staff to grantmaking practices 

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 and on-site 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 sessions  

Qualifications

Education

• An associate’s degree or equivalent experience/training is required for this role.

Experience

• Three to five years of related cross-functional operations, partnering, and/or project management experience is required for this role.
• Experience in the nonprofit sector, experience in grantmaking processes, and familiarity with best practices, either through a foundation or grantee perspective, is desirable but not required. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong operations and project coordination/management skills and experience, including the ability to develop, lead, and implement projects, processes, and systems, both independently and with colleagues 
• Ability to manage and collaborate across multiple stakeholders, both internal and external, to understand needs, negotiate priorities, and develop alignment
• Ability to establish and maintain positive and productive working relationships within and outside of the Foundation 
• Ability to be consistent and dependable for full-time work and be available to work overtime as needed
• Excellent attention to detail and the ability to complete work with a high degree of accuracy and dependability 
• A track record of being able to meet tight, sometimes simultaneous, deadlines with a keen ability to prioritize, adapt to changing needs, and partner with others to meet common goals 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills 
• Devoted to growing own cultural competence and willing to participate actively in the Foundation’s efforts to integrate justice and equity in all facets of our work
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office products (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) or similar tools and a willingness to learn and become proficient with Foundation systems including Fluxx, Monday.com, and Microsoft SharePoint 
• Ability to work with individuals and teams across functions, organizations, and countries as needed

Compensation and Benefits

The position is full-time. The salary range for this position is $88,000 – $107,000 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, and 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; and tuition assistance.