Position:
Program Officer, Restorative Economies Fund
Location:
San Francisco Bay Area with a remote model
Website:
Job Category:
Application Deadline:
Monday, August 4, 2025
About the Role
The Program Officer (PO) of the Restorative Economies Fund (REF) is a key programmatic leader and thoughtful and engaged contributor to the Kataly team, focused on the Foundation’s mission to promote social justice and racial equity in communities most impacted by injustice. In summary, alongside the REF Team members the PO is responsible for intentional grantee relationship management. The PO will partner with the current Program Officer in serving as co-leads and points of contact for the REF grant program. The PO will facilitate all aspects of the REF grantmaking program in coordination with the REF team, specifically the peer Program Officer. The incoming and current Program Officers will work together to develop and refine procedures, methods, and workflow, assessing potential partners, engaging in issues exploration, participating in community events, and fostering community and grantee relations. The PO supports Kataly’s capacity-building efforts in partnership with the Capacity Building team and contributes to communication strategies under the direction of the CEO, Managing Director of Programs (MDP), and Director of Communications.
The PO deeply understands and is committed to Kataly's values and mission. The PO has strong knowledge of the Foundation’s internal processes and is the grantee’s point of contact for communicating Kataly’s grantmaking cycles, processes, and how Kataly’s position as a spend-out foundation impacts our grantmaking. Reporting to the Managing Director (MDP) of Programs, the PO has relevant lived and movement-building experience within the just transition and solidarity economy movements in the United States and an understanding of philanthropic practices.
The Foundation is constantly searching for innovative, progressive, and improved operating methods to adapt to the evolving needs of our staff, grantees, and community partners. Every employee must adapt quickly to pivots and be open and flexible about taking on and learning new and different duties, some of which may not traditionally be part of the job you otherwise perform.
Key Responsibilities
- With the support of the PO, research, assess, and recommend grantees for approval for funding three times a year in accordance with grant periods established by Grants Management
- Support the development of the agenda and clarify processes for REF team meetings alongside the REF Integrated Capital Officer and Program Officer
- Strategies for sharing knowledge, both internally and externally
- Grantmaking planning, budgeting, and strategy, in collaboration with the Program Officer, REF
- Collaborate with the Program Officer to manage, and facilitate procedures, methods, and workflow processes within the REF team
- Collaborate with the Program Officer to track and assess materially changing conditions at the grassroots level in response to urgent needs from our grantee partners
- Maintain strong, mutually respectful relationships with grantee partners through every point of contact, including responding to inquiries, conducting site visits, evaluating and recommending grants, processing awards and payments, managing payment schedules, and closing out grants
- Provide regular updates on grantees' work and developments in the field, and lead organizational learning around key questions grantees are addressing
- Alongside REF’s PO, manage grantmaking planning, budgeting, and strategy for the REF team
- Alongside REF’s PO, manage REF’s rapid response budget
- Alongside REF’s PO, manage REF’s sponsorship budget
- Alongside the REF team, approve individual grants in alignment with the REF framework and budget allocations
- Conduct research, analysis, writing, and other forms for documentation and material preparation to support REF and Kataly's program needs
- Alongside the PO, serve as a connector for grantee partners—with and among each other—where it is supportive of their work. Connect grantee partners with opportunities to amplify their work with potential funders and donors and increase their access to philanthropic spaces
- Support the PO in gathering, analyzing, and monitoring data points that will inform impacts, gaps, and challenges in the program’s strategy
- Coordinate with the REF PO to co-lead as the points of contact for the REF Grants Program to promote the maximum impact of projects and ensure grants are meeting strategy goals
- Provide support and direction in the use of the Foundation’s voice, actions or policies which align with the Foundation’s approach to philanthropy
- Engage in ongoing communications with the REF PO, REF MD and MDP, keeping them informed about program needs, challenges and successes, strategic development, shared learning opportunities, grants, grantee accomplishments, etc.
- Coordinate with the REF PO to produce qualitative and quantitative narrative reports on REF grantmaking and strategy
- Contribute to Kataly’s communications efforts as requested, including but not limited to writing blog posts, articles, public speaking at conferences and events, and providing REF related information as needed for Kataly communications and other foundation objectives.
- Partner with members of the REF Team and the Director of Communications to develop a process and method for capturing and documenting grantee stories as narrative data to be shared through various communication channels
- Respond to communications and internal/external requests, and assist others in responding to requests as needed
- In collaboration with Kataly's Capacity Building Team, work with grantee partners and the REF Team to identify, prioritize, and address key capacity-building needs of grantee partners and across the ecosystem.
- Work with the Capacity Building and the Grants Management teams to create strategies to facilitate shared learning between grantees
- Work closely with the REF Team to identify strategies to engage other funders across a range of issue areas to introduce them to the work and strategies of our grantee partners, the REF program, and Kataly's vision and goals and supporting peer funder efforts to increase resourcing power building, collective healing, and the solidarity economy ecosystem.
- Co-design the annual evaluation of REF’s grantmaking and spend-out planning, in collaboration with the PO and MDP
- Participate in organizational learning around key questions grantees are addressing.
Qualifications
- Experienced in Solidarity Economy. Comprehensive understanding of restorative economics, just transition and the solidarity economy movement. You hold awareness of the history and current state of the field of solidarity economy work. You understand both the opportunities and necessity of this work, while remaining clear of the gaps and needs to bolster this ecosystem of work, and the role that philanthropy should play in how this work is resourced and supported. You intimately understand how the solidarity economy is an intersectional approach to systems transformation towards justice and collective liberation that builds upon the power building work of social movements, both current and past.
- Program Awareness. You have comprehensive knowledge of the relevant issues in your program area, including historical context, current landscape, key challenges, and strategies for change. This includes a deep understanding and knowledge of the relevant partners, modes of funding, technical challenges, and politics. You have a long-term view towards social and civic change work.
- Movement-Centered Justice Expert. You have a strong racial, economic, and social justice assessment through race, class, gender and power analysis. This includes an understanding of movement and power building strategy, and a solid conception of the organizing landscape in your field of expertise. You have personal experience with and/or genuine empathy with the issues confronting the communities Kataly works with.
- Understanding of Social Change Nonprofit and Philanthropic Landscape. You have familiarity with the nonprofit sector and philanthropic practices, including grantmaking processes, nonprofit governance, and financial management. You understand policy development, advocacy strategies, and the role of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector in influencing public policy for systems change.
- Centering Grantees. Your approach to grantmaking centers the power and wisdom of grantees and the communities they serve. Your grantmaking practice is grounded in trust, transparency, and equity, prioritizing long-term, flexible funding, and minimizing the time and effort we ask of our grantee partners. You possess a strong emotional intelligence and maturity, demonstrated humility and an orientation towards listening, especially to Black and Indigenous people, and all communities of color.
- Planning. You are a proven strategic thinker with experience developing evidence-based tactical or operational plans and shaping and managing sustainable and scalable ventures. You have supported organizations in times of instability and emergence, whether internal or external.
