Organization
The Walton Family Foundation
Job Description
The Walton Family Foundation is seeking a skilled, highly motivated and entrepreneurial individual to join the foundation’s Bentonville, AR. office as a Program Officer for the Home Region Program.
The Program Officer will help manage a diverse portfolio of municipal and non-profit grantees. Program Officers work in a small, entrepreneurial team. Specific duties include the following:
- Refine and implement the Home Region Preserve a Sense of Place Strategy. The purpose of this strategy is to preserve a sense of place in Northwest Arkansas through quality urban planning by investing in alternative transportation options, downtown revitalization, and green space preservation. The vision is to continue to position Northwest Arkansas as a desirable region for businesses and residents to grow and/or relocate because of the quality of the built and natural environment. A priority of this strategy is the development of the multi-use trail network in the region. A key role for the program officer will be engaging community partners and seeking grantees to execute against the overall strategic goals.
- Help manage relationships with grantees, potential grantees, and other partners. This will include performing due diligence and shepherding proposals through the foundation’s approval process, conducting site visits, providing guidance and working with grantees to achieve significant impact. In addition, this position will continue to develop and build new relationships with a broad network of partners who can leverage the foundation’s goals.
- Effective team member. The success of the foundation’s Home Region strategy is built on a strong team culture that values partnership and provides support through honest and respectful feedback. Team members are held to high performance expectations that includes a mindset focused on personal and professional development.
- Other projects and assignments. These may be requested by the foundation’s board, Executive Director or Director of the Home Region Program.
Qualifications
The position calls for a solid understanding of grant making. The role requires self-direction and decisiveness combined with flexibility and a capacity to give and receive feedback graciously. The foundation seeks to recruit individuals with superior interpersonal and communication skills, a respectful but analytical approach to the work of grantees, and a proven ability to work effectively as part of a team. The Program Officer should ideally possess the following professional qualifications and personal attributes:
- Bachelor’s degree required; relevant master’s degree or higher preferred.
- At least five years of work in a professional urban planning setting or related field
- Excellent written skills and experience in producing both brief and longer written products in a timely fashion for internal and external audiences.
- Experience in managing complex, high-stakes projects.
- Oral communication skills, with experience in public speaking that emphasizes conveying complex issues to internal and external audiences.
- Proven skills in organization and time management.
- Demonstrated capacity to work as part of a team, as well as independently.
- Intellectual agility and the ability to analyze, think critically and understand progressive urban planning principles and issues.
- Unquestionable ethics and personal integrity.
Additional helpful experience includes:
- Developing alternative transportation systems, including trails and mass transit.
- Open space preservation
- Development and/or construction.
- Management/strategic planning consulting.
- Nonprofit management.
- Grants management.
Interested candidates should apply at:
https://waltonfamilyfoundation.applicantharbor.com/jobviewdetails.php?reqcode=REQ2016915104927
Please be sure to attach a cover letter and resume. Reference the job responsibilities and your relevant qualifications and experience in your cover letter and explain clearly how your skills and experience would be a good fit.
The Walton Family Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.
