WE ARE:

Washington Area Women’s Foundation (TheWomensFoundation.org) is a Washington, DC-based public foundation, dedicated to mobilizing our community to ensure that economically vulnerable women and girls in the Washington region have the resources they need to thrive.

Our program work consists of:

1. Grantmaking:  Investing through a multifaceted approach in the three core areas of:
   1. Asset building;
   2. Jobs with benefits, career pathways, and family sustaining wages; and
   3. Access to high-quality early care and education.
2. Research and Education: Generating and distributing data about the status and needs of women and girls in the region, and the strategies necessary to address those needs.
3. Advocacy: Raising awareness of the policy issues that affect economically vulnerable women and girls.

The Women’s Foundation is seeking to hire a highly motivated self-starter for the position of Program Officer, Early Care and Education. The Program Officer will serve as a member of the foundation’s program team. This position will lead the foundation’s early care and education work, primarily accomplished through leadership of the Early Care & Education Funders Collaborative and a new regional network.

The Women’s Foundation established the Early Care and Education Funders Collaborative in 2008, as a multi-year, multi-million dollar collective funding effort. The Collaborative is supported and directed by corporate funders and local and national foundations.

The Collaborative’s mission is to increase the quality and capacity of, and access to, early care and education in the Washington region. In keeping with this mission, the Collaborative’s goals are to:

• Improve the quality of early care and education for low-income children ages zero to five;
• Expand access to affordable early care and education options;
• Support professional development for early care and education professionals;
• Encourage and strengthen partnerships among stakeholders that support positive changes in the early care and education system.

To achieve these goals, the Collaborative serves as a regional convener and grantmaker, supporting systemic approaches to improving the quality of early care and education in the Washington region. 

IF YOU:

• Are passionate about early care and education;
• Have experience managing funding collaboratives, cross-sector initiatives, or projects that have multiple stakeholders and many moving parts;
• Excel at building relationships with a wide variety of partners, and can energize a group towards collective action;
• Thrive when working under deadlines, have strong project and time management skills, and excellent attention to detail;

Then you want to be our Program Officer!

KEY  RESPONSIBILITIES:

Reporting to the leadership of The Women’s Foundation, and working closely with the Steering Committee of the Early Care and Education Funders Collaborative, the Program Officer will contribute to programmatic ideas and participate actively in grantmaking and community leadership aligning with The Women’s Foundation’s economic security strategies. In particular, this position will be responsible for managing the foundation’s early care and education work. 

The Program Officer will use content expertise and knowledge in their program area to help build networks among funders and Grantee Partners; to educate key stakeholders about our work; to communicate and advocate for social change; and to develop partnerships that multiply the impact of The Women’s Foundation’s work. The Program Officer will work as part of the program team, including two other Program Officers and a Program Associate.

The Program Officer will be responsible for managing and facilitating the Early Care and Education Funders Collaborative. Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Community Engagement:

• Manage and facilitate the work of the Regional Early Care and Education Workforce Network. The Collaborative helped form this Network in 2015, with a group of leaders from across DC, Maryland, and Virginia, to plan how the Washington region could respond to recommendations from the National Academy of Medicine’s Transforming the Workforce report. The Network created a strategic plan in 2016 and the Program Officer will help oversee implementation during 2017 and beyond.
• Engage with a wide variety of stakeholders, including Grantee Partners, other nonprofits, local and national funders, government, businesses and donors.
• Help to publicly represent the foundation at external community-based events and meetings to gather information, influence change, and create connections that help move the work of the organization forward.

Grants Management:

• Manage program strategy, including a portfolio of grant investments that invest in early care and education systems change work.
• Manage comprehensive proposal review and assessment process. Stay informed and engaged with grantee work during the grant period.
• Evaluate grants and provide periodic reports to staff, board, and external colleagues about performance, the grant review process, and program impact, including successes, challenges, and lessons learned.
• Interface with grant seekers, Grantee Partners and others, responding promptly and appropriately to a variety of e-mail, written and phone inquiries, and conducting site visits and convenings in accordance with program objectives.

Research & Communications

• Maintain a breadth of knowledge about current trends, emerging issues, policy, and innovations to enhance the effectiveness of program strategy and understanding of staff and board.
• Inform the foundation’s research agenda, executed by the Research & Evaluation Program Officer.
• Coordinate external messaging and advocacy with other program team members and the communications team.

Donor Engagement & Development

• Assist with the writing of program-specific grant proposals and reports, in coordination with the development team.
• Partner with communications and development on donor engagement opportunities, events, and the production of materials/collateral.
• Oversee consultant staff related to early care and education projects.
• Work with foundation leadership to plan and manage the Collaborative’s budget.