The Organization
About the Skoll Foundation:
The Skoll Foundation seeks to catalyze transformational social change by investing in, connecting, and championing social entrepreneurs and other social innovators who together advance bold and equitable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.
Jeff Skoll, the first employee and first President of eBay, created the Skoll Foundation in 1999 to pursue his vision of a sustainable world of peace and prosperity for all. The Foundation is part of the Jeff Skoll Group, which also includes Participant and the Capricorn Investment Group. The Foundation is led by CEO Don Gips, an Obama Administration alumnus.
The Skoll Foundation is at an exciting inflection point in its two-decade long history, with equity at the center of an evolving strategy that extends beyond its focus on social innovators of all types working across sectors. The Foundation aspires to fundamentally shift the trajectory on urgent global problems including pandemics and global health systems, racial justice, climate change, effective governance, and inclusive economies. The Foundation does this by connecting social innovators around the world, investing in their solutions, and championing their work.
The Foundation is committed to finding new ways to streamline its operations and support the organization as it drives transformational social change globally. Learn more about the Skoll Foundation at www.skoll.org.
Position Description
The Skoll Foundation’s Funder Alliances (FA) team builds strategic and durable relationships with institutional, emergent, and corporate funders—as well as philanthropic intermediaries—to inform and support such allies in their pursuit of aligned goals, guide funder attention and resources to Skoll’s portfolio of Awardee and grantee partners, and contribute to Skoll’s learning and impact. During this exciting period of growth, the Program Manager will provide critical support and leadership for the Funder Alliances team in working with the broader Foundation – in particular, the Foundation’s Portfolio and Investment (PI) team – to advance our organizational goals and impact. A key member of the Funder Alliances team, this person will help oversee the development, coordination, and management of a portfolio of team efforts and lead new strategic initiatives incubated within FA.
The position will report to the Director of Funder Alliances and will work closely with the Managing Director of Funder Alliances, the Managing Director of Portfolio and Investments, and across internal teams. This person will maintain strong connections with external and internal stakeholders and will introduce and oversee new partnerships and initiatives at the organization.
To be successful, the Program Manager will be excited to contribute their growth mindset to the Foundation, helping to drive clarity while bringing others along. This person should be a demonstrated strategic thinker with strong problem-solving skills and a known team player with leadership potential who displays humility, drive, and a passion for the mission of the Skoll Foundation.
Responsibilities:
- Develop a framework of coordination and evaluation that optimizes and streamlines strategic engagements:
- Help support the stewardship of relationships with key allies, providing a line of sight across internal touchpoints, including Funder Alliances colleagues, Portfolio and Investment team members, and the Executive Office;
- Collect and analyze outputs and outcomes of key funder relationships to identify patterns and gaps, scale partnerships and drive impact; and
- Interface with internal teams to encourage key engagements, as well as track and analyze results of these relationships;
- Develop and implement internal tools and trainings:
- Develop resources and trainings to support colleagues’ funder engagement practices and internal knowledge-sharing;
- Represent Funder Alliances in the Foundation’s knowledge management effort, ensuring that funder relationships are integrated and that the necessary and appropriate knowledge is appropriately managed, safeguarded, and shared; and
- Represent Skoll Funder Alliances at funder convenings to share learnings and best practices in relationship management, evaluation and impact
- Support the Director of Funder Alliances as a thought partner, brainstorming and identifying solutions to challenges and opportunities for experimentation and coordination; and
- Support the Portfolio and Investment team’s portfolio and program management efforts:
- Represent Funder Alliances and drive key funder landscaping connections as a member of at least one of the Skoll Foundation’s strategic priority/investment teams; and
- Contribute to Portfolio and Investment team efforts to manage and advance ongoing partnerships with portfolio organizations and Skoll Awardees.
- Other responsibilities in support of team and organizational goals, including:
- Support for the curation, follow-through, and analysis of funder ally engagements in Skoll convenings, particularly the annual Skoll World Forum;
- Where needed, help manage third-party consultants and integrate their efforts into broader Foundation efforts; and
- Support the fielding of FA-focused inquiries from external parties, including potential funder allies and Skoll Awardee/grantee partners.
Qualifications:
- Minimum five years of experience in a philanthropic foundation, for-profit, or public sector funder
- Demonstrated experience managing and realizing deliverables across a high-performing organization with a multi-tiered and matrixed structure
- Ability to focus on the details and also zoom out to broader context and strategic aims
- Strong relationship builder with the ability to find common ground, build consensus, and strengthen collaboration among diverse stakeholders
- Excellent communication skills—written, oral, and visual (e.g., PowerPoint)
- Clear project management, organizational, and planning skills and experience
- Demonstrated ability to compile and analyze complex data for patterns, outcomes, and planning purposes
- Ability to successfully navigate in a fast-paced, outcomes-driven and entrepreneurial environment
- Demonstrated commitment to the values of equity, inclusion, and empowerment
Your Health:
The Foundation requires all staff, vendors, and visitors be fully vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 and test regularly when accessing the office.
How To Apply
Applicants
The Skoll Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. We embrace and encourage our employees’ differences in age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make our employees unique. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply.
Click the “Apply” button to submit your resume and cover letter. In your cover letter indicate your passion for the mission and your fit for the role. We will contact qualified applicants.
Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the ADA and related state laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing an undue hardship on the company. Please contact hr@skoll.org if you need assistance completing any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process.