Program Officer, Civic Engagement And Government (States & Territories Working Group)

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Deadline to Apply: June 2nd, 2023

Summary Description

The Ford Foundation’s U.S. Program in Civic Engagement and Government (CEG) seeks a collaborative, strategic, team-oriented Program Officer to help evolve and implement the foundation’s States & Territories Working Group (STWG) across the foundation’s current six priority geographies (FL, LA, MN, MI, NY, TX) and potentially new ones. Reporting to the CEG Director and working alongside four other program officers, the PO will collaborate across the Foundation's US Programs, supporting members of the STWG to identify key ecosystems, and work with relevant actors and other funders to analyze challenges and opportunities, seek rigorous evidence about program effectiveness, identify levers of change, and play a leading role in shaping specific grant activities

In particular, the foundation seeks a proven field leader who brings a strong intersectional analysis to the work with a particular emphasis on gender, disability, and racial justice. The Program Officer must have a proven track record of working closely with communities that have been historically marginalized from the systems that affect their lives, so as to always keep the lived experiences of people and communities at the center of CEG’s grantmaking approach.

The ideal candidate would be able to help anticipate how the work must evolve, to realize the promise of democracy through a government-centered approach to civic engagement, and lead the process of expanding the STWG work into new geographies. He/She/They would also be an action-oriented and entrepreneurial self-starter who can work well independently and in teams; Intellectually curious; and a strong communicator who excels at active listening, produces cogent and polished writing and is comfortable with public speaking; possesses strong analytical skills and the ability to strategize, plan, and prioritize and assess opportunities, challenges and institutions with which to engage.

BACKGROUND

States have long served as laboratories of democracy for many of US efforts to strengthen civic engagement, reduce inequality, and advance lasting social change. We see tremendous opportunities at the state level to improve the lives of people and create a framework for national change. We believe that states play an important role in democracy and America’s economy by piloting innovative policies and practices that advance equitable development, expand democracy, and reduce racial and economic disparities to reinforce and fuel national change.

Our States & Territories strategy supports a multi-issue ecosystem of local and state organizations, aligning around a shared theory of change and vision for their state. Lead POs are asked to bring their own individual and Thematic Area strategic orientation, but also commit to advancing a state-based ecosystem strategy that seeks to advance change across issue and geographic areas.

The Program Officer will collaborate with program officers from the other five thematic areas across the Foundation’s U.S. Programs who are members of the STWG to develop, test and demonstrate models of powerful civic engagement with government. In particular, this work will seek to build strategic civic capability, achieve structural change and policy outcomes that prioritize improving the material conditions of historically excluded communities, help make government more responsive, and over time contribute to increased trust and faith in the positive and essential role of government.

Responsibilities

The PO will inform work on expanding democratic participation, to ensure that communities have greater voice and power to shape the policy decisions that impact their lives. In collaboration with the Director and team members, the PO will oversee a body of work in several domains, some of which overlap with other program officers on the team.

They will also collaboratively develop a body of work primarily focused on building the field’s ability to develop and deploy effective inside/outside strategies, where the external pressure created by social movements is connected with the cultivation of civic leaders, elite influencers and other allies, contributing to more representative and responsive governments.

In Addition, The PO Will

• Represent the Foundation and its work to the government, media, academic, business, philanthropic, and civic leaders through meetings, updates, speeches, blog posts, briefings and interviews, with guidance from the CEG Director.
• Write and communicate in a lucid and accessible manner; develop and implement grant-making approaches that support the use of strategic communications as part of the program strategy.
• Develop grant-making activities in a team-oriented context, with a ‘grantee-in-the-driver’s-seat’ orientation, that are aligned to the strategic goals of a thematic area and support a connected ‘ecosystem’ of work where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
• Develop emerging areas of work related to participatory co-governance approaches, inclusion of people with disabilities, and/or building technological intuition into the work of civic engagement organizations.
• Manage, monitor and coordinate a grants portfolio, including: long-term grant planning; identifying and working with prospective grantees to develop proposals for grant recommendations (including helping determine the goals for a grant, its activities, expected results, indicators of success and budget); conducting organizational assessments; undertaking periodic reviews of progress with grantees; and reviewing financial and narrative reports.
• Contribute to the thinking and work of colleagues in the CEG team, the foundation overall and advancing team building and team effectiveness.
• Continually scan the fields related to democracy in the US and, particularly, in the target geographies (and globally to learn lessons for the US context), follow key developments and debates, keep abreast of the academic and popular literature, share key findings and lessons among colleagues and the field.
• Promote engagement with grantees to review opportunities, challenges and advances and encourage collaboration, learning, exchange and strategic partnerships.
• Work collaboratively with other team members to develop, define and implement program strategies to achieve significant and scalable impact toward team goals.
• Promote and participate in fostering open-mindedness and a culture of learning – including learning and evaluation activities to guide the evolution of programmatic work – seeking to continually ask hard questions, gather independent and rigorous data and evidence about effectiveness of the foundation and grantees’ strategies, and help adapt practice as needed.

Qualifications

• Exceptional leadership presence—internally and externally, but with a flexible, collaborative, team orientation.
• Written and oral fluency in English
• Familiarity and experience working with social justice concepts and frameworks such as racial equity, gender analyses, disability justice, economic justice, intersectionality, and implicit and structural bias.
• Proven experience and substantive knowledge in the formal and informal structures, practices, and processes of democracy, ranging from civic participation and community organizing to formal democracy reforms and approaches to co-governance.
• Demonstrated experience as a connector and convener across relevant sectors and parties, including grantees, practitioners, government officials, scholars, and civil society players.
• A master’s degree in relevant field of study or BA and equivalent experience
• The PO must be curious about the intersections of structural democracy reform, and the value and impact of government in protecting rights and providing public goods
• A minimum of 8 years leading social justice strategies and/or subject-matter expertise related to the ideas and approaches outlined above, including significant experience with demonstrable impact in communities of color and/or other historically disadvantaged communities.
• A strong sense of how to apply racial and gender justice analyses to strategy is required; an understanding of comparative perspectives on political systems is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to be a productive member of a community of people at work, respecting differences while working toward shared goals, comfort with periods of ambiguity, constructive participation in ongoing organizational development.

Preferred Qualifications

• Written and oral fluency in Spanish
• Demonstrated experience and knowledge of working at the state/local level in our key geographies

SALARY: The Ford Foundation is committed to practicing salary transparency. The minimum salary for this position is $165,000 and the maximum is $185,000.

LOCATION: This position is based in the foundation’s New York office. We operate in a hybrid model and require staff to be in the office three days per week

Target Start Date: Fall 2023

Alignment to Culture and Values

• Personal qualities of humility, capacity for self-reflection, and a sense of humor
• Commitment to the Foundation’s mission and core values of equity, openness, collaboration, trust, accountability and urgency
• Action-orientated and entrepreneurial self-starter who can work well independently and in teams
• Discretion and ability to handle confidential issues

Benefits

• Retirement savings account with matching company contributions of up to 13%
• Generous parental leave (maternal and paternal) during new child’s first year (born into family or adopted)
• Medical and dental benefits for employee and immediate family on first day of work
• Office closed the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• Professional development initiatives for growth
• Three weeks’ paid vacation in first year of work; four weeks in subsequent years
• Hybrid Workplace and Flexible Work Arrangement policies
• Tuition Reimbursement

Equal employment opportunity and having a diverse staff are fundamental principles at The Ford Foundation, where employment and promotional opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/affectional preference, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established under law. The Ford Foundation does not discriminate against formerly incarcerated individuals.