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Program
Officer
Nellie
Mae Foundation
Quincy
(Boston), MA
OVERVIEW
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation seeks applications and nominations for the position of
Program Officer.
As the largest public charity dedicated to improving academic achievement for The New England region’s underserved communities, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation (the Foundation) is embarking upon a dynamic period of renewed strategic focus. The Program Officer will work closely and collaboratively with the Foundation’s Vice President of Programs, senior program officers, and staff on program priorities consistent with Foundation’s strategic objectives. Specifically, s/he will work within an assigned funding priority area to build and maintain successful grant relationships, prepare concept papers for grant recommendations, and assist with technical support and evaluation. S/he will forge and nurture effective relationships with grantees, and will remain informed on issues and trends affecting potential funding opportunities. The ideal candidate will demonstrate the values advanced by the Foundation, and will possess the sophistication, intellectual drive, and knowledge to effectively manage his/her assigned program and integrate within a system of programs.
MISSION & HISTORY
“A catalyst for dramatic, dynamic, and relevant change and improvement in education.”
The Nellie Mae Corporation, a nonprofit education-financing company, first pioneered philanthropy in the student-loan industry in 1990 by creating the Fund for Education. For the next eight years, the Fund for Education provided over $5 million in grants to advance more than 300 education programs throughout New England. In 1999, the Nellie Mae Corporation was purchased by SLM Holding Corporation (Sallie Mae) resulting in the creation of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. Today the Foundation is New England’s largest independent principal public charity focused exclusively on education.
The Foundation is grounded in the belief that access to higher education is a right and necessity for all individuals. Dedicated to promoting accessibility, quality and effectiveness of education for the underserved in the six New England States, the Foundation has to date granted $83 million funding education programs and technical assistance to improve academic achievement and access to higher education, and sponsored research and conferences that have advanced knowledge within the educational field and influenced policy at the state, regional and national levels. The Foundation’s historic and primary focus has been on engaged funding of relevant programs within defined strategic areas. Since 2000, the Foundation has focused grantmaking in four strategic initiatives – Adult Literacy, College Prep, Minority High Achievement, and Out-of-School Time Matters. Through these endeavors, the Foundation has improved academic achievement for underserved students throughout New England.
While it will continue to build on established successes, the Foundation seeks to achieve increased, direct impact on education reform by transforming into a catalyst for innovative, multi-dimensional improvement in systems of education. With new leadership and a renewed vision, the Foundation recognizes that today’s learners must achieve across a wider range of domains. Thus, the Foundation is reexamining its historical focus and forging a new strategic direction in order to equip learners to actively engage in the global economy through a renewed, dynamic and relevant system of high quality education accessible to all from preschool to adulthood.
Under the forward thinking leadership of President & CEO Nicholas C. Donohue, the Foundation has charted a bold course to explore reinvention to strengthen, expand, and diversify the variety and quality of educational access and advancement for every student. To achieve this goal, the Foundation, with a staff of 13, is realigning its programs and investing in a deeper array of innovative and promising practices to acquire impact-driven knowledge to inform future practices and shape public policy. Capitalizing on program investment lessons, the Foundation will be poised to: influence, shape and identify new and refined programmatic strategies; influence public policy; analyze successes and barriers to success in policy innovation and reinvention; and develop and cultivate strategic partnerships with key opinion leaders, policymakers, and constituent networks on local, state and national levels. Through these efforts, the Foundation will increase public understanding and commitment needed to support authentic, sustainable systems of education reform that respond equitably and dynamically to the needs of all learners, and support the high achievement learning needed to thrive in a dynamic economy.
Beginning in 2008, the Foundation will focus its grantmaking on strategies, including funding for partnerships, programs, research, and intermediary organizations, that will support underserved learners and build knowledge to dramatically improve outcomes for them. Emerging program areas include early learning, the use of time in learning, the examination of the pathways involved between secondary and postsecondary education, and adult learning with a focus on postsecondary opportunities. The Program Officer will be integral to the successful implementation of the Foundation’s strategic benchmarks, managing an assigned program to impact programmatic practice results, inform public policy and increase public awareness in education renovation that increases the visibility of the Foundation.
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE PROGRAM OFFICER
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation’s Program Officer will assume primary responsibility for effectively managing an assigned program area. S/he will report directly to the Vice President of Programs, collaborating with and supporting senior program officers to integrate and align programs with established strategic benchmarks. By fostering strong relationships between the Foundation and grantees, the new Program Officer will play an integral role in managing the Foundation’s program investments and priorities. This important and exciting role will present challenges and opportunities for the new Program Officer that are each key to the success of the Foundation’s strategic initiatives. The key challenges will include, but not be limited to:
Providing effective program management and support;
The Program Officer will work to inform program leaders, senior program officers, and staff on design, implementation, budget and performance of grant relationships within the assigned program area. S/he will be responsible for preparing thoughtful and comprehensive concept papers inclusive of thorough assessment of educational issues, identification of potential approaches to problem resolution, recommended strategies and theories of change, thorough assessment of risk, and informed funding level recommendations. S/he will remain current on issues and trends related to the assigned program area and will work collaboratively with senior program officers and with staff across organization functions to remain informed and cross-integrate programmatic issues. S/he will collaborate with staff, funders and grantees on special projects as needed.
Forging
and sustaining effective working relationships with grantees;
The Program Officer will serve as the Foundation’s primary liaison to assigned
program grantees. In this capacity, s/he will be an effective relationship
builder, forging productive partnerships with grantees, working collaboratively
to support resolution of issues, monitoring program performance and progress,
and providing superior technical support. S/he will be responsible for preparing
and implementing various communications and presentations necessary to inform
and effectively manage grantor/grantee relationships.
Fostering and maintaining vibrant and productive relationships.
The Program Officer will be an articulate and confident advocate of the Foundation. S/he will develop strong internal and external relationships that promote and drive programmatic success. Internally, s/he must cultivate and maintain positive, productive and collaborative relationships with senior programs officers and with staff across Foundation functions.
QUALIFICATIONS OF THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
The ideal candidate will possess intelligence, drive, and a demonstrable record of success in managing programs and activities in the field of education. Additionally, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:
A deep commitment to the mission of the Foundation to promote accessibility, quality and effectiveness of education for the underserved in the six New England States;
Knowledge
of programming in the field of education and education reform with the
ability to understand and communicate the Foundation’s goals;
Experience with public interest issues in education;
Excellent oral and written communications skills with the ability to develop strong relationships with grantees;
Ability to engage in intellectual, conceptual and theoretical discourse and brainstorming;
Intelligence and the ability to anticipate and create opportunities;
Ability to listen and successfully receive, integrate and translate others’ ideas and suggestions;
Ability to effectively consult with staff at all levels of organization;
The flexibility and ability to work in a collaborative, team-oriented, and productive environment;
Innovative, strategic, opportunistic and creative thinking skills combined with strong organizational skills, and exceptional attention to detail; and
An optimistic outlook and the humor, integrity, compassion, and patience necessary to address the practicalities and desires of an entrepreneurial nonprofit.
TO
APPLY:
More information about the Nellie Mae Education Foundation may be found at:
http://www.nmefdn.org/.
Nominations and applications are due by March 28, 2008. Due to the pace of the search, candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Applications including a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, your resume (in Word format), salary history, and where you learned of the position should be sent to:.
nm-po@nonprofitprofessionals.com.
In order to expedite the internal sorting and reviewing process, please type your name (Last, First) as the only contents in the subject line of your e-mail.
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.
Women and candidates of color are encouraged to apply.
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