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Description
William + Flora Hewlett Foundation
Program Officer
Menlo Park, CA
Background
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation invests in creative thinkers and problem solvers working to ensure that people, communities, and the planet can flourish. Together with our partners, we are harnessing society’s collective capacity to solve our toughest problems — from the existential threat of climate change to persistent and pervasive inequities, to attacks on democracy itself. A nonpartisan philanthropy, the Hewlett Foundation has made grants in the U.S. and globally for nearly six decades based on an approach that emphasizes long-term support, collaboration, and trust. Learn more at www.hewlett.org.
About the Performing Arts Program
The Performing Arts Program focuses on ensuring Bay Area communities, artists, and youth have meaningful opportunities to discover and advance artistic and cultural practices that enrich their lives and the region. We are committed to directing our resources to people, practices, and places that persevere despite inequities, further community self-determination, and exemplify the expansive power of the arts. Our team is made up of 7 program staff, complemented by three staff from the Communication; Grants, Learning, and Operations (GLO); and Legal departments. Additional information about the program is available at: www.hewlett.org/programs/performing-arts/.
Hewlett Foundation Guiding Principles
The foundation is guided by the philanthropic ethos and values of its founders. This includes evolving the foundation’s approaches to changing contexts while maintaining core principles that have guided its work for nearly 60 years. To help ensure its actions are consistent with its aspirations, the Hewlett Foundation has articulated a set of guiding principles.
The foundation:
- seeks to bring aboutmeaningful, socially beneficial change in the fields in which Hewlett
- pursues change bytackling defined problems in a pragmatic, nonpartisan manner.
- focuses on outcomesto maximize the effectiveness of its support.
- approaches its role inphilanthropy and its responsibilities to society with humility and respect for
- is committed toopenness, transparency, and learning.
- is committed to working,both internally and externally, in a collaborative fashion based on mutual Grantees, co-funders, and other colleagues in their work are partners in problem-solving.
- seeks to promote thevalues and practice of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their workforce, culture, and grantmaking.
The Foundation's operations depend on a lean staff, which is given considerable autonomy; a commitment to simple, flexible procedures; and a cooperative working relationship between the board, the president, and the staff. The president is the leader of the foundation.
Position and Portfolio
The Performing Arts Program fulfills its strategies by working with roughly 160 grantee organizations that support meaningful artistic experiences for a wide range of communities, artists, and youth throughout the Bay Area. The program supports a breadth of types of organizations, including arts organizations and community-based organizations whose work integrates arts and culture as part of a related social mission. Many have budgets of less than $500,000 and are rooted in and led by specific, self-defined communities, such as racial, ethnic, geographic, sexual orientation, gender, economic and/or other identity groups. Often, grantees’ work centers multiple and intersectional formations of community and embraces constantly evolving community needs and aspirations.
The Performing Arts Program Officer will be committed to the Hewlett Foundation's mission and art’s essential role in helping individuals and communities thrive. They will manage one third of the program’s overall grantmaking portfolio and serve as the lead for the Performing Arts Program’s Communities strategy. Specifically, the Program Officer will hold over half of the program’s grants that advance its Communities strategy as well as a cross section of grants that advance the program’s Artists and Youth strategies (each of which is led by other Performing Arts Program Officers). The Program Officer will take an expansive understanding of identity and community self-determination; provide counsel and make grants that advance artistic and cultural expression; and strengthen the program’s Communities strategy to advance performing arts broadly and equitably.
The Program Officer reports to the Director of the Performing Arts Program and works collaboratively with the Performing Arts team as well as relevant foundation staff in fulfilling their role. They are responsible for maintaining collaborative relationships. The Program Officer will actively engage with both the regional arts ecosystem and national trends to support program planning and strategy implementation, particularly in anticipation of a program strategy refresh in 2026. It is essential that the Program Officer expertly navigate building and maintaining relationships with artistic and cultural communities with vastly varied histories, group dynamics, needs, and desires. In addition, a strategic mindset is critical to their ability to refine the Communities strategy given the breadth of communities across the Bay Area, and abundance of opportunities to equitably advance performing arts.
There is an eight-year term limit for each program officer position. Each staff member is expected to work from the Hewlett Foundation’s offices at least two-to-three days per week.
