Senior Program Officer

Raikes Foundation • Full-time • Remote (United States) • $150k - $180k / year • 1d ago

Chaloner has partnered with the Raikes Foundation on their search for a Senior Program Officer.

About the Raikes Foundation

The Raikes Foundation is committed to building a thriving, multiracial democracy that puts the American dream within everyone’s reach, regardless of their race, gender, income, or the neighborhood they live in. Our goal is to bring people together to break down barriers that prevent communities from thriving and to support solutions that allow all of us to dictate our own future. Learn more here.

Our philanthropy is rooted in the belief that those most closely impacted by the problems we face in our country should be the closest to shaping the solutions. We make grants in four core areas: education, housing stability for youth, resourcing an inclusive democracy, and impact-driven philanthropy. We believe that investing in systems-level change is the key to transforming society for the better and that a meaningful structural shift requires building power in communities. For more information about who we are, see our most recent Annual Report here.

Role Purpose and Summary

The Senior Program Officer will serve as a strategic leader on the National Education Strategy team, helping advance the Raikes Foundation’s vision for a fair, future-ready public education system that prepares every young person for economic opportunity, wellbeing, and civic participation in a rapidly changing world.

This leader will help shape and execute a national strategy that both strengthens public education today and catalyzes the transformation needed for tomorrow. The role requires a systems-oriented operator who can connect policy, practice, innovation, research, and field leadership into durable change.

The ideal candidate is a transformational leader with experience driving reform at scale, building coalitions, influencing systems, and translating vision into action.

Role Responsibilities

Strategy and Systems Change Leadership

Work with the education program team to define strategic direction with emphasis on:

Collaborating closely with the Director of National Education Strategy and the NES team to co-develop strategy and lead a portfolio of initiatives focused on transforming public education systems across the P-20 continuum at the state and national levels.
Translating emerging trends in education and public policy into actionable strategic priorities.
Demonstrating a strong future orientation towards transformation that ensures we have a public, democratically governed, and inclusive public education system.
Capitalizing on connections between initiatives focused on systems change at the local, state, and federal level.
Collaborating with team members to ensure an integrated approach to implementing strategy and continuous improvement across the portfolio.
Playing a proactive role in the Foundation’s organizational learning; seeking opportunities to collaborate and contribute to capitalizing on alignment across the Foundation’s strategy areas.
Organizing grantee visits, learning sessions, and other forms of engagement to deepen the Foundation leadership’s knowledge of the strategy and understanding of progress, challenges, and lessons learned.

Grant Portfolio Development & Management

Source, structure, and manage investments, partnerships, pooled funds, and grantmaking opportunities that advance long-term systems transformation.
Build and steward a strategic portfolio aligned to the Foundation’s education strategy, using grants and partnerships to drive policy, narrative, infrastructure, and change through implementation.
Conduct diligence on prospective investments and grants, assess strategic fit, and develop clear recommendations for internal decision-making.
Cultivate strong, collaborative relationships with grantees, funding partners, and field leaders to strengthen execution, learning, and collective impact.
Design milestones, outcomes, and learning networks that support continuous improvement, shared insight, and progress toward durable systems change.

External Relations and Thought Leadership

Convene and align cross-sector leaders across education, workforce, policy, philanthropy, innovation, and youth leadership to advance a shared vision for a fair and future-ready education system.
Build and sustain trusted relationships with key stakeholders, including grantees, researchers, educators, community leaders, policymakers, and funding partners.
Strengthen the Foundation’s credibility, influence, and thought leadership through strategic external engagement, partnership building, and visible representation in the field.
Develop and cultivate co-funding opportunities and collaborative initiatives with philanthropic partners to accelerate systems-level change.
Partner with communications teams and external advisors to translate field learnings into compelling narratives, advocacy strategies, and public-facing leadership.

Role Requirements

We are interested in leaders who have experience at multiple levels of the P-20 system (classroom, school, district/network, state, federal, and national) and have built something meaningful in the field: transformed a system, led reform, scaled an organization, built a coalition, or changed policy. The ideal candidate is ready to bring that experience into philanthropy as a platform for broader impact.

Skills and Abilities

10+ years of experience leading systems transformation in education, public policy, social innovation, or adjacent sectors.
Demonstrated future orientation and ability to navigate disruption, innovation, and emerging opportunities.
Experience operating at the state, district, postsecondary, or national systems level.
Strong strategic judgment and ability to turn ambitious ideas into executable plans.
Evidence of a tested theory of action that has produced measurable change in policy or practice.
Deep field network spanning policy, practice, philanthropy, advocacy, research, and innovation communities.
Strong coalition-building and organizing abilities across diverse stakeholders.
Commitment to fairness, opportunity, and ensuring all young people thrive.
Exceptional communication and influence skills.

Team and Reporting Structure

Reports to the Director, National Education Strategy

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Employment Type: Full-time

Salary: $150,000-180,000 annual

Location: The position is remote and may include up to 40% of time on domestic travel, including monthly meetings to the home office in Seattle.

While there is a preference for the SPO to live in the Greater Seattle area, other geographies will be considered, except for California and Hawaii, where tax implications are preventative.

Interested candidates should apply by using the application form. Chaloner will review all applicants and, upon qualification, contact you to determine next steps.

6d ago

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