Program Officer – American Program; KF

Posted on February 26, 2020

The Kresge Foundation is one of the top 20 private foundations in the United States and the only one focused exclusively on expanding opportunities for people with low income in American Cities. With a $3.8 billion endowment and a staff of over 100 employees, the foundation deploys grants and social investments across arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services and community development.

The foundation’s state-of-the-art headquarters maintains an array of energy-efficient, water-conserving and health-promoting systems. The foundation also operates an office in Detroit’s Midtown district.

The American Cities Program Officer will be responsible for the creation and implementation of a program strategy that builds upon the foundation’s national and on-the-ground experience in Detroit to strengthen the social, economic, cultural and physical fabric of other cities. The Program Officer will be a member of the foundation’s American Cities Program team under the Place-Based Practice, a dynamic, multi-disciplinary team working proactively to advance real progress in the resurgence and revitalization of cities across America.

The Program Officer will manage and evaluate a portion of the program’s portfolio of grants, represent the American Cities team and the Kresge Foundation at public forums, collaborate with partners at national and local-levels, design and implement grantmaking initiatives and lead select bodies of work associated with the program’s strategic priorities:

• Fostering cross-city exchange of knowledge between community development practitioners through research, publications, and convenings;
• Seeding and scaling innovative approaches to community development by funding and supporting national multi-city initiatives; and
• Stewarding the foundation’s place-based grantmaking in Memphis, New Orleans, Fresno and a growing number of other cities.

The work is rooted in the goal of decreasing poverty and increasing social and economic mobility in American cities, recognizing the racial, cultural and social context of systemic inequities in our society.

The Program Officer will report to the Managing Director and work in close partnership with other members of the Place-Based Practice, other Program teams, as well as with the foundation’s Program Operations and Information Management team, Communications team and Social Investment Practice.

This position is based in metropolitan Detroit.

Creates and Executes Strategy

• Contributes to the program’s strategy development, including strategies related to national community development and place-based work.
• Shares collective responsibility for achieving strategic objectives in cities.
• Manages creation of strategy documents such as board materials, board advisory committee materials, and working group materials.
• Obtains, maintains, and shares knowledge of the most current, effective and equitable strategies in the urban development field - acting as a subject matter advisor externally and with internal teams.

Project and Program Management

• Oversees portions of the program’s convening, research, and knowledge exchange related to equitable development and inclusive growth.
• Manages the Program’s place-based work in select cities including:
  • Managing relationships with key national and local partners– advising, managing and supporting their work.
  • Developing strategic objectives and associated work plans.
  • Facilitating meetings.
  • Maintaining and supporting internal collaboration through meetings, site visits and ongoing information exchange.
• Managing external requests for proposals and open calls for grant applications including RFP development, publication, review and communications.

Conducts Grant Reviews and Serves as Point of Contact for Grantees

• Manages a portfolio of select grants across national community development, multi-city initiatives and place-based work in cities.
• Performs end-to-end grant review responsibilities for a combination of sourced and unsolicited applications.

Develops knowledge and supports the team’s…