About Oak Foundation
Oak Foundation’s mission (www.oakfnd.org) is to contribute to a safer, fairer, and more sustainable world. With offices in Europe, Africa, and North America, Oak Foundation makes grants to organisations around the world.
About the Prevent Child Sexual Abuse Programme
Child sexual abuse is preventable. Yet millions of children continue to experience abuse online and offline. We support organisations around the world working to prevent abuse and create a safer future where all children can thrive. Through six priority funding areas, we support organisations that build evidence, promote healthy and safe relationships, create safe digital environments, advance safety in competitive sport, advance justice, and strengthen the field for prevention.
The programme officer will focus on preventing sexual violence among adolescents. Through this grant-making portfolio, we envision a world where adolescents have relationships that are free from sexual violence and foster connection, wellbeing, and a positive sense of self. Our work supports youth leadership, high-quality and actionable data, healthy relationship programmes, digital safety and platform accountability, and narratives that promote positive ways of relating.
Purpose of the Role
We are seeking a programme officer to help shape and deliver this growing area of grant-making. This is an opportunity for a professional with experience working with youth leadership and engagement. The candidate will have strong credibility with young people and a grounded understanding about emerging issues affecting adolescents. The successful candidate may be new to grant-making. Oak will provide support and mentoring to develop grant-making and portfolio-management skills. However, the candidate should have demonstrated experience working with adolescents and young people and helping them thrive.
Main Responsibilities
- Contribute to the development and implementation of the programme’s strategy, particularly its work to prevent sexual violence among adolescents. This will include preparing submissions and reports for Oak’s Board.
- Build trusted relationships with youth-led organisations, campaigners, practitioners, researchers, and others, ensuring that young people’s perspectives meaningfully inform the work.
- Identify and develop funding opportunities across youth leadership, prevention and healthy relationships, digital safety, narrative change, and systems reform.
- Manage the full grant cycle ensuring compliance with Oak’s grant management system and related grant-making procedures. This includes handling the day-to-day responsibilities of a grant portfolio from initial inquiry to assessment to final recommendation; having site visits; identifying and responding to capacity strengthening needs; monitoring grant implementation; reporting on and closing grants; evaluating current or past grants according to needs; and drawing and sharing lessons learned from projects and clusters of grants, among other activities.
- Assess capacity and organisational enhancement needs and propose appropriate measures.
- Work with Oak Foundation operations, communications, and programme management colleagues to ensure efficient progress in grant-making, monitoring, and reporting, as well as other administrative and communications activities related to the programme.
- Convene grantees, experts, government, and/or peers from other foundations when programme implementation so requires.
- Interpret research and data, assess the strength and relevance of evidence, and translate learning into practical recommendations for funding and strategy.
- Contribute to programme budgets and provide input on the allocation of funds.
- Represent the programme in relevant networks, peer groups, convenings, and public events, communicating clearly and credibly with diverse audiences, including young people.
- Contribute to monthly and annual reporting, Advisory Panel materials, and organisation-wide learning.
- Document and share lessons from partners and clusters of grants to inform programme direction and influence wider policy and practice.
Position Requirements
- University Degree in a related field and at least 7 years relevant professional experience (an advanced degree may substitute for 1-2 years of experience).
- Relevant professional experience in youth leadership and engagement and one or more of the following areas: prevention of sexual violence and healthy relationships; adolescent development and wellbeing; digital safety and online harms; communications and narrative change; or research and evidence mobilisation.
- Demonstrated credibility with young people and experience working respectfully with youth-led organisations, youth advisory groups, campaigners, or movements.
- A strategic and curious mindset, with the ability to understand how programmes, policy, communications, litigation, research, and organising can contribute to systemic change.
- Excellent relationship-building and partnership skills, together with humility, sound judgement, and the ability to listen and learn.
- Grant-making experience is desirable. The successful candidate should be eager to learn and develop the skills needed to assess grants and manage a portfolio.
- The ability to interpret evidence, ask critical questions and recognise high-quality research is desirable.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, with the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly to different audiences.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and contribute effectively as part of a collaborative team.
- Understanding of not-for-profit and/or governmental organisations. Familiarity with financial reporting and budgeting is an advantage.
- Comfort using contemporary workplace software, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and email.
- Willingness to travel internationally approximately 20 to 25 per cent of the time.
- Demonstrated commitment to the values of Oak Foundation.
- Candidates must have US Citizenship or valid US work permit.
Salary, Benefits and Location
The salary for this position is around $130,000.
Oak offers a benefits package that includes a 10% pension contribution, comprehensive health insurance for the employee, and life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance. Employees receive 23 days of annual leave per year, plus local holidays and the office closure between Christmas and New Year, and up to two weeks per year of remote work. Employees are also eligible for a sabbatical after 10 years of service.
This position is based in Oak’s Chapel Hill, North Carolina office. The office follows a hybrid schedule, with colleagues working in the office Tuesday through Thursday and remotely on Monday and Friday. The role involves travel of approximately 20 to 25 percent of the time, primarily to partners in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, and East Africa, and includes two one-week team meetings in Geneva each year, one focused on planning and one on learning.
Oak Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer for all qualified job applicants. The Foundation abides by all applicable rules and regulations in its recruiting and employment practices, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and state disability laws.
To Be Considered
To apply, please send CV and motivation letter that clearly outlines experience working with young people via the “Become the Candidate” button. Please refrain from using AI for your motivation letter.
By submitting your application, you confirm that you have read and understood our job applicant’s data privacy notice.
Oak Foundation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, as detailed in our child safeguarding policy. We expect all staff to share this commitment. Please note that the successful candidate will undergo reference checks and be required to provide a police record prior to starting employment.
For additional questions, please reach out to oak-po@goodcitizen.com.
Applicants applying by Friday, December 4th will be given priority consideration, with the position open until filled. First round interviews with the GoodCitizen team will take place through early January. Two rounds of interviews with the client team will take place from late January through early February. We hope to make an offer in mid-February.
