Program Officer

DEPARTMENT

Impact Team

REPORTS TO

Director, Programs

CLASSIFICATION

Full-time/Annual | Salary/Exempt

SALARY

PAY RATE

Hiring Range $96,000 - $104,000

Grade 33

BENEFIT

Medical, dental, vision, life, AD&D, LTD. 403(b) retirement matched at 5%; increasing to 10% over time, 100% immediate vesting. PTO: 15 days accrued vacation, 10 days accrued sick, 4 wellness days and 13 holidays annually. Annual remote work, learning, and commuter benefits.

WORK LOCATION

Flexible; can be fully in-person, or hybrid (remote and in-person). This position is expected to be in-person for some required team and organization-wide meetings (e.g. monthly All-Hands meetings). May require regional travel for events, including evenings and weekends. Office located downtown Seattle. Must live in WA state.

VISIT US ONLINE

www.seattlefoundation.org

Who Are We?

Seattle Foundation is a community foundation that works to advance equity, shared prosperity, and belonging throughout the region while strengthening the impact of the philanthropists it serves. Founded in 1946, we continue to evolve to be the organization our community needs. With more than $1.2 billion in assets under management, we work with partners to provide effective advising, education, and experiential learning for our philanthropists interested in making a difference both at home here in Seattle and around the world.

Since 2016, our grantmaking, advocacy, and policy work have helped drive over $5 billion in public investments across Greater Seattle for children, housing, transit, and climate justice. Learn more at: www.seattlefoundation.org.

Position Overview

The Program Officer advances Seattle Foundation’s community impact priorities by stewarding programs, relationships, and investments across a range of issue areas. The role centers deep connection to communities in Greater Seattle and brings particular interest and skill in narrative storytelling, democracy, civic participation, and grassroots organizing. Working alongside community leaders and partners, the Program Officer helps identify opportunities, elevate community knowledge and stories, and support strategies that build power, belonging, and lasting systems change.

This role manages a multi-million-dollar portfolio of community investments, develops cross-sector partnerships, and contributes to the Foundation’s strategies and public voice. Reporting to the Director, Programs, the Program Officer works across teams to connect grantmaking, convening, learning, narrative change, and community engagement. The Program Officer will partner closely with the Senior Program Officer, connecting community priorities, narrative strategies, and grassroots perspectives with policy opportunities and systems-change efforts.

The role may also steward a small number of government partnerships aligned with the Foundation’s community impact priorities. Prior experience in philanthropy is not required; success depends on strong program management, trusted community relationships, sound judgment, and the ability to translate community expertise into responsive action.

Primary Responsibilities

Steward Community-Centered Programs and Investments

Lead a multi-million-dollar portfolio of community programs and investments by managing strategy alignment, budgets, timelines, partner relationships, and expected outcomes.

Build and sustain authentic, reciprocal relationships with community organizations, grassroots leaders, and partners, ensuring that community priorities and expertise shape the Foundation’s work.

Manage equitable review and recommendation processes through proposal analysis, due diligence, site visits, community-context assessment, and clear written recommendations to support well-informed investment decisions.

Facilitate community advisory groups and collaborative decision-making processes, framing key questions, supporting shared learning, and ensuring that people and communities directly affected by decisions or conditions have meaningful influence.

Provide responsive partnership support, connecting organizations to resources and relationships, and addressing barriers to implementation, collaboration, and community impact.

Monitor progress of grants, learning, outcomes, and compliance while maintaining a relationship-centered approach that supports transparency, adaptability, and shared accountability.

In collaboration with the Impact team, advance community-informed grantmaking, convening, and program practices.

Partner closely with the Senior Program Officer focused on policy to align community engagement, narrative work, grantmaking, and policy strategies; share learning from community partners; and identify opportunities for coordinated action.

Hold regular conversations with community partners to understand progress, challenges, emerging needs, and opportunities for collective action.

Deepen community knowledge and advance narrative and democracy strategies:

Develop and sustain trusted relationships with leaders, organizers, storytellers, and communities most affected by inequity, and use their knowledge to inform program strategy and investment decisions.