Responsibilities
Grantmaking and Knowledge-Building
- Manage a diverse portfolio of approximately 70 grantees; assess grantee progress; analyze fiscal health, policies, and plans; and review financial and programmatic reports.
- Actively learn from and provide feedback to staff and board leaders of organizations representing a wide range of backgrounds and identities, aesthetics, and organizational structures and approaches.
- Invite, review, and respond to inquiries and proposals. Offer professional advice and field expertise to applicants, researchers, and others in the field.
- Develop written analyses of grants and write memos examining issues affecting the arts and culture sector and the program’s strategies; draft requests for proposals (RFPs), budgets, and work plans for projects; author articles for external publication; and provide input to improve others’ work products.
- Manage evaluation of grants and participate in assessments of program strategies. Develop guidelines for measuring the success of grants and program strategies.
- Ensure that sound financial controls are in place for each grant and that funds are spent wisely in accordance with grant agreements.
Strategy and Leadership
- Collaborate with the program director and program team to strengthen the program’s strategic goals; plan and implement research projects, evaluations, grant initiatives, communications, convenings, grantmaking practices, and other field supports.
- Maintain effective relationships with current and prospective grantees and cultivate relationships with funders and partners in the field.
- Represent the foundation’s mission and goals.
- Adeptly manage projects that deepen understanding of the arts and culture field, the program’s work, and advance the foundation’s goals.
- Design and organize foundation-sponsored meetings with grantees and field experts.
- Solicit proposals, manage consultants, and ensure projects are fulfilled in accordance with contract agreements.
Foundation Support
- Actively participate in internal meetings, committees, and social events that strengthen the foundation’s culture; design and implement opportunities such as lectures or social events that connect the program’s activities with foundation peers.
- Contribute to advancing the foundation’s culture, values, and plans, including foundation-wide and program-specific diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice efforts.
- Participate fully as a member of the Performing Arts Program, collaborating with other team members and supporting team-wide activities.
- Represent the foundation at appropriate external meetings, conferences, and site visits.
Desired Qualifications
Experience
- Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent work experience) and a minimum of seven years of related work experience in a mission-driven sector with a strong connection to artistic and cultural expression; a relevant master’s degree a plus.
- Experience with racial equity work.
- Previous experience in grantmaking preferred.
- Knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area arts sector preferred.
Skills
- Excellent interpersonal skills and the demonstrated intercultural competency are essential.
- Highly relationship-oriented; highly skilled at listening, managing power dynamics, giving and receiving feedback, and exercising transparency.
- Exceptional analytical skills and judgement, with excellent written and verbal communications skills.
- Alignment with the priorities and values of the Hewlett Foundation and a desire both represent them and move them forward.
Key Competencies
- Strategic Mindset: Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies.
- Communicates Effectively: Developing and delivering multi-mode communications thatconvey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.
- Instills Trust: Gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity.
- Collaborates: Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
- Plans and Aligns: Planning and prioritizing work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals.
- Decision Quality: Making good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward.
Benefits and Compensation
The Hewlett Foundation is committed to providing compensation that is competitive within the philanthropic sector. A generous total compensation package that emphasizes both base salary and comprehensive benefits is offered for this position. The salary range for this role is between $195,000 and $225,000. Offers are based on the candidate's years of experience and the foundation’s practice of maintaining salary equity within the foundation.
As the primary relationship manager with a portfolio of diverse foundation grantees, this position requires frequent local travel (20%), including attendance at performing arts events during evening and weekend hours. Occasional travel to national conferences is also required (5%).
This position description is based upon material provided by the Hewlett Foundation, an equal opportunity employer. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation embraces the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion both internally in our hiring process and organizational culture and externally in our grantmaking and related practices. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, and experiences.
Application Requirements and Search Process
DRG is conducting this search on behalf of the Hewlett Foundation. Interested candidates should submit, as soon as possible, materials including the following:
- A cover letter indicating why they are particularly interested in and aligned with the Hewlett Foundation and qualified for the position.
- A current resume.
- A list of references (references will not be contacted until the finalist stage of the search).
Application Deadline: March 15, 2024
Start date: Spring/Summer 2024
To apply for this position, please click HERE.
Jennifer Fleischer, Senior Talent Consultant, jfleischer@drgtalent.com
Nina Cogan, Talent Consultant, ncogan@drgtalent.com
Sarah Skrovan, Senior Associate, sskrovan@drgtalent.com