Posted on February 21, 2013

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Program Officer, Education

The Robertson Foundation (the Foundation) is a private, family-led foundation established in 1996 by Julian H. Robertson, Jr. and his wife, Josie. By taking a targeted yet creative approach to philanthropy, Mr. Robertson, the Chairman of Tiger Management L.L.C., and his family seek to have a positive social impact and create a legacy that reflects the family's values. The Robertson Foundation looks to maximize the impact of its efforts and drive superior results by making large, transformative grants that leverage the Foundation's resources beyond the immediate funds committed, thereby reorienting the thinking, policies, and approaches of governmental entities and other philanthropic initiatives.

The Foundation currently seeks to make large-scale, high impact grants in four principal areas: education reform, environment, medical research, and religion. Other areas of interest have already and will continue to emerge over time, as the Foundation gains more experience. Cross-cutting principles that inform the work in each area include focusing on leadership, leveraging strategic opportunities, partnering with grant recipients and aligned funders, and developing measurable outcomes with intermediate and long-term impacts. The Foundation’s bias – to respond quickly to society’s most urgent concerns with solutions that yield meaningful results – will remain a priority.

For more information on the Foundation and its work, please access www.robertsonfoundation.org.

Organization Strategy

The Robertson Foundation takes a targeted, businesslike, results-oriented approach that is modeled more closely on private equity investing than on traditional philanthropic grant making. As a result, before the Foundation considers specific grants, its program staff, assisted by relevant experts, regularly conducts a data-driven scan of the area of interest to:

• develop an understanding of the issues that need to be addressed,
• survey the organizations that operate in the area,
• identify approaches being tried in the field and their degrees of success, and
• assess whether significant and measurable results can be achieved by the potential Robertson grant recipient.

Leadership plays an important role in selecting a grant recipient, especially because the Foundation seeks to contribute meaningfully to overall portfolio outcomes by partnering with grant recipients and challenging leadership continually to improve their work and impact. In every grant the Foundation makes, the implementation of the agreed-upon plan is monitored and the corresponding results are reviewed on a regular basis by the Foundation's program staff.

THE POSITION

Program Officer, Education:

The Robertson Foundation has a strong commitment to Education Reform and invested $35M in 2012 to grow the number of high quality schools, expand the talent pipeline, support city-based strategies, and build public support for reform. As an advocate for school reform, in 2013 the Foundation will grapple with reform issues such as charter school growth and quality.

The Program Officer, Education will report to the Senior Program Officer, Education, and work directly with the President, Executive Director, program staff and as appropriate, the board of trustees, and will play a substantive role in the Foundation’s work. The Robertson Foundation seeks candidates that are passionate about and have experience with Education reform and philanthropy. The Program Officer will be an analytical, as well as a strategic thinker who thrives on working as part of a collegial team that is passionate about providing philanthropic support to key, mission-based organizations

RESPONSIBILITIES

Grant Making

Work with the President, Executive Director, program staff and as appropriate, the board, to distribute new grants and also to manage the existing grant portfolio. Specifically, the Program Officer will:

• Screen incoming proposals and analyze programmatic and financial information from not-for-profit organizations,
• Schedule and conduct site visits for prospective grant recipients,
• Provide written evaluations and recommendations for new grant recipients and renewals for presentation at board meetings,
• Work with the program staff and board in establishing funding priorities and allocating the annual budget among grant applicants,
• Participate in board meetings throughout the year,
• Draft and send acceptance and declination letters where appropriate, and
• Research, develop and present ideas for strategic initiatives designed to have a broader impact on the Foundation’s Education portfolio.

Grants Monitoring and Management

• Manage ongoing correspondence with existing grant recipients, including necessary reports (interim and final),
• Assist in preparation of materials for use in board meetings,
• Conduct periodic site visits to check grant recipient progress and identify areas for follow-up,
• Support relationships with Foundation board members, including planning and attending board meetings,
• Provide research on trends and opportunities in the Foundation’s funding areas in response to requests from the President, Executive Director, Senior Program Officer, Education, and board members,
• Assist in maintaining a database of all proposals and grants,
• Respond to requests for information on the Foundation, and
• Manage special projects as needed.

Professional Qualifications

• MBA or MPA (or equivalent experience) is preferred,
• A minimum of five-seven years prior work experience; consulting experience is a plus,
• Meaningful experience in the Education not-for-profit sector,
• Outstanding analytic and critical thinking skills with an openness to contesting ideas and recommendations and the mental flexibility to change course as needed,
• Excellent written, oral communication and presentation skills,
• An ability to synthesize large quantities of information and distill it into relevant analysis that informs the direction of a given grant portfolio,
• Cross-cultural relationship-building skills; able to partner effectively both with not-for-profit leaders and with leaders from research institutions,
• Results-oriented with a respect for data-driven outcomes and comfort with quantitative analytics,
• Ideally, some experience assessing (either for-profit for not-for-profit) grant, loan or finance requests,
• Solid understanding of not-for-profit organizational structures and challenges,
• Ability to evaluate and interpret not-for-profit financial statements, and
• Accustomed to high professional standards and expectations.

Personal Characteristics

• Strongly team-oriented, collegial, collaborative, with a willingness to share responsibility for the Foundation’s culture and impact,
• Willing to work behind the scenes; views success as a product of the team,
• Passionate about the not-for-profit sector, the field of education reform and the potential impact s/he can make, yet approaches partnership with grant recipients with humility,
• Able to learn and embrace the Foundation’s grant-making approach and areas of interest,
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including an eagerness to use available peer and industry networks to develop relationships and conduct due diligence,
• Sound judgment and problem-solving skills, with a commitment to continual learning,
• Flexibility, adaptability and a sense of humor,
• Well-organized, comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, and
• Self-motivated with a strong work ethic and commitment to results.

Compensation

The position is full-time and based in New York City; includes full benefits package.

Application Instructions

If interested, email or send a cover letter and resume to Ruth Brenner at hr@robertsonfoundation.org or 101 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10178.