Program Officer

About the Surdna Foundation

The Surdna Foundation was founded by John E. Andrus in 1917, and its mission is to advance social and racial justice in U.S. communities. The Foundation has assets of more than $1 billion, an annual grantmaking budget of over $60 million, and a staff of 27. It is governed by a Board of Directors that includes fifth-generation members of the Andrus family, as well as community members. The Foundation pursues its mission by providing grants in the areas of arts and culture, environmental justice, economic inclusion, and youth justice, as well as through its internal operations and investment practices. In addition, Surdna seeks to achieve three foundation-wide racial equity outcomes: wealth creation, democratic participation, and accountability of institutions.

The Foundation strives to exemplify its core values—justice, equity, inclusion, respect, and humility—in every aspect of its work. Surdna’s staff contribute to an organizational culture of collaboration, curiosity, and bold thinking.

About The Andrus Family Fund

In January 2000, the Surdna Foundation Board launched the Andrus Family Philanthropy Program (AFPP) to engage a network of nearly 500 Andrus family members from eight family branches in philanthropy and public service. The Andrus Family Fund was the first program to be established under AFPP and was initially designed to give Andrus family members between the ages of 25 and 45 an opportunity to learn about and participate in the philanthropy sector.  Today, eight Andrus family members and six non-family community members serve on the AFF Board, which works with AFF staff to jointly develop strategy for grantmaking and field leadership, set priorities, and recommend grant decisions. After nearly two decades of grantmaking and leadership, AFF has earned a prominent reputation as a critical funder in the youth organizing field and leading on issues around youth justice, education justice, and child welfare.

AFF’s vision and mission are as follows:

Vision: We envision a just society in which BIPOC, LBTQIA, disabled and undocumented youth are thriving and supportive communities, free from state violence and family separation.

Mission: The Andrus Family Fund supports the self-determination, power, and liberation of Black, Brown, APPI, and indigenous youth impacted by youth justice and child welfare systems.

Board of Directors: The AFF Board currently meets three weekends per year, with conference calls in between to conduct board business, including learning activities and reviewing grant applications. AFF Board members are elected for up to two four-year terms.

The Opportunity

The Andrus Family Fund (AFF) seeks a Program Officer.  The Program Officer will report to the Director of the Andrus Family Fund, which operates as a fund within the Surdna Foundation.

The Program Officer reports to the Director of the Andrus Family Fund and works closely with the Director to manage AFF’s grantmaking, field leadership and learning agenda. They work closely with AFF Program Associate on implementation of day-to-day operations, including review of grant proposals and due diligence; the development of grants, strategic grant clusters, and special initiatives; assessment of grant performance and program outcomes; site visits and other learning activities; and reports and other materials for the AFF Board, the Surdna President, and Surdna Board of Directors.

The Program Officer engages in learning and ongoing assessment of AFF’s priorities and works with the AFF Director, the Surdna Program Leadership Team and other Surdna colleagues to develop cross-programmatic opportunities that ultimately help achieve just and sustainable communities.

First Year Priorities

During the first year of employment, the AFF Program Officer will be expected to:

• Become familiar with AFF’s grantmaking strategies, grant guidelines, and theory of change;
• Develop and leverage relationships with internal and external colleagues (individual and institutional) to generate ideas and efforts to inform AFF’s work; and
• Contribute and apply subject-matter and field expertise to an ongoing analysis of AFF’s implementation efforts; identify and assess prospective grantee relationships; and develop effective communications about the portfolio.

Candidate Profile

The Program Officer helps steward AFF’s grantmaking strategy; informs and strengthens programming; and advances the Surdna Foundation’s mission. The Program Officer provides strategic, creative leadership that is agile and responsive to changing conditions, new trends, and unexpected challenges. Specifically, the Program Officer will:

