Program Officer

Helmsley•New York, NY

14d•$172,000 - $190,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (“Helmsley”) is a global philanthropy driven by a vision of building better futures for people by increasing access to healthcare, advancing new research and ideas, and improving the quality of everyday life. Helmsley strives to make a meaningful impact in its focus areas, matching its significant financial assets with a rigorous and results-oriented approach. Helmsley is committed to close and productive partnerships with its grantees, as well as with other funders and impact players in government, academia, and the private sector who share its interests and goals. Above all, Helmsley endeavors to be forward-thinking in every aspect of its work and will take risks that others cannot or will not take when the risk/reward trade-off warrants. Since 2008, when Helmsley began its active grantmaking, it has committed more than $4.5 billion. For more information on Helmsley, please visit https://helmsleytrust.org/ . The Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa Program (VCSSA Program) The Helmsley Charitable Trust funds holistic programs to help ensure the well-being of children and families in remote communities in sub-Saharan Africa. We learn from the communities themselves what they need to thrive. Building resilience is at the core of our grantmaking. We work with rural communities in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia. Our work falls under two overarching pillars. The first, increasing access to quality healthcare focuses on maternal and infant health outcomes, fighting neglected tropical diseases and strengthening healthcare ecosystems. Under our second pillar, we aim to build rural health infrastructure and strengthen economic development. Position Summary The Helmsley Charitable Trust seeks a Program Officer (PO) to directly support the Vulnerable Children in sub-Saharan Africa Program Director within an evolving grant portfolio that aims to identify and support high-impact interventions to improve the health and livelihoods of children, their families, and their communities in target countries within sub-Saharan Africa. The Program Officer will assist the Program Director with the continual development and implementation of a multi-million-dollar annual grants program.

Requirements

Completion of an advanced degree (master’s degree or higher) in international development, global health, medicine, or related field.
Minimum 5 years of relevant project and/or grant management experience in a non-governmental, non-profit, or philanthropic organization.
Demonstrated experience or technical expertise in global health, health systems strengthening (HSS), innovative health technologies, maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), economic development or related discipline; experience in Sub-Saharan Africa preferred.
Familiarity with the types of challenges and opportunities which may arise for grantees and local communities in Helmsley’s programmatic and geographic focus areas in Sub-Saharan Africa (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia).
Experience with grantmaking and/or grant management; working on grants to Sub-Saharan African countries preferred.
Proficiency in reviewing and managing budgets.
Experience with monitoring and impact evaluation, including setting and tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Strong written and oral communication skills with the ability to translate concepts succinctly to diverse stakeholders and audiences.
Must be detail-orientated and have strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills.
Excellent organizational and time management skills, including the ability to manage priorities on projects with multiple collaborators.
Demonstrated ability to exercise independent judgement and initiative, prioritize and accurately complete multiple tasks, and work under deadlines and changing priorities.
Ability to think creatively, encourage innovative problem-solving, and co-create solutions with colleagues and grantees.
Able to maintain confidentiality of information.
Proven track-record of working effectively in a collaborative, team-oriented environment.
Ability to travel domestically and internationally.

Nice To Haves

Experience living or working in Sub-Saharan Africa a plus.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary point of contact and relationship manager with grantees.
Manage the program’s grants through each grant life cycle, including grant application, due diligence and reporting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and provide ongoing technical support, guidance and accompaniment to applicants and grantees.
Work with grantees to track progress and outcomes.
Identify constructive solutions for grantees when challenges arise.
Work with colleagues and grantees to help identify other implementing partners, donors, technical resources and collaborators working in the same geographic and programmatic sector space to optimize the impact of VCSSA grant funding and promote knowledge sharing among Helmsley grantees and partners.
Identify and source new projects and potential grantees.
Review and evaluate proposals and prepare concise and analytical grant recommendations for Trustees.
Contribute to program development and monitoring by organizing, conducting and/or attending meetings, symposia and site visits that further VCSSA program goals, including virtual engagements as well as domestic and international travel (including Sub-Saharan Africa) as needed.
Remain abreast of geopolitical, environmental and contextual issues impacting the geographic and programmatic focus areas of the VCSSA portfolio, advising the Program Director or Trustees as appropriate.
Assist the Program Director with identifying and managing external consultants and contracts.
Effectively communicate information about the VCSSA program and Helmsley’s mission to target audiences, collaborating with and providing support to Helmsley’s Communications department as needed.
Represent Helmsley at external meetings and events.
Collaborate with colleagues in cooperative approaches to grant making.
Amplify awareness of the VCSSA program within Helmsley by serving as a champion of and ambassador for program grantees, projects and strategy; Collaborate with and providing support to Helmsley’s Communications department as needed.
Perform other duties as assigned.