Program Specialist

Program Specialist Northwest Minnesota Foundation, Bemidji, MN

The Northwest Minnesota Foundation (NMF) is one of the six Minnesota Initiative Foundations (MIFs) established by the McKnight Foundation in 1986 to assist Minnesota's rural regions during the farm crisis in the 1980s. As the region's MIF and the only community foundation in the region, NMF has been serving the vast nonprofit community in northwest Minnesota for more than 30 years.

NMF provides grants and loans to organizations and small businesses and scholarships to individuals within the 12-county region and the two tribal nations. Since its founding, NMF has invested millions to help make the region a better place to live and work.

The Program Specialist plays a dynamic, and highly collaborative support role within the Programs Division. This position contributes to meaningful regional work every day—helping communities access resources, supporting projects that strengthen northwest Minnesota, and amplifying program impact through thoughtful communication and data practices. The Program Specialist organizes, coordinates, communicates, and supports a variety of Foundation initiatives and program activities. This position helps keep projects moving forward, maintains strong organizational systems, and ensures programs, partners, and staff remain well supported and connected.

• Assist and support implementation of program activities, projects, and initiatives across assigned program areas.
• Assist Program Officers and Program Managers with planning, scheduling, tracking deliverables, and maintaining project timelines.
• Coordinate follow-up activities to ensure projects remain organized, documented, and progressing toward established timelines.

• Assist with coordination of logistics for meetings, trainings, convenings, and community engagement activities.
• Prepare meeting materials, support virtual and in-person event administration, document meeting outcomes, and assist with follow-up activities and task tracking

• Serve as a professional and welcoming point of contact for community members, partners, advisory groups, vendors, consultants, and other stakeholders.
• Respond to inquiries, provide information and referrals, and help connect partners with appropriate Foundation resources and opportunities.

• Support program communications, outreach, and engagement efforts through maintenance of contact lists, preparation of communication materials, coordination of mailings, and assistance with surveys, events, and outreach campaigns.
• Assist with creation, editing, and distribution of program and partner communications

• Maintain accurate program records, files, databases, and documentation in accordance with Foundation policies and funding requirements.
• Assist with data collection, reporting, survey administration, record retention, and quality assurance activities.
• Compile and maintain routine reports, tracking tools, and program data to support program management and decision-making.

• Assist with administrative processes related to grants, contracts, consultant agreements, invoices, reimbursements, and other program transactions.
• Support documentation collection, routing, approvals, and record maintenance to ensure compliance with Foundation procedures and funding requirements.

• Contribute to Foundation-wide operations through shared administrative responsibilities, including reception coverage, mail processing, phone support, and other organizational support activities as assigned.
• Responsibilities may vary based on assigned program area, organizational priorities, and Foundation initiatives. The Program Specialist is expected to adapt to changing needs and contribute to a wide range of programmatic, administrative, communication, and operational activities.
• Provide administrative support to the Community Health & Wellness Senior Program Manager, including scheduling assistance, calendar coordination, meeting preparation,…