• Help manage and monitor a grants portfolio of approximately $5 million annually; build strong, trust-based relationships with grantee partners and field leaders to develop high-impact grants; conducting site visits and assessments; undertaking periodic reviews of progress with grantee partners; and reporting on the portfolio’s performance to staff, Board, and external colleagues;
• Work closely with the AFF Director and AFF Program Associate to implement day-to-day efforts, and collaborate with AFF Board members, and Surdna colleagues on long-term strategy assessment, learning, and planning;
• Work with grantee partners to achieve shared goals through collaboration, learning, and strategic partnerships, including with other parts of the foundation and with other donors; build relationships with field experts, governmental decision makers, philanthropy affinity groups, and other funders; and be an effective philanthropic advocate in related fields;
• Maintain and contribute to a breadth of knowledge about best practices, current trends, emerging issues, policy interventions, and innovations in AFF’s focus area;
  Support the Foundation’s efforts to use data and key performance indicators to measure program activities and assess outcomes; and collaborate with the Learning and Grant Operations and Communications and Engagement teams to commission, develop, and disseminate research and knowledge products sharing lessons learned and informing funder practice;
• Represent AFF and serve as a thought leader in a range of settings, including external meetings, in media, and in publications to promote grantee partners’ efforts and AFF and Surdna’s racial and social justice mission; and
• Work closely with other programs at the Foundation and facilitate cross-program collaboration.
• Managing the Fund’s capacity building program, S.O.A.R. (Strengthening Organizations Amplifying Resilience), and populating the monthly grantee resource newsletter
• Liaising with funder colleagues and exercising leadership at diverse funder tables
• Developing ideas for communications efforts, such as podcasts, blog posts, and amplifying grantee news and publications
• Supporting the curation of live and virtual events that leverage AFF’s impact and the impact of its partners, including AFF learning sessions and strategy meetings for grantee partners, funders, government officials, and board members

Qualifications and Experiences

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate a commitment to AFF’s and Surdna’s values, missions, and goals, and will embrace the values of the Andrus family, including deep integrity and respect for others, honesty, modesty, compassion, pragmatism, and high standards of excellence. While it’s understood that no one candidate will bring every desired skill or characteristic, the overview below is representative of the competencies, knowledge, and experience the Program Officer should have:

• Strong track record of achievement and relevant experience in the nonprofit, public, or private sector;
• Minimum of seven years in the field and interdisciplinary experience;
• Demonstrated leadership as a strategic, outcomes-focused, and creative thinker with a deep commitment to racial and social justice;
• Demonstrated commitment to abolitionist youth-led organizing and movement-building, through personal and/or professional activities
• A deep respect for the role of grantees as partners and autonomous social justice leaders, and a willingness to become actively engaged in bolstering their success
• Extensive experience (work-related experience and/or lived experience) working with diverse communities across race, class, gender, ethnic, political, and geographic boundaries and a history of building effective partnerships and relationships;
• Commitment to learning, thoughtfulness, inquiry, open-mindedness, giving and receiving candid feedback, and ability to handle multiple priorities without sacrificing quality;
• Willingness to work with colleagues across the Foundation to collaborate on shared interests, contribute to a supportive organizational culture, share and learn intersectional lessons, and accomplish institutional goals;
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills;
• Impeccable integrity, credibility, ethical leadership, and sound judgement;
• Positive energy, flexibility, self-motivation, helpfulness, and a sense of humor; and
• Willingness and ability to travel across the United States up to 30 percent of the time.

Compensation & Benefits

The salary range for the Program Officer, Andrus Family Fund is $130,000 – $141,250.

This position is a full-time position, and Surdna offers a leading and holistic total compensation package that includes salary and benefits. All full-time staff are eligible for our generous benefits package including:

• 100% employer-funded medical, dental and vision coverage, life insurance and long and short-term disability from first day of employment for individuals and dependents
• Retirement plan with an overall employer contribution of 12% per annum of gross salary, regardless of employee contribution
• Paid time off
• Tenure based vacation time starting at 15 days for years one and two, then increasing to 20 days through 6th year anniversary, then 25 days thereafter
• 3 personal days per year
• 8 wellness days per year
• 12 paid holidays, including four extended holiday breaks with foundation-wide closure to encourage restorative time off
• Cell phone and internet stipend
• Home office equipment allowance
• Employer funded transit contribution of $130/month
• Access to professional development opportunities (capacity and financial support) and tuition reimbursement
• Fully paid parental leave (maternal and paternal) during the new child’s first year (born into the family or adopted)
• Financial relocation support
• Staff Matching grants