Senior Program Officer - Support Learner Success

Are you a visionary strategic thinker, an exceptional communicator, and a masterful relationship builder? Do you excel in project management and thrive in a dynamic, goal-oriented team environment? Are you passionate about empowering learners to navigate and succeed in postsecondary education?

We're seeking a Senior Program Officer to serve as a lead strategy execution officer within one of Ascendium's three core philanthropic strategy teams.

• Expand Opportunity: Create more options for learners to engage in postsecondary education or workforce training that provides a path to living-wage employment in high-growth, high-demand fields.
• Support Learner Success: Strengthen systems of academic and non-academic support and redesign structures to help learners navigate and succeed in postsecondary education and workforce training.
• Connect and Align Systems: Connect and align systems to ensure all learning counts towards credentials with labor market value and that learners do not experience dead ends.

You will serve on the Support Learner Success strategy team. Reporting to a Deputy Director, the Senior Program Officer works in partnership with their strategy team to advance grantmaking goals through the careful design, management, and review of one or more strategic portfolios. Senior Program Officers are expected to implement sophisticated philanthropic practices, including rigorous analysis of grant concepts and proposals and assembling coherent sets of grants that collectively advance a strong theory of change aimed at, and contributing new knowledge about, what it takes to scale promising reforms to benefit learners from low-income backgrounds. Senior Program Officers are expected to develop and execute proactive initiatives aligned to strategic goals, including leading the design of creative and impactful grantmaking activities (e.g., RFPs, communities of practice).

The Senior Program Officer works in collaboration with the Senior Learning and Impact Officer to identify strategic learning needs, develop and monitor learning agendas connected to strategic portfolios, distill insights from grant investments, and further refine the grantmaking strategy and its effectiveness. In addition to managing active grants and initiatives, the Senior Program Officer builds their own expertise in the subject areas relevant to their grantmaking. The Senior Program Officer also provides field leadership, including providing significant thought partnership; facilitating connections among grantees, partner organizations, and peer funders; hosting/facilitating conference sessions and strategic convenings; engaging in aligned funder networks and professional associations; and writing thought pieces to share Ascendium's learning and perspective with key audiences.

On a day-to-day basis, you may do the following.

• Work with the Deputy Director and colleagues on the Support Learner Success strategy team to ensure grantmaking activity is effective and aligns with Ascendium's strategy and approach.
• Lead the design, execution, and annual review of one or more strategic portfolios that align with the Support Learner Success strategy.
• Play a significant role in the development of other grantmaking priorities, ensuring that key learning questions are articulated that help further refine and focus the strategy.
• Work across the lifecycle of grant funding, including developing portfolio objectives, sourcing ideas and partners, assessing strategic alignment in response to ideas that emerge from the field, shepherding applicants through the grant proposal process, developing appropriate reporting and payment structures, drafting succinct, clear, and analytic New Funding Proposals for the board of directors' review, and carefully reviewing interim and final reports to garner insights and ensure effective grant implementation.
• Collaborate with other Senior Program Officers, Program Officers, and/or Associate Program Officers to meet grantmaking goals within strategic portfolios and other priorities.
• In partnership with the Senior Learning and Impact Officer, further develop and execute Ascendium's approach to learning from our grantmaking with well-articulated theories of change and explicit learning agendas.
• Serve as a mentor to Program Officers and Associate Program Officers as assigned by the Deputy Director.
• Provide support to grantees by facilitating connections with peer organizations and other funders and help to elevate and amplify project outcomes through Ascendium's strategic communications channels.
• Provide strategic support to grantees through thought partnership, sharing best practices, and connecting grantees to other resources necessary to help them succeed.
• Lead planning and execution of Ascendium-led convenings and other events in support of strategic goals.
• Coordinate as appropriate with the Senior Program Officer for Strategic Engagement and Ascendium's Strategic Communications team around messaging and field engagement.
• Collaborate with the Deputy Director of Education Grantmaking to establish priorities for administrative budget planning.
• Develop relationships and partnerships with national and regional funders that support the successful execution of the strategy (e.g., co-funding efforts with peers).
• Represent Ascendium through presentations at national and regional conferences as well as engagement in networks, field working groups, and committees.
• Other related duties as assigned.