Research, design, and support narrative storytelling strategies that elevate community voice, shift public understanding, counter harmful narratives, and inspire participation and action.

Track community conditions, democracy and civic participation trends, power dynamics, and funding gaps to identify timely opportunities for partnership and impact.

Support grassroots organizations, collaborative funds, and public-private partnerships that strengthen civic infrastructure and community-led solutions.

Develop accessible, compelling messaging and written products—including stories, briefs, blogs, and reports—that connect community experience to broader systems-change goals.

Establish strong external relationships and partnerships

Represent Seattle Foundation at community gatherings, neighborhood events, coalitions, and convenings, showing up consistently and cultivating trust over time.

Develop and maintain relationships with grassroots and nonprofit organizations, cultural leaders, storytellers, advocates, funders, public-sector partners, and other community stakeholders.

Steward a small number of government partnerships, as assigned, coordinating relationships, agreements, deliverables, and learning in ways that advance community priorities and complement the Foundation’s broader policy and systems-change work.

Maintain accurate and current information about partnerships, community context, and points of contact in Seattle Foundation databases.

Manage and support strategic projects

• Implement and manage projects and initiatives, including program and contract management, partnership development, and research, through clear workplans, risk identification, stakeholder coordination, budget tracking and progress reporting.
• In collaboration with the team, support execution of emerging SeaFdn projects and initiatives.
• Participate in team-wide communication, planning, and strategy development and implementation.

Qualifications

Five or more years of relevant experience in community-based work, program management, organizing, advocacy, communications, civic engagement, public service, or a related field. Equivalent combinations of lived, volunteer, and professional experience are welcome.

Demonstrated connection to communities in Greater Seattle or Washington state, with trusted relationships and a grounded understanding of local assets, histories, challenges, and aspirations.

Demonstrated interest and skill in narrative storytelling, including the ability to listen for meaning, amplify community voice, communicate complex ideas clearly, and connect stories to broader strategies for change.

Working knowledge of democracy, civic participation, grassroots organizing, and community power building, gained through professional, volunteer, or lived experience.

Strong program and project management skills, including the ability to coordinate multiple priorities, manage budgets and timelines, communicate decisions, and follow through on commitments.

Demonstrated critical, flexible, and multidisciplinary thinking – an ability to understand and analyze the social, economic, cultural, and political forces that affect community well-being

Demonstrated personal and professional commitment to racial equity, diversity, and inclusion, with knowledge of root causes, systems change, and community-led approaches to racial and economic justice.

Strong interpersonal skills (build rapport quickly, adapts communication style for audience, demonstrates active listening and uses a collaborative and respectful approach across differences) and influencing skills (builds rapport through trust and credibility, gains commitment across teams, identifies common interests around shared goals, etc.).

Facilitation experience (creates inclusive spaces where all participants can contribute, guides discussions toward clear outcomes, manages group dynamics, navigates differing viewpoints, etc.)

Strong written and verbal communication skills (communicates complex information clearly, produces accurate and well-organized materials, tailors written communication to audiences and purpose, uses inclusive and accessible language, etc.)

Creativity, humility, curiosity, and adaptability, including comfort learning new issue areas and working in partnership with people who bring different forms of expertise.

Commitment to the Foundation’s mission, vision, and values. Prior experience in philanthropy or grantmaking is not required.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Seattle Foundation envisions a thriving region of shared prosperity, belonging, and justice, where all individuals and communities have equitable access and outcomes, regardless of race, place, or identity. We are committed to advancing racial equity using an intersectional lens, and integrate our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts into all that we do. We hold ourselves accountable to uphold our organizational values and strive to do better every day.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

The work is performed fully in-person or hybrid remote/in-person, in an office setting located in downtown Seattle. It may require regional travel for events including evenings and weekends. All positions require the capability of working at a PC for extended periods. Team efforts with event support may require periods of physical activity involving standing, walking, and moderate lifting. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary functions of the role.

Please submit your resume and cover letter to apply.