Program Officer

SEATTLE FOUNDATION GROUP • Seattle, WA

11d • $96,000 - $104,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Program Officer advances Seattle Foundation’s community impact priorities by stewarding programs, relationships, and investments across issue areas, with a particular focus on narrative storytelling, democracy, civic participation, and grassroots organizing. The role builds deep connections with Greater Seattle communities, helps identify opportunities, elevates community knowledge and stories, and supports strategies that build power, belonging, and lasting systems change.

The Program Officer manages a multi-million-dollar portfolio of community investments, develops cross-sector partnerships, and contributes to Foundation strategies and its public voice. Reporting to the Director, Programs, the role works across teams to connect grantmaking, convening, learning, narrative change, and community engagement, and partners closely with the Senior Program Officer to link community priorities and grassroots perspectives with policy opportunities and systems-change efforts. The role may also steward a small number of government partnerships. Prior philanthropy experience is not required; success depends on program management, trusted community relationships, sound judgment, and translating community expertise into responsive action.

The position is full-time and salaried/exempt, with a hiring range of $96,000–$104,000 annually. The work location is flexible: fully in-person or hybrid, with in-person attendance expected for some required team and organization-wide meetings. The office is downtown Seattle, and employees must live in Washington state. Regional travel may be required for events, including evenings and weekends.

Requirements

• Five or more years of relevant experience in community-based work, program management, organizing, advocacy, communications, civic engagement, public service, or a related field; equivalent combinations of lived, volunteer, and professional experience are welcome.
• Demonstrated connection to communities in Greater Seattle or Washington state, including trusted relationships and grounded understanding of local assets, histories, challenges, and aspirations.
• Demonstrated interest and skill in narrative storytelling, including listening for meaning, amplifying community voice, communicating complex ideas clearly, and connecting stories to strategies for change.
• Working knowledge of democracy, civic participation, grassroots organizing, and community power building, gained through professional, volunteer, or lived experience.
• Strong program and project management skills, including coordinating multiple priorities, managing budgets and timelines, communicating decisions, and following through on commitments.
• Critical, flexible, multidisciplinary thinking and ability to understand and analyze social, economic, cultural, and political forces affecting community well-being.
• Personal and professional commitment to racial equity, diversity, and inclusion, with knowledge of root causes, systems change, and community-led approaches to racial and economic justice.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including building rapport, adapting communication style, active listening, and collaborating respectfully across differences.
• Influencing skills, including building trust and credibility, gaining commitment across teams, and identifying common interests around shared goals.
• Facilitation experience, including creating inclusive spaces, guiding discussions toward clear outcomes, managing group dynamics, and navigating differing viewpoints.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including communicating complex information clearly, producing accurate and organized materials, tailoring communication to audience and purpose, and using inclusive and accessible language.
• Creativity, humility, curiosity, and adaptability, including comfort learning new issue areas and working in partnership with people with different forms of expertise.
• Commitment to the Foundation’s mission, vision, and values.
• Must live in Washington state.
• Capability to work at a PC for extended periods; reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform primary job functions.

Nice To Haves

• Prior experience in philanthropy or grantmaking is not required.

Responsibilities

• Lead a multi-million-dollar portfolio of community programs and investments, managing strategy alignment, budgets, timelines, partner relationships, and expected outcomes.
• Build and sustain authentic, reciprocal relationships with community organizations, grassroots leaders, and partners, ensuring community priorities and expertise shape the Foundation’s work.
• Manage equitable review and recommendation processes, including proposal analysis, due diligence, site visits, community-context assessment, and written recommendations.
• Facilitate community advisory groups and collaborative decision-making processes, supporting shared learning and meaningful influence by affected communities.
• Provide responsive partnership support by connecting organizations to resources and relationships and addressing barriers to implementation, collaboration, and impact.
• Monitor grants, learning, outcomes, and compliance using a relationship-centered approach that supports transparency, adaptability, and shared accountability.
• Advance community-informed grantmaking, convening, and program practices in collaboration with the Impact team.
• Partner with the Senior Program Officer focused on policy to align community engagement, narrative work, grantmaking, and policy strategies; share community learning and identify opportunities for coordinated action.
• Hold regular conversations with community partners to understand progress, challenges, emerging needs, and opportunities for collective action.
• Develop and sustain trusted relationships with leaders, organizers, storytellers, and communities most affected by inequity, using their knowledge to inform strategy and investment decisions.
• Research, design, and support narrative storytelling strategies that elevate community voice, shift public understanding, counter harmful narratives, and inspire participation and action.
• Track community conditions, democracy and civic participation trends, power dynamics, and funding gaps to identify opportunities for partnership and impact.
• Support grassroots organizations, collaborative funds, and public-private partnerships that strengthen civic infrastructure and community-led solutions.
• Develop accessible written and messaging products—including stories, briefs, blogs, and reports—that connect community experience to systems-change goals.
• Represent Seattle Foundation at community gatherings, neighborhood events, coalitions, and convenings, cultivating trust through consistent engagement.
• Develop and maintain relationships with grassroots and nonprofit organizations, cultural leaders, storytellers, advocates, funders, public-sector partners, and other stakeholders.
• Steward assigned government partnerships, coordinating relationships, agreements, deliverables, and learning in ways that advance community priorities and complement policy and systems-change work.
• Maintain accurate, current information about partnerships, community context, and points of contact in Foundation databases.
• Implement and manage strategic projects and initiatives, including program and contract management, partnership development, and research, using workplans, risk identification, stakeholder coordination, budget tracking, and progress reporting.
• Support execution of emerging Seattle Foundation projects and initiatives in collaboration with the team.
• Participate in team-wide communication, planning, and strategy development and implementation.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, life, AD&D, and LTD benefits.
• 403(b) retirement plan with a 5% match, increasing to 10% over time, with 100% immediate vesting.
• 15 days of accrued vacation annually.
• 10 days of accrued sick leave annually.
• 4 wellness days annually.
• 13 holidays annually.
• Annual remote work, learning, and commuter benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed