Program Associate, Arts & Culture

The Heinz Endowments•Pittsburgh, PA

8d•$75,000 - $82,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Heinz Endowments is seeking a Program Associate to join its Arts & Culture team. This position is well suited for a detail-oriented, analytically minded professional with programmatic experience and a genuine commitment to arts and culture in the community. The Program Associate will play an active role across a broad range of grantmaking activities, including assessing grant inquiries, synthesizing research, tracking portfolio performance, and preparing materials for board review. The position also encompasses supporting special projects, placemaking initiatives, community partnerships, and contributions to mission-aligned storytelling and communications. For a skilled coordinator or program professional, this role offers meaningful breadth and a path for growth into grantmaking, providing an opportunity to deepen subject matter expertise, take on greater strategic responsibility, and contribute to advancing a vision of growing an exemplary sustainable Pittsburgh region where everyone prospers and belongs. The Program Associate plays a key role in the foundation’s grantmaking efforts by providing administrative and grant processing support to program management and supporting the implementation of Arts & Culture program activities and emerging initiatives. This role also serves as a central coordination point for internal workflow, ensuring clarity, consistency, and efficiency across the Arts & Culture grantmaking process. This role is ideal for a candidate who is passionate about driving social impact and has a strong skill set in data management, analysis, and community engagement. The Program Associate is responsible for managing grant documentation, tracking reporting timelines, and ensuring high-quality grant outcomes through ongoing impact analysis. May assist with reviewing and preparing proposals and report preparation after grant completion; and represents the foundation to grantees.

Requirements

Strong organizational and multitasking abilities, with keen attention to detail.
Ability to drive effective project management by overseeing planning, execution, and delivery of key initiatives, ensuring timelines, resources, and objectives align with organizational goals.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including proofreading and editing with ability to conduct basic research, summarizing information, and supporting written communications (reports, summaries, etc.).
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and familiarity with grant management or CRM software; ability to develop expertise in data systems use.
Proven experience providing scheduling, meeting coordination, and general administrative support to multiple team members with a customer service mindset.
Event planning experience, including event planning software, executing events or meetings, coordinating logistics, communicating with vendors, and managing follow-up tasks.
Demonstrates flexibility in adapting to changing priorities and deadlines, while balancing independent work with team engagement. Effective collaborator across organizational functions, with strong interpersonal communication skills and the ability to navigate differences to achieve shared solutions.
Passionate about the Foundation's mission and committed to building cultural competency and addressing biases and inequities.

Nice To Haves

Experience with or interest in public spaces, creative placemaking, urban planning, or community development initiatives is preferred.

Responsibilities

Oversee and manage assigned grants through their full lifecycle, from application review to final reporting, ensuring compliance with foundation guidelines under supervision of the Managing Director and in support of other team members.
Assist with reviewing grant proposals and preparing reports upon grant completion, applying independent judgment within defined procedures.
Monitor the progress and quality of interim and final reports, working with grantees to ensure timely submission and addressing concerns in coordination with applicable Program Officers.
Support impact analysis and quality assessments to gauge the effectiveness of grants, as assigned.
Support portfolio-level tracking and coordination across Courses of Action, ensuring alignment with the Arts & Culture Strategy Implementation Guide (SIG).
Maintain accurate records in grant management and data systems; assist in tracking and reporting on grants and program metrics in compliance with data integrity standards.
Maintain working knowledge of internal due diligence requirements, compliance protocols, and GMS standards, serving as a point of contact between program staff and Grants Administration on operational procedures.
Conduct research on community indicators, emerging trends, and potential grantmaking opportunities aligned with foundation priorities and the Arts & Culture strategy.
Perform policy research and analysis to inform grantmaking strategies and identify advocacy opportunities relevant to the foundation’s focus areas.
Analyze data related to grant outcomes and broader program impact, contributing to foundation learning and strategy refinement.
Research and share best practices and relevant public research to support program decision-making.
Serve as a knowledgeable point of contact for grantees on administrative matters, managing inquiries, guiding them through the grant process, and assisting with pre-grant information requests; may represent the foundation to grantees as appropriate.
Build and maintain positive, trust-based relationships with grantees, community stakeholders, and other foundation partners.
Work in cooperation with other program areas to develop integrated grantmaking activities where applicable.
Participate in program and organization-wide strategic planning processes.
Develop an understanding of the relevant philanthropic community and forge working partnerships with other foundations to achieve strategic objectives.
Appropriately represent the Endowments within the communities the foundation seeks to serve.
Synthesize grant insights and portfolio trends to support internal decision-making and board-level discussions.
Develop clear and compelling reports and presentations that summarize grant outcomes, community impact, and insights.
Utilize technology and CRM systems to track and document interactions, grant milestones, and key metrics.
Draft, edit, and proofread documents, reports, and presentations for clarity and accuracy; support program staff and work collaboratively with the department to ensure preparation of written materials.
Prepare and organize grant meeting materials, accurately document grant decisions, and track grantee reporting and follow-up. Collaborate with Grants Administration to ensure consistency in communication and avoid duplication of efforts.
Provide specialized, project-based support with board-related meeting materials, presentations, analysis, etc. as needed.
Lead end-to-end project management for key strategic initiatives, developing and maintaining project timelines, tracking milestones, and proactively managing dependencies to ensure on-time delivery of critical deliverables.
Execute assigned project tasks with a high degree of autonomy, exercising sound judgment to drive progress while escalating key decisions and risks appropriately.
Partner cross-functionally on special projects and program initiatives, identifying opportunities to streamline processes and strengthen operational effectiveness across the foundation.
Support team coordination and accountability systems (e.g., tracking priorities, deliverables, and team progress) and manage special projects.
Utilize foundation grantmaking and other information systems in compliance with policies and adhere to standards of data integrity.
Possess sufficient knowledge of office systems, facilities, and procedures; lead and encourage their use by the assigned program team (e.g., videoconferencing, desktop computer applications, phones, etc.). Responsible for personal calendaring and scheduling of appointments.
Protect the organization’s confidential information through appropriate handling and archiving of sensitive information and documents.
Other duties as assigned.