COMPANY OVERVIEW
Founded by Melinda French Gates, Pivotal is a group of organizations working to accelerate the pace of social progress for women and young people in the U.S. and around the world.
Inspired by our founder, we reach across communities and sectors to bring together innovative thinkers who can scale up proven ideas and catalyze new ones. We learn from their experiences, amplify their resources, and support them as they lead.
Pivotal includes Pivotal Philanthropies, focused on charitable grantmaking and impact investing; Pivotal Initiatives Fund, focused on policy and advocacy work; and Pivotal Ventures, focused on direct investments and partnerships.
SUMMARY
The Director, Program Strategy serves as a leader, strategist, and grant maker on the Program Strategy team. This role performs work on behalf of Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation and related 501(c)(3) entities ("Pivotal Philanthropies"). This individual is responsible for developing, executing, and managing strategies and grants aligned with impact goals. This role designs and implements strategies and strategic initiatives, structures grants, monitors progress, and adjusts course as needed to deploy capital at scale and advance impact goals. In addition to leading grantmaking, this position drives internal and external engagement to deepen understanding of the ecosystem and leverage partnerships and voice in service of impact. This role builds and maintains key relationships with partners, peer donors, and influential players in the field to source and cultivate new ideas, and coordinate opportunities, and ensure strategies remain innovative, relevant, and effective. This individual manages a small team and key consultants to advance the work.
ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Development & Execution
- Lead development and execution of strategies and philanthropic initiatives—including global work where applicable—in alignment with the impact roadmap.
- Drive and evolve strategies and strategic initiatives within purview to maximize impact, most effectively employing available tools (e.g., charitable capital, voice, partnerships).
Grantmaking & Grants Management
- Deploy charitable capital at scale using a variety of philanthropic approaches to increase impact.
- Identify, make, and manage a portfolio of grants in alignment with strategic objectives.
- Manage consistent check-ins with partners, sharing information and gathering updates across the grant portfolio.
- Track progress of grants individually and at the portfolio level, evaluating impact and course correcting where needed.
- Adapt to different grantmaking styles and modalities, applying standard methodologiesto fit context.
Budget & Resource Planning
- Support the Pivotal Philanthropies annual budget planning, including forecasting and alignment to impact goals.
- Oversee grant execution aligned with annual payout schedules, ensuring strategic and financial rigor.
Ecosystem Engagement
- Map and monitor the landscape of strategic area(s) within purview, including who other funders are, where there are opportunities for impact, and where there are gaps.
- Engage donors to cultivate new champions and increase the resources going toward partners and priorities.
- Find opportunities for partner collaboration, make connections to improve efficiency and impact, and convene partners when appropriate.
- Actively engage in the philanthropic community, building relationships and staying ahead of trends.
- Stay current on relevant trends and knowledge within the ecosystem.
Internal Coordination
- Regularly brief the Senior Director, Program Strategy to discuss key issues and ensure overall strategic alignment.
- Engage with the Vice President, Program Strategy and Program Strategy leaders on Pivotal Philanthropies portfolio developments, learning, and issues, making connections across the programmatic portfolio, as appropriate.
- Use measurement and evaluation frameworks to continuously track progress and support institutional and field-wide learning.
- Design and facilitate learning sessions for the Principal and provide updates on the strategy to the Principal and Executive Leadership Team, as appropriate.
- Share relevant, high-level updates with internal teams, including the program and communications teams.
- Advise Communications colleagues to set and drive strategies for program strategy communications objectives.
- Align with Legal to ensure tax compliance, process adherence, and risk mitigation.
- Draft materials to keep leadership informed, as appropriate, including summaries of relevant developments, programmatic overviews, and grant tracking documents.
- Lead budget and planning and implement grants according to annual payout schedules.
- Adapt approach to internal ways of working based on organizational needs and guidance.
- Manage data quality and integrity across the portfolio, ensuring consistent, effective, and strategic use of organizational systems of record (e.g. Salesforce) to maintain actionable data, streamline processes, and promote knowledge sharing.
Team Leadership & Management
- Oversee, train, and mentor direct report(s), providing direction through clear expectations and regularly conducting check-ins and providing performance feedback while supporting individual development.
- Interview, hire and onboard new team members.
- Provide flex capacity and juggle multiple priorities as programmatic needs evolve over time.
- Build and manage a lean team of staff and consultants to effectively advance the strategy.
- Model agility, adaptability, and care for team members.
- Bring curiosity and equity lens to strategy, grantmaking and relationships.
Teamwide Influence & Strategic Partnership
- Share insights about strategy development and grantmaking across the Program Strategy team to improve overall team performance and learning.
- Offer timely, humble feedback to others, contributing to a culture of transparency and shared accountability.
