Associate Program Officer, Washington State Initiative

The Foundation

We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The Team

The vision of the foundation’s U.S. Program (USP) is to ensure that everyone in the US has access to life-changing opportunities so that race, ethnicity, and income are no longer predictors of educational and economic outcomes. In education, our primary focus is ensuring that all students – especially Black, Latinx, and low-income students – have an opportunity to earn a degree or credential that prepares them for a successful career and life. We also support efforts to increase the number of actors working together to understand and advance economic mobility. The U.S. Program works on five key drivers toward our goal:

• Support schools in the K-12 system to improve student outcomes.
• In our home state of Washington, improve the tools and practices of teachers, parents, and providers to ensure that all students have fair and equitable opportunities to reach their potential.
• Partner with stakeholders to ensure more people have the information and resources to take on barriers to opportunity and to develop economic mobility strategies.
• Transform colleges and universities to increase student success and eliminate attainment gaps.
• Ensure early childhood learning systems provide high-quality learning experiences for young children.

Our US Education programs support young people along the PK-16 continuum, from Pre-Kindergarten through postsecondary. In Washington State, we work with local and regional partners to help students see a clear path to success in the careers they choose, with an emphasis on young people who face the highest barriers, including Black, Latino, Indigenous and rural students, and students from low-income backgrounds.

Your Role

We are currently seeking a candidate for Associate Program Officer (APO). The APO will report to the Senior Program Officer, Regional Partnerships & Data, and support the SPO to advance the regional partnerships and data initiative and ensure strategic integration of the portfolio across other strategy levers for change (structures and solutions, and state policy) and functions (MLE). It also supports creating coherence between state and regional workstreams for partnerships, policy, data, and solutions. The APO will identify and lead the intersection of the regional partnerships and data portfolios with other strategic initiatives (policy & advocacy and solutions & structures).

What You'll Do

• Data tracking, analysis, and decision analytics around key issues, making sure that new data from partners, grants and projects is captured, analyzed, and used to interrogate team hypotheses, draw insights, and make recommendations to shape the execution of priorities and support better decision-making.
• Support the shaping of the team measurement, learning and evaluation strategy. Help design and operationalize processes and systems which will feed data and analysis from grants and research across the strategy back into key strategy and portfolio management decisions.
• Draft sections of key documents, reports, and presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences, summarizing developments and recommendations for program areas and external partners.
• Maintain high quality relationships with key partners including grantees, consultants, field experts, district leaders, and nonprofit and community-based organizations.
• Support the shaping of key external meetings and events to ensure that they are advancing our strategy and our stakeholder engagement plan.
• Partner with Senior Program Officers responsible for other initiatives across the Washington State Initiative to ensure integration of the regional partnership goals with solutions & structures and policy & advocacy goals.
• Support the Regional Partnerships and Data SPO in shaping and managing investment portfolios including high quality regional partnership management and coordination (intelligence gathering, key issue awareness and partner network coordination) and support for building state and regional data ecosystems.

Your Experience

• Highly organized and efficient; able to prioritize work based on minimal direction and multiple opposing priorities.
• Creativity, broad knowledge of the education sector, and out of the box thinking.
• Proven experience in solving unstructured problems with little oversight, high energy, and a positive demeanor.
• Bachelor’s or other advanced degree with 5+ years of K-12 or higher education experience, preferred.
• Creative problem solver with a rigorous approach and an interest in data analysis.
• Experience with policy, finance and research in Washington State is preferred.
• Knowledge related to education systems and data.
• Strong strategic, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Clear and coherent writing style.
• Able to effectively synthesize information to reach diverse audiences.
• Experience in high school to post-secondary transition systems, structures, curricula, or interventions especially focused on college advising, dual credit and FAFSA is a plus.

• Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.

The typical salary range for this role is $79,310 to $147,290 USD. The exact offer will be determined by a variety of factors such as the candidate’s individual skills, qualifications, and experience relative to the requirements of the role.

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Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Depending upon your work location, we may require proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 and any recommended booster doses. All employees based in the United States are to provide proof of full vaccination upon hire and any recommended boosters, subject to applicable laws.

Candidate Accommodations

If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request here.

Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — and we support this diversity through all our employment practices.

All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.