Vice President, Strategic Learning & Impact

The Rockefeller Foundation•New York, NY

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Strategic Learning & Impact (SL&I) team advances The Rockefeller Foundation's mission by helping ensure that its work has meaningful, measurable, credible impact. SL&I partners with program teams, leadership, grantees, and other internal and external stakeholders to ensure that impact is well defined and measurable, generate impact data and evidence, and tell a credible impact story. The Vice President, Strategic Learning & Impact, leads the Foundation's enterprise-wide approach to impact, measurement, and evaluation (M&E). As a senior leader and trusted advisor, the Vice President shapes how the Foundation develops, measures, and adapts its work to maximize impact and advance its mission. The role provides strategic counsel to executive leadership and the Program Leadership Team, ensuring that evidence and insights inform decision-making across the Foundation. The Vice President oversees a team of strategic learning professionals and external partners, establishes best-in-class learning and measurement practices, and strengthens the Foundation's brand and reputation as a credible, data-driven organization.

Requirements

Generally expected to have 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in strategy, learning, evaluation, impact measurement, program design, or related disciplines.
Bachelor's required and advanced degree in public policy, international development, public health, social sciences, management, evaluation, or related field strongly preferred.
Extensive experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives and teams within global or multinational environments.
Deep technical knowledge of impact measurement practices and methods – both established best practices and emerging approaches in the field.
Experience advising senior executives and organizational leaders on strategic and operational decisions.
Demonstrated experience designing and overseeing measurement, evaluation, and learning frameworks that drive organizational impact.
Exceptional communication, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
Competencies: Action Oriented, Collaborates, Manages Complexity, Nimble Learning, Strategic Mindset, Develops Talent.

Nice To Haves

Experience working across philanthropic, public, and private sectors is strongly preferred.
Experience working with global partners across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America is preferred.
Extensive relevant networks and contacts to leverage in support of the Foundation’s work.

Responsibilities

Establish and lead the Foundation's vision, strategy, and operating model for strategic learning, impact measurement, and evaluation, setting and upholding institutional standards and practices that align with global best-in-class methodologies and yet are fit-for-purpose for the Foundation’s Big Bet model of philanthropy.
Serve as a strategic advisor to executive leadership on matters related to impact, including how the foundation defines and measures the efficiency, effectiveness, value, and impact of its major investments.
Shape institutional practices that integrate relevant impact-related considerations into decision-making processes.
Collaborate closely with the Business Insights, Strategic Communications, and Organizational Development and Learning teams to ensure alignment, clear delineation, and synergy.
Lead the development of enterprise-level reporting on impact, outcomes, and evaluation- contribute significant data, evidence, and thought leadership to the production of our annual impact report.
Build systems, processes, tools, and forums that enable knowledge sharing, reflection, and evidence-based adaptation- including the twice-yearly strategic dialogues.
Guide program teams in designing theories of change, impact pathways, surfacing impact-related risks, and ensuring the integrity of charitability claims.
Enable priority program and non-program teams to generate evidence about what is and isn’t working to support refinement and adaptation of strategies that achieve measurable and lasting impact.
Direct the design, procurement, and management of external evaluation and learning partnerships.
Promote the effective use of data and insights to improve program design and execution.
Generate and quality-assure evidence, data, and impact stories to elevate how the Foundation tells its impact story.
Strengthen the Foundation's reputation as a data-driven organization and a leader in strategic learning, evaluation, and impact measurement, and adaptive philanthropy.
Ensure that the Foundation’s impact claims are credible, defensible, and can withstand external scrutiny.
Contribute thought leadership through publications, convenings, presentations, and strategic partnerships.
Represent the Foundation with peer institutions, funders, evaluators, researchers, and other strategic partners, and expand its network.
Lead and develop a high-performing Strategic Learning & Impact team, fostering inclusion, collaboration, innovation, and accountability.
Provide strategic direction, coaching, and mentorship to directors and senior staff.
Establish team goals, priorities, and performance expectations aligned with Foundation objectives.
Steward departmental resources and external investments to achieve strategic and operational objectives.