EDUCATION INITIATIVES, PROGRAM SPECIALIST

At The San Diego Foundation, we value a team composed of people committed to our mission of improving the quality of life within all of San Diego’s communities. We strive to be an employer of choice, offering a competitive compensation package, and a professional and vibrant work environment for those who have a passion for our work of providing leadership for effective philanthropy and promoting community solutions.

We are seeking a Program Specialist for our Education Initiatives team who will lead and support the essential programmatic and administrative activities of this new program priority for The San Diego Foundation. The Education Initiatives program area was in part borne out of our launch and pilot of the Community Scholars Initiative, a data-driven approach to scholarship philanthropy that pairs need-based scholarships with college readiness support to student groups facing the greatest barriers to persistence and college completion. In the near term, the Education Initiatives will define an exciting set of strategies to increase educational opportunity and equity informed and shaped by the evolving nature of work in the region.  

Education Initiatives resides within the Community Impact department of The San Diego Foundation. This position reports to the Director, Education Initiatives and collaborates closely with all members of the Community Impact team. 

Essential duties and principal responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Oversee and maintain systems and processes to support effective and successful communications with internal and external partners, grantmaking, grantwriting and reporting activities, research and content development
• Support and monitor the workplan for Community Scholars Initiative including managing the scholarship review and award process
• Conduct research and data analysis that informs strategy setting for fundraising, grantmaking and community leadership activities
• Lead the coordination of logistics related to convenings and stakeholder engagement, and support the development and presentation of related program data and messaging
• Support writing, reporting and content creation, including data visualization, that serves to communicate the community impact of the strategies and bolsters fundraising activities
• Support TSDF’s strategy setting with subject matter insight related to education
• Support donor stewardship through effective administration of strategic grantmaking programs, information sharing, and customer-oriented engagement opportunities
• Collaborate and contribute to a strong team culture across the Community Impact department and entire Foundation
• These efforts require strong written and verbal communication skills, project management experience, and administrative capabilities, including financial administration, proposal writing, timeline creation and management, database utilization, and progress reporting.

Qualifications

• Work/volunteer experience and or demonstrated commitment to the education field
• Five years of administrative and/or program support experience in a private or community foundation, educational setting or position in a corporate, government or nonprofit organization
• Experience in database management, research and data mining and analysis
• Demonstrated track record in developing and utilizing administrative organizational systems with attention to detail, timeliness, finances, and record keeping
• Ability to work independently and successfully organize and prioritize multiple projects, and meet deliverables and deadlines
• Knowledge of the range of regional/local education issues as they relate to learning and workforce in the San Diego region
• Demonstrated organization, time and project management skills. Ability to “right size” projects
• Knowledge of and interest in advancing the collective impact model of cross-sectoral collaboration
• Strong emotional intelligence with excellent interpersonal skills and customer service orientation
• Able to thrive in a fast-paced environment where adapting to change is necessary and the ability to multi-task successfully is critical
• Advanced knowledge and proficiency with computer software applications: MS Windows, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and Google Docs; database/contact management software experience and data visualization software experience preferred

Education

• Post-secondary education in related field

Language Skills

• Ability to read, write and speak English fluently

Physical Demands

• Able to sit for prolonged periods of time at meetings, desk, computer
• Able to sit at a desk and view a computer screen for up to two hours
• Able to speak into and use a telephone

Work Environment

• Non-smoking, professional office environment
• Fast-paced work with multi-level distractions

Special Conditions

• Ability to work evenings and weekends as needed

If interested in joining our team, please submit your resume and a cover letter (2-page maximum) clearly defining your response to the following two questions to: jobs@sdfoundation.org

• Describe your commitment and specific work or volunteer experience in the education field and share what you view as the top priorities for our local education system
• Describe your experience in data, databases, data development and analysis

Please indicate in the Subject Line:  Education Initiative, Program Specialist

Resumes and cover letters will be accepted up to Monday, February 3^rd. 

Please direct all inquiries to: jobs@sdfoundation.org