Program Officer

Job Title:

Program Officer

Location:

Jackson, MS

Reports to:

Chief Strategy Officer

Classification:
Full-Time (Exempt)

Supervisory Function:
No

Geographic Focus:
Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, with a particular emphasis on the Mississippi Delta

The Foundation for the Mid South (FMS) seeks a dynamic, relationship-driven Program Officer to support the Foundation’s programmatic and strategic work across Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Reporting to the Chief Strategy Officer, the Program Officer will help implement, manage, and evaluate programs, grantmaking activities, partnerships, and community-based initiatives that advance FMS’s mission and strategic priorities. The ideal candidate will have strong knowledge of and experience working in the Mississippi Delta, including an understanding of its communities, organizations, opportunities, and challenges.

The Program Officer will build and maintain relationships with nonprofit organizations, community leaders, philanthropic partners, public-sector partners, and other stakeholders while ensuring that community perspectives help inform the Foundation’s strategies and investments. The successful candidate will be a strong relationship builder who can translate strategy into action, independently manage multiple initiatives and grant portfolios, and identify emerging needs and opportunities.

• Work closely with the Chief Strategy Officer to implement the Foundation’s strategic and programmatic priorities across Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

• Own assigned programs, initiatives, grants, and special projects from strategy through execution, including planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and closeout, ensuring that milestones, deliverables, budgets, partner commitments, and expected outcomes are completed accurately and on time.
• Translate strategic priorities into annual, quarterly, and project-level work plans with clear goals, timelines, deliverables, responsibilities, performance measures, and reporting requirements.
• Proactively identify delays, risks, performance issues, and barriers to implementation and recommend corrective action before milestones or commitments are missed.
• Provide timely updates and actionable recommendations to the Chief Strategy Officer regarding program performance, risks, challenges, opportunities, community trends, and decisions requiring leadership attention.
• Identify emerging issues, community needs, gaps, promising practices, potential partners, and opportunities for philanthropic investment through research, landscape scans, and community engagement.

• Manage assigned grant portfolios throughout the full grant lifecycle, including due diligence, recommendations, award administration, monitoring, reporting, grantee support, and closeout.
• Review grant proposals, organizational information, project budgets, and other materials to assess alignment, feasibility, organizational capacity, and potential impact.
• Monitor grant agreements, budgets, reporting requirements, deliverables, and performance, proactively identifying concerns and elevating significant issues to Foundation leadership.
• Conduct regular grantee check-ins and site visits, as appropriate, to understand progress, challenges, capacity needs, and emerging opportunities.
• Maintain complete, accurate, and current grant and program records, including agreements, reports, budgets, meeting documentation, deliverables, and closeout materials.
• Provide technical guidance and support to grantees while maintaining clear expectations, accountability, and appropriate professional boundaries.

• Develop and maintain a…