- Identify and support external opportunities for Pivotal Philanthropies leadership.
- Model intellectual rigor and mission focus, bringing perspective to the unique opportunity Pivotal Philanthropies has to advance social change in the United States.
CORE COMPETENCIES:
To perform this role successfully, individuals must demonstrate the skills and behaviors aligned with our Pivotal Principles that define what success looks like across all roles. These competencies reflect the expectations for how we work together, lead, grow, and deliver impact for all employees regardless of function or level.
Build and Maintain Trust
Act with integrity and foster an inclusive and collaborative work environment.
- Is Inclusive – Advance a culture of equity and belonging.
- Act with Integrity – Tell the truth, take responsibility for your actions, meet your commitments, and act ethically.
- Collaborate – Build trusting relationships and treat people with dignity and respect.
Drive Impact
Deliver high-quality work that is aligned with Pivotal Strategic Initiatives.
- Solve Problems – Identify issues and seek diverse perspectives to develop potential solutions.
- Propel Work Forward – Take initiative, prioritize work appropriately, and complete work on time.
- Center Stewardship – Use resources responsibly, consider and manage risk, and follow Pivotal policies and procedures.
Learn and Grow
Demonstrate a commitment to continuous individual and organizational development.
- Contribute Constructively – Participate in advancing individual, team, and organization-wide well-being and resilience.
- Occupy Growth-Mindset – Embrace challenges, learn from mistakes, and focus on improvement.
- Share Knowledge – Document work appropriately, assess outcomes, and share explicit and tacit learning.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Minimum 11-12 years of experience in philanthropy, communications, and/or social impact fields, or an equivalent combination of advanced training and experience.
- Minimum 6 years leading others, with demonstrated commitment to staff development and experience fostering equity and belonging within a team.
- Experience managing vendors.
- Experience and familiarity with current initiatives and network connections to leaders and organizations working to advance social progress in the U.S. and globally, across a range of programmatic portfolios.
- Familiarity with measurement and evaluation approaches in philanthropy, as well as knowledge of grantmaking standard methodologies.
- Proven ability to design effective strategies and strategic initiatives that advance impact goals.
- Ability to synthesize complex information and lead a project from conception to completion, engaging relevant partners throughout.
- Ability to remain objective and serve as an honest broker when synthesizing or presenting information, avoiding bias or over-interpretation.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including executive communications, content tailored to varied audiences and formats, negotiation experience, and track record of producing memos, strategy documents and presentations.
- Experience working with and on behalf of a senior leader.
- Ability to learn and adopt data systems (e.g. Salesforce).
- Proficiency using Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and SharePoint).
- Fluency in use of systems necessary to role (e.g., Salesforce, Workday).
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Knowledge of ecosystem, stakeholders, and emerging trends in artificial intelligence and their implications for women’s leadership and economic power.
The annual base compensation range for this role is $252,100-$261,600. This position is based in Pivotal's Seattle, WA or Washington, D.C. office.
Benefits for full-time employees currently include medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and long-term care insurance, fertility benefit, caregiving support, 144 hours of vacation, 96 hours of sick leave, 401k, HSA, FSA, an opportunity to earn a discretionary annual target performance bonus and more. Eligibility for and the amount of benefits provided are governed by the terms of the applicable plan documents.
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time, in Pivotal’s discretion, with or without notice.
Pivotal values diversity and is strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all employees and all applicants seeking employment. All employment decisions at Pivotal are based on the candidate’s or employee’s capabilities and qualifications without regard to race (including traits associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles such as afros, braids, locks, and twists), color, creed, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship or immigration status, caste, veteran or military status, marital, parental, or familial status, disability (including sensory, physical, or mental disability), medical condition, genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, domestic violence victim status, political ideology, or any other status or characteristic protected by applicable law.
Pivotal complies with federal, state, and local equal opportunity and disability laws and makes reasonable accommodation consistent with those laws for applicants and employees with disabilities. Please contact [email protected] for assistance and/or reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process.
Applications may be submitted via the Pivotal Careers page.
Top Skills
What We Do
Founded by Melinda French Gates, Pivotal Ventures accelerates social progress in the United States by removing barriers that hold people back.
Pivotal Ventures expands opportunity and accelerates equality in the United States through high-impact investments, partnerships, and advocacy. We focus on areas where social progress has stalled—and where we can have the biggest impact.
Like Melinda, we’re clear-eyed about the stubborn problems our country faces. But we also see those problems as potential turning points in our nation’s story. Our impatience with the status quo is fueled by an optimism that progress is always possible—especially when we seize the moment together.
We do not review or return unsolicited requests for funding or other types of support.
For media inquiries, please reach out to [email protected]
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