Communications Program Officer, Media Partnerships

About The Foundation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), located in Princeton, N.J., is a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime. To get there, we must work to dismantle structural racism and other barriers to health. Since 1972, we have focused on developing and promoting innovations in health and healthcare to improve the lives of millions.

Through funding, convening, advocacy, and evidence-building, we work side-by-side with communities, practitioners, and institutions to achieve health equity faster and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.

Reporting to the director, Communications Grantmaking, the communications program officer (PO), Media Partnerships is responsible for the development, implementation and management of initiatives that advance the Foundation’s strategic goals. The PO will synthesize information, build relationships with external partners, and apply equity principles to ensure equitable grantmaking processes. They will collaborate with various departments including Research, Evaluation and Learning, Communications, Policy, New Jersey, Law, and Finance to assess the impact of grantmaking and contribute to strategic and operational improvements.

RWJF has redesigned its Communications Department around three integrated teams:
Voice Strategy sets direction, the Communications Studio brings that strategy to life, and Operations provides the infrastructure that enables the work. The PO role sits within the Voice Strategy team.

As with staff at all levels of RWJF, the communications program officer is expected to demonstrate a passionate commitment to equity and to the Foundation’s mission and Guiding Principles.

RWJF is an institution in transformation. We are redefining our long-term outcomes with communities at the center and reexamining foundational questions about how and where we work.

Successful candidates will bring a track record of navigating organizations under transformation: creating clarity while new structures settle, earning trust across teams absorbing change, holding standards when the ground is shifting, and helping institutions tell the truth about themselves as they pursue their mission with confidence.

• Embed equity into communications grantmaking by ensuring investments reflect RWJF’s health equity priorities, elevate field-informed perspectives, and reach audiences across diverse contexts.
• Build and strengthen a network of grantees and partners that enables coordinated messaging, shared priorities, and amplification of field-driven narratives aligned to RWJF’s goals.
• Shape and deploy communications investments by identifying and prioritizing opportunities that advance Voice Strategy, strengthen RWJF’s role in the field, and activate external partners as credible messengers to influence priority audiences.
• Steward grantmaking decisions with discipline by developing clear recommendations, surfacing tradeoffs, and ensuring alignment to communications priorities before execution.
• Advance learning by synthesizing grant progress, field insights, and partner input to inform future communications investments and improve impact over time.
• Represent the Foundation publicly and participate in grantee meetings.
• Lead committees and work groups to achieve team objectives.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Commitment to racial and health equity and to the Foundation’s vision, values, and Guiding Principles.
• Strategic Grantmaking Judgment:
  Shapes communications grant opportunities with a clear understanding of Foundation priorities, field dynamics, equity implications, and the distinct…