Senior Program Officer, Education, Walton Personal Philanthropy Group; WPPG

Senior Program Officer, Education, Walton Personal Philanthropy Group (WPPG) Organization Overview

The Walton Personal Philanthropy Group (WPPG) provides services to the family of Sam and Helen Walton to support their individual philanthropic activities. These services for the family and their related entities include program and grant management, strategy consulting and grant administration. WPPG is a part of Walton Enterprises, the family office of the Walton family.

Walton Enterprises is seeking a skilled, highly motivated and entrepreneurial individual to join the team as a Senior Program Officer for K-12 Education in Missouri with the Walton Personal Philanthropy Group. The ideal teammate will have a strong background and commitment to effective strategic philanthropy, utilizing performance measurement and evaluation to drive impact, adapt grantmaking approaches, and achieve educational excellence for students in Missouri.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

We believe every associate should have access to success. Creating an environment centered on trust, respect, and bringing people together is critical to this belief.

Our aspirations are as follows:

Create an environment where we hire, retain and bring to the table people with diverse backgrounds, viewpoints and lived experiences to create a more successful organization.

Ensure fairness, equity and access to success for all of our associates.

Create an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, safe, able to engage honestly.

This position requires deep knowledge of the K-12 education landscape, an awareness of and commitment to education reform policies and principles (charter schools and choice, accountability, transparency, HQIM, and data), an understanding of effective instructional reforms, experience with policy implementation, and the ability to identify and support innovative solutions.

A core component of this role is a commitment to effective strategic philanthropy, utilizing performance measurement and evaluation to drive impact, adapt grantmaking approaches, and achieve educational excellence for students in Missouri.

The ideal teammate will have a strong background in each of these domains as well as demonstrated grantmaking experience in the context of strategic philanthropy.

You will provide expert services related to K-12 education philanthropy for the Director and senior leadership. This includes developing and managing a portfolio of grants, fostering strategic partnerships, conducting rigorous due diligence on current and prospective partnerships, and evaluating the impact of investments—including those focused on policy, research, instructional quality, teaching, and leadership—to inform future strategies.

• Grant Development and Monitoring:
  Conduct due diligence on organizations, their leadership, and capacity.
• Work in partnership with prospective grantees to establish grant terms, expectations, and clear performance metrics.
• Conduct site visits.
• Monitor ongoing operations (including the implementation of instructional reforms or policy initiatives), review financial and narrative reports, and ensure timely payments.
• Implementation of Strategy:
  Implement newly approved philanthropic strategy in K-12 education in the context of Missouri’s opportunities and needs in coordination with the Director, ensuring a balanced approach to various reform approaches.
• Major and Existing Partners:
  Develop and manage major grant partnerships within the K-12 education portfolio, incorporating robust evaluation and evidence to guide grantmaking adjustments and strategy.
• New Partnerships:
  Identify and cultivate new partnerships with grantees, funders, and public stakeholders in line with the program’s strategic priorities.
• Grantmaking Best Practices:
  Understand and implement best practices in K-12 education grantmaking, drawing on direct experience and lessons from the philanthropic field.
• External Supports:
  As needed, source and manage outside consultants specializing in charter school supports, instructional quality, teacher and leader needs, and effective governance: solicit proposals, develop work plans, oversee contracts, and ensure high-quality deliverables.
• Internal Coordination:
  Effectively manage workflow and processes through clear communication with team members and the Director in a way that is simple and effective. Collaborate with departments across Walton Enterprises.
• External Coordination:
  Coordinate with state and local policy leaders, funders, and organizations where appropriate to advance strategic objectives and support effective policy implementation.
• Commitment to Evaluation:
  Assess the success of K-12 education grants and their impact, applying a strong lens of performance measurement across all reform types, and continuously learn from/improve work based on research, grant results, and engagement with experts in education reform, instructional improvement, and policy.
• Public…