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New York, NY

Program Associate, Women's Rights, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund

The Organization

Wellspring Philanthropic Fund is a private grantmaking foundation dedicated to advancing the realization of human rights and the effective advancement of social justice for all people. We ground our work in our respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and we prioritize the advancement of racial, gender, and economic justice across all our programs. Through domestic and international grantmaking, Wellspring strives to cultivate accountable social systems and structures that uphold human dignity, strengthen agency, and advance equity for all people, and to contribute to making real change that matters. As responsible stewards, we strive to maximize the impact of our charitable investments and make a tangible difference in shifting conditions that materially affect people’s lives. Wellspring has offices in New York, NY and Washington, DC. For more information, please visit www.wpfund.org.

Position Overview

The Women’s Rights (WR) program seeks to advance gender justice by building a world in which women and girls in all their diversity — including the full range of gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations — enjoy autonomy and well-being. Informed by the perspectives of people with lived experiences of gender injustice, WR supports efforts to shift power, leadership, and resources to historically marginalized communities; advance gender-just policy and legal changes; and shift the narratives and increase the knowledge bases needed to advance gender justice. Advancing this mission requires tackling all forms of gendered oppression rooted in patriarchy and their intersections with racial, social, political, and economic oppression.

POSITION SUMMARY

Wellspring Philanthropic Fund seeks a Program Associate to join its Women’s Rights Program. The Program Associate reports to the Program Director and works collaboratively with the Program Officers, Administrative Assistant, Grants Management team, and other Wellspring staff. Day-to-day, the Program Associate contributes to the following key priorities:

  • Grants process coordination
  • Program support
  • Communications, research and Institutional Learning

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Grants process coordination

  • Coordinate the team’s grantmaking process, including entering information into the grants database.
  • Managing team grantmaking calendar to ensure a smooth grantmaking process, including communicating schedules with grantees.
  • Support “due diligence” in reviews of grant proposals and applicant organizations, including determining where additional information is needed from the applicant.
  • Coordinate grantee reporting process, including scheduling and documenting grantee reporting calls.
  • Liaise with Grants Management and the program team, serving as a compliance checkpoint to ensure that grantmaking stays within yearly budgets.
  • Develop familiarity with the Wellspring Grants Manual. Serve as a team resource on policies and procedures.

Program

  • Work closely with program staff to support grantees across diverse themes and portfolios, both within the United States and globally. This may include:
  • Assist program staff with analyzing and summarizing grant proposals and drafting grant recommendations.
  • Assist program staff with tracking grantee work and outcomes, including reviewing reports, participating in meetings with grantees, and reading and tracking news and research that relates to the work.
  • Participate in grant meetings and site visits, take notes, and ensure follow-up.
  • Represent Wellspring at external meetings and conferences with partners, funders, and field leaders, including domestic and international travel. o Contribute to strategic plans, and the program team’s learning agenda.
  • Draft and edit grant evaluations and recommendations.
  • When necessary, work in collaboration with the Administrative Assistant to provide logistical and coordination support for program related activities.
  • Support the Program Director and the team with consultant procurement and selection process(es).
  • Support the Program Director as needed with overall program needs.

Communications, research and institutional learning

  • Research and prepare donor education materials and other information for Wellspring internal use, including presentation slides and regular donor updates.
  • Conduct research related to field developments, potential grantees, and other topics requested by the program team. Write short memos and issue briefs.
  • Convey information effectively through written and visual materials (i.e. graphics, memos, and slides, etc.).
  • Manage updates to senior leadership, including by collecting newsworthy items, grantee updates, and consulting with program officers on content edits.
  • Prepare, proofread, and edit written work as requested.
  • Recommend and implement improvements to team systems and work within project management platforms.

OTHER

  • Participate on internal Wellspring advisory groups, task forces, and processes; as needed.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS

  • Familiarity with and strong commitment to women’s rights and gender justice, including in the Global South.
  • Knowledge of a range of human rights and social justice issues, including in the Global South.
  • Familiarity with and strong commitment to racial justice.
  • Master’s degree in related field highly preferred or equivalent experience, required.
  • Three to six years working in or with a feminist, human rights, or social justice organization.
  • Excellent and demonstrated English-language writing and editing skills.
  • Fluency in Spanish and/or Portuguese; highly preferred.
  • Strong research, analytic and organizational abilities.
  • Working knowledge of Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
  • Experience working with quantitative information, budgets and databases.
  • Ability to remain flexible, work independently and as a team player, and manage one’s own time.
  • Ability to handle confidential donor information with integrity and complete discretion.
  • Willingness to learn, be open to new ideas, and have fun.
  • Understands and values social justice, including racial and gender equity as an organizational operating principle – and is committed to continued learning on issues related to race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

  • Experience working in a grantmaking organization.
  • Experience working or studying in the Global South.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Salary range of $80,000 to $90,000 commensurate with experience. Wellspring offers a very generous benefits package including payment of 100% of the health insurance premiums for employees (and 80% of the premiums for spouses, domestic partners, and qualified family members). Wellspring also offers other benefits including life insurance, long-term disability protection, a group 401(k) retirement plan (with an employer match), support for continuing education, up to $5,250 in annual student loan repayment or college savings assistance for qualified dependents and is committed to providing transgender- inclusive healthcare.

For the full job description:  Program-Associate-Womens-Rights-Job-Description-2023.pdf (wpfund.org)

How To Apply

For employment consideration, please submit an application to jobs@wpfund.org. Subject Line: “WR-Program Associate– [YOUR NAME].” All applications must include:

  • A resumé;
  • thoughtful cover letter, including how you became aware of this opportunity (i e. job • portal, referral, etc.) and salary minimum requirements
  • one writing sample (no less than 3 and no more than 5 pages, attached in PDF format).

If we can make the application process easier through accommodation, please let us know.

NOTE: All applicants must be legally eligible to work in the United States at the time of hire to be considered for this position.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, with an anticipated closing date of Friday, October 6, 2023. We expect interviews to occur in October-November of 2023.

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