Portfolio Analyst

ABOUT THE ROLE:
Strategic Capital is the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation’s grantmaking function. We fund nonprofits and civil society organizations using data science and AI to advance social good.

Portfolio Analysts help ensure that philanthropic resources are allocated effectively and with impact. They conduct research and analysis to identify and evaluate high-potential grant partners, perform due diligence through desk research, interviews, and financial reviews, and prepare materials to support final grant decisions. Analysts also monitor trends across the data and AI for good ecosystem, distill insights from existing grants, and contribute to learning that informs future investments.
This position reports to the Director of Strategic Capital and offers an opportunity to shape how PJMF deploys capital to accelerate responsible and equitable technology solutions worldwide.

• Strategy Development

  • Develop and maintain a working understanding of PJMF’s grantmaking focus areas and the role of data and AI solutions within them.

  • Complete field sensing and landscape analyses that help PJMF stay abreast of new developments, opportunities, and shifts in the fields of AI and data science, and how they can be applied to drive social good.

  • Produce portfolio strategy retrospectives that synthesize outcomes, lessons, and directional insights from grant activity to inform future priorities.

  • Support the generation, validation, and refinement of strategic hypotheses and learning questions that guide PJMF’s philanthropic investments and deepen understanding of the field.

• Grant Portfolio Development

  • Conduct research and outreach, and lead early-stage conversations, to identify nonprofit and civil society organizations whose work aligns with PJMF’s strategy and may be a fit for grant funding.

  • Prepare clear, evidence-based recommendation materials to support funding decisions.

  • Identify opportunities for collaboration and shared learning across grantees, portfolios, and adjacent fields to enhance collective impact.

• Team Collaboration

  • Provide flexible, project-based support as we build systems and team practices that enable effective, efficient, and high-impact grantmaking.

  • Summarize learnings from grant reports and external sources into insights that contribute to the Foundation’s broader work in convening and thought leadership.

• Experience. 3+ years of relevant work experience in a role requiring rapid learning and sound judgment, such as consulting, business analysis, strategy, or investing. Comfort with data and AI topics is a plus, but curiosity and the ability to get up to speed quickly matter more than any specific sector background.

• Fast and Nimble Learner. Prepares thoroughly for conversations and brings enough fluency to ask sharp questions without needing to be a subject-matter expert.

• AI Fluency. Uses AI tools regularly to accelerate research, analysis, and synthesis, and brings sound judgment about when to trust, verify, or set aside their outputs. Understands the basics of how these systems work well enough to engage credibly with grantees building or deploying AI.

• Team-oriented Independence. Pair an ability and desire to work independently with a willingness to check in with leadership and/or teammates on a variable cadence depending on the specifics of a project and its context.

• Clear Synthesis and Communication. Critically assess how an opportunity aligns with organizational strategy and turns that analysis into a clear, well-reasoned recommendation that identifies open questions and areas for further learning. Communicate outputs from research, analysis, and other activities in a clear, concise, and structured manner.

• Relationship Management. Be a thoughtful,…