A highly qualified candidate will possess the following.

• Knowledge equivalent to a master's degree in education, philanthropy, social sciences, social work, community development, economics, business, or a related field.
• Seven or more years of experience in postsecondary education; workforce training; workforce development; philanthropy; nonprofit organizations; or local, state, or federal government.
• Experience working in a postsecondary education institution or state/system office focused on advancing student success is preferred.
• Demonstrated commitment to Ascendium's mission of advancing opportunity for learners from low-income backgrounds across the U.S.
• A track record of leading initiatives, strategic projects, or complex programs with multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to work cooperatively and inclusively with others to achieve shared goals.
• Effective interpersonal skills exemplified by initiative, authenticity, courtesy, diplomacy, positive attitude, and professionalism.
• Ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships with and among a diverse group of stakeholders.
• Curiosity and a desire to be a continuous learner, building individual and team capacity for deepening Ascendium's impact as a funder.
• Comfort with ambiguity and the ability to adapt to a fast-paced, continually evolving work environment.
• Strong project management skills with demonstrated ability to execute and follow through to achieve intended results by honoring commitments, prioritizing work, and managing time and resources well.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Ascendium is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has helped millions of learners pursue postsecondary education since 1967, when we were formed to help fulfill the promise of the landmark Higher Education Act of 1965. Over the years, we've grown to become the nation's largest federal student loan guarantor, providing information, tools, and counseling to help millions of borrowers nationwide avoid default and keep the door to reenrollment open. Using our years of experience in the student loan industry, we've developed a suite of products and services that support academic achievement, financial wellness, and student loan repayment success.

We use the net proceeds from our business operations to fund our education philanthropy. Our strategic grantmaking provides funding to organizations that increase the number of low-income learners who succeed in postsecondary education and workforce training as critical pathway to upward mobility, regardless of economic background, race, rurality, or history of incarceration, or other factors. Through grantmaking and related investments in evidence-building and strategic field engagement, we seek to identify emerging innovations and reforms, validate their effectiveness, and expand proven strategies to promote large-scale, systemic change.

This position will initially be posted as requiring residence in or relocation to Madison, Wisconsin, where Ascendium Education Group is headquartered. Madison-based employees have a hybrid schedule, working three days in the office and two days remotely, which provides the opportunity for valuable in-person collaboration. However, a remote hire may be considered if no qualified Madison-based candidates can be identified. Approximately half of the Education Philanthropy team works remotely from locations across the U.S. Not all locations are eligible for remote hire; eligibility depends on local and state tax and employment laws. Qualified candidates who are not based in Madison or able to relocate may apply and indicate as such but should be aware that preference will be given to Madison residency.

This position should anticipate traveling six to ten times per year to professional conferences, grantee events, site visits, home weeks to Madison, Wisconsin, and other mission-aligned convenings.

The salary range for this position is $115,000 to $130,000.

Ascendium offers an outstanding benefits package designed to provide employees and their families with a high degree of security. These benefits include, but are not limited to:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Employer-provided legal insurance.
• Generous time off, including up to eight weeks of paid parental leave.
• Student loan repayment assistance and tuition reimbursement.
• Retirement savings plan with employer match.

Ascendium provides equal employment opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, creed, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.

H-1B sponsorship (initiation or transfer) is not available for this position.

If you would like assistance with the application process, please email Ascendium Human Resources. We invite all applicants to complete the Voluntary Affirmative Action questions when submitting application materials. The questions are found at the end of the online application process. To learn more about our commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity, please visit the Ascendium Careers webpage.

Ascendium requires criminal, employment, and education background investigations before hiring.