Full-Time Program Associate
Job Description
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation (Foundation) is a family foundation that is guided by the enduring business philosophy and personal values of Lucile and David, who helped found one of the world’s leading technology companies. Today, their children and grandchildren continue to help guide the work of the Foundation. We invest in effective organizations and leaders, collaborate with them to identify strategic solutions, and support them over time to reach our common goals.
We work on the issues our founders cared about most, improving the lives of children; enabling the creative pursuit of scienc¬¬e; advancing reproductive health; conserving and restoring the earth’s natural systems; and supporting and strengthening an array of local nonprofit organizations. For 2016, the Foundation expects to make grantmaking awards of over $300M.
A staff of 120 conducts the day-to-day operations of the Foundation and a Board of Trustees oversees the work of the Foundation. David and Lucile Packard passed onto the Foundation the following core set of values: integrity, respect for all people, belief in individual leadership, commitment to effectiveness, and the capacity to think big. More information about the Foundation can be found at www.packard.org.
Local Grantmaking
For more than 50 years, the Foundation has supported an array of nonprofit organizations in geographic areas that are significant to the Packard family. These include the five California counties that surround the Foundation in Los Altos, California—San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito. Our goal in supporting these communities is to help make them stronger and more vibrant places where families can thrive and reach their potential. To achieve this goal, the Local Grantmaking Program focuses its resources on areas that reflect the priorities of the Foundation and the interests of our founders. The areas for which grants are made include the arts, food banks and homeless services for families with children, after-school youth services, programs that support children from birth to three, environmental education, and family planning and adolescent reproductive health services.
Annually, the Local Grantmaking Program makes approximately 150+ new grants per year which total approximately $15.5M. Program grants range from funding for general operations to targeted projects, and a limited number of strategically focused community initiatives. Capacity building support and program-related investments are also leveraged to support active grantees.
Responsibilities
Reporting to the Program Operations Manager, the Program Associate fulfills the following responsibilities:
Grantmaking
• Responds to phone and written inquiries about grants from Foundation-funded organizations and others with general inquiries
• Performs preliminary review of letters of inquiry, grant applications, and related materials for completeness and relevance
• Coordinates review and processing of a Local Grantmaking portfolio from invitation of a proposal through the post-award process
• Helps identify compliance issues early in the grantmaking process
• Tracks and clears grant payment contingencies
• Maintain grant report tracking systems
• Composes general correspondence, memos, grant summaries, and other documents
• Ensures accuracy of grants data within the grantmaking database and other systems
• Creates charts and graphs for grant data analysis
Other Administrative Duties
• Proofreads and corrects documents and website materials
• Coordinates submission of materials for quarterly Committee and Board meetings
• Assists with special events and supports Foundation-hosted meetings
• Coordinates schedules, tracks delegated assignments, and monitors deadlines
• Organizes and schedules meetings and travel
• Assembles relevant information for correspondence, reports, and meetings
• Takes notes and keeps records of selected meetings
• Participates in teams to produce collaborative work products and improve processes
• Processes expenses, invoices, and contracts
• Other projects as assigned
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Excellent grasp of technology and computer skills, including experience with the MS Office Suite
• Database experience is highly desired
• Meets deadlines and multitasks while working well under pressure
• Highly organized and efficient with high attention to detail
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate information needed as situations and projects develop
• Demonstrated skills in working well and flexibly as a team member in varied activities and projects
• Ability to represent the Foundation to persons outside the organization and to interact with all in a professional, courteous, and tactful manner
• Ability to build relationships and work well across departments
• Ability to exercise judgment in screening phone calls and mail, and in handling confidential information
• Ability to work overtime when required
• Sense of humor
Physical Demands
Candidate must have the ability to communicate via voice telephone, read and understand written communication, and generate written communication manually and using a computer. Candidate must also have the ability to sit at a desk for 2-3 hours at a time, lift and move documents and supplies not to exceed 25 lbs., and bend to file and retrieve documents.
Education and Experience
College degree or equivalent education and work experience. A minimum of five years of experience working in positions directly applicable to the requirements of this position.
Benefits and Compensation
The Foundation offers an excellent benefits package and a salary that is commensurate with relevant work experience and education. The position is full-time, nonexempt, and located in downtown Los Altos, CA.