Title: Program Officer
Location: Remote
Reports to: CJRF Director
Hours per week (average): 40
Status: FULL TIME, Exempt from Overtime
Term: Permanent
Position Summary
During 2024-25, CJRF is undertaking a series of experimental grantmaking initiatives, which will deploy grants totaling more than US$2.5M around the globe, using several different participatory grantmaking methodologies. CJRF seeks to employ an organized, collaborative, insightful, and flexible Program Officer to support the initiatives, including:
the design and execution of successful multi-stakeholder processes;
administration of grants made via the initiatives;
harvesting lessons from the participatory grantmaking experience;
supporting exchange of lessons among participants in the various initiatives; and
facilitating integration of priorities and lessons learned into CJRF Board decisions and grantmaking systems.
If a US-based applicant is selected for this role, they most likely will be hired as an employee of New Venture Fund, CJRF’s fiscal sponsor. If an applicant outside of the US is selected, this position will most likely be filled through aProfessional Employment Organization. A salary/benefits offer will be developed at the time of selection, commensurate with market rates in the applicant’s location and their salary history.
US Salary Range: $70,000-$150,000 per year
Background
The Climate Justice Resilience Fund (CJRF) is one of the first major philanthropic initiatives framed explicitly around climate justice, and one of the few that works internationally on climate resilience. We put people, their rights, and their lived experience directly at the center of climate action. We envision a thriving planet built on participation, equity, human rights and justice, where people who have been disproportionately affected by climate change issues are recognized and resourced to lead solutions and act at the emerging frontiers of climate justice.
CJRF works by re-granting monies from diverse funders. Our “Phase 1” pool of funding (2016-2022) totaled nearly $25 million, enabling approximately fifty major grants to support women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples to build and share their solutions for climate resilience. Approximately 80% of our Phase 1 grantmaking supported place-specific strategies in East Africa, the North American Arctic, and the Bay of Bengal. The remaining 20% went toward scaling solutions through advocacy and exchange at the global level. We also have hosted several initiatives to promote funder learning and collaboration on climate justice.
For its second phase of work, CJRF is engaging in an exciting transformation from a donor-led fund to a fully participatory, movement-facing, and constituent-led fund. As a key step in this change process, our old Review Board (comprised of foundation representatives) decided in mid-2022 to hand off leadership to a new governing Board comprised of activists and practitioners. The new nine-member Board (bios here) was recruited through an open global call for applicants in Sept-Oct 2022 and took the reins of the fund in January 2023. They are now overseeing and supporting the second six-year phase of the fund (2023-2028).
The Board spent 2023 establishing Fund values and vision, Board ways of working, and several new CJRF policies, including, importantly, a conflict of interest policy. They programmed approximately $2M in funding and oversaw the replenishment of the Fund (now over US$26 million across 2023-28), including growth of funding for CJRF’s ground-breaking Loss and Damage Initiative. The Board is now working to develop a new Fund strategy, which will include expanded support for movement-building, deployment of participatory grantmaking methods, and implementation of the Fund’s intersectionality statement.
Major Job Responsibilities
A key part of CJRF’s strategy development will be a series of experimental grantmaking initiatives during 2024-25, which will deploy grants totaling more than US$2.5M around the globe, using several different participatory grantmaking methodologies. These initiatives will provide both substantive input to CJRF strategy development and serve as pilots for the design of new CJRF participatory grantmaking systems for use in 2025-28. CJRF seeks to employ an organized, collaborative, insightful, and flexible Program Officer to: support the design and execution of successful multi-stakeholder processes; facilitate the administration of grants made via these processes; harvest lessons from the pilot initiatives and grantmaking experience; support exchange of lessons among participants in the various initiatives; and facilitate integration of priorities and lessons learned into Board decisions and emerging CJRF systems.
Workshop Co-development
The new Program Officer will support a series of 4-6 participatory grantmaking workshops planned by CJRF in 2024-25. For each workshop, the Program Officer will work collaboratively with CJRF staff, board members, consultants, past grantee partners, and other participants to ensure strong workshop design, execution, and follow-up. Workshops are part of a pilot program that will test several methods for participatory strategy development and grant decision-making. Events are anticipated in East Africa, Arctic North America, Bangladesh, and on Zoom. The Program Officer will attend the first 1-2 workshops in a support capacity, but will hold progressively greater responsibility for leading workshop co-development over time.
Grantmaking
CJRF anticipates that the above workshops will ultimately lead to 4-5 grantmaking rounds during 2024-25. The P.O. will be responsible for designing and facilitating appropriate post-workshop processes, as needed, for participant involvement in final grant decisions. They will also ensure CJRF Board Members stay informed of grantmaking processes and are engaged appropriately. With support from CJRF’s Program Assistant, the P.O. will work with identified grantees to finalize due diligence and administer the grants. By mid-2025, they should be supporting a portfolio of between eight and fifteen active grants.
Lesson-learning and Strategic Integration
CJRF has begun to develop a lesson-learning framework intended to enable our staff and board to:
Capture workshop participants’ priorities and preferences on strategic questions under deliberation by CJRF’s board.
Assess the successes and challenges associated with each participatory grantmaking method tested through the workshops and associated activities.
Explore whether and how each participatory methodology supports development of a portfolio that reflects the Fund’s vision and commitment to intersectionality.
Working with Board and staff members, the new P.O. will further develop this learning framework, use it to document workshop process and outputs, support other staff to apply the framework across their work, and ensure lessons are effectively captured and integrated into ongoing strategy development. The P.O. will lead on designing and holding several “learning stocktake” events (virtual and potentially in person) for reflection on the participatory grantmaking pilots by CJRF staff, board members, grantmaking participants, and new grantee partners. In the second quarter of 2025, they will play a central role in co-designing and implementing board retreat sessions that synthesize lessons learned and integrate them into a Fund Strategy for 2025-28. They will work closely with CJRF’s Director and Communications Associate to communicate progress and lessons learned to external audiences.
Core Team Engagement
Attend, co-plan, and actively participate in weekly CJRF team meetings, a weekly check-in with the Fund Director, and periodic meetings with relevant Board task teams (all virtual via Zoom)
Attend bi-monthly Board meetings (Zoom), semi-annual Board retreats (in-person), and roughly semi-annual CJRF staff retreats (in-person).
Maintain shared files, documents, and communications systems, including via MS Office, Dropbox, Whatsapp, Zoom, and Google Docs.
Contribute written pieces as requested to CJRF’s website, blog, social media, and newsletter
Provide periodic support to the CJRF Director on outreach and relationship management, including (but not limited to): preparation of promotional materials, proposal writing, and report writing.
Fulfill other duties as requested by the Director.
Like all CJRF staff, the program officer will work remotely and may be located anywhere. They will collaborate regularly with Board members and colleagues in a wide range of time zones, including (but not at all limited to) frequent contact with GMT+3, GMT+6, GMT+10, GMT-5, GMT-9.
International travel estimated at 4-6 weeks of time during the first year of work. This will include an in-person on-boarding meeting with other CJRF within six weeks of hiring and a Board retreat in August 2024.
Desired Qualifications & Skills
Experience with participatory grantmaking or other participatory decision-making processes
Participatory workshop design and facilitation expertise, including skills in creative approaches to facilitation of multi-stakeholder, multi-cultural groups.
Understanding of socio-ecological issues, including climate justice, intersectionality and political ecology.
Demonstrated commitment to addressing intