Battle Creek, MI

Program Officer - Fellowship Alumni, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

The Organization

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), a leading philanthropic force helping communities create the conditions children need to thrive, is seeking nominations and applications for Program Officer, working with alumni of their fellowship programs.  WKKF’s work focuses on improving conditions for vulnerable children, concentrating on three key factors of success and their intersections: education and learning; food, health and well-being; and family economic security. Across these three areas, WKKF has committed to approaches that undergird racial equity and healing, community and civic engagement, and leadership capacity building.  Key to the leadership capacity building approach, fellowships have been one of the foundation’s most effective tools for realizing the belief that community-grounded leadership is a critical tool for both individual development and broad societal change.  In 2014, the foundation launched a new Community Leadership Fellowship program, targeting individuals who can be transformative change agents in their communities so that vulnerable children and their families can achieve optimal health and well-being, academic achievement, and financial security.

As a member of the foundation’s Racial Equity, Community Engagement, and Leadership Programs team, and serving as a peer to the program officers on the grantmaking teams, the new program officer will co-design and support programming for alumni of WKKF fellowship programs that realizes a vision where fellowship alumni are engaged with the work of the foundation and connected to each other in meaningful ways. The program officer will assume responsibility for fellowship alumni engagement and programming; cultivating a rich network of former fellows in the foundation’s priority places of Michigan, Mississippi, New Orleans, and New Mexico, and worldwide. Together with this distinguished group, the program officer will engage in thought partnership with foundation leaders to envision, articulate, and operationalize a community leadership and talent network that nurtures ongoing individual growth opportunities for fellows, builds continued connections to human capital in communities, and helps to inform leadership development programming throughout the foundation.

Position Overview

The ideal candidate will be a seasoned connector and network builder. S/he/they must be firmly committed to the foundation’s mission and will have an understanding of the broad social and economic forces affecting communities and families, demonstrated knowledge of best practices in leadership development and network building strategy, and success facilitating authentic, productive dialogue within diverse communities and settings. The successful candidate will have experience directing meaningful engagement with alumni groups or fellowship networks, ideally in a community-based context, and will have strong understanding of trends and networks within the leadership development field, both domestically and internationally. S/he/they will bring a significant set of skills in strategic communication, translating concept into action, and building meaningful relationships with persons from diverse cultural, social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds.  S/he/they will be an outstanding writer and communicator and will possess a strong team orientation, a high tolerance for ambiguity, the ability to adapt quickly to change, and the maturity and humility to learn from a variety of stakeholders and partners.

A full position description can be found here: https://nonprofitprofessionals.com/additional-searches/wkkf-pocln

More information about the W.K. Kellogg Foundation may be found at www.wkkf.org.

How To Apply

This search is being conducted with the assistance of Katherine Jacobs and Melinda Hull of the national search firm NPAG. Due to the pace of this search, candidates are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Applications including a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, your resume (in Word format), and where you learned of the position should be sent to: WKKF-POCLN@nonprofitprofessionals.comIn order to expedite the internal sorting and reviewing process, please type your name (Last, First) as the only contents in the subject line of your e-mail.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and proudly values diversity. Candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Mission Statement

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society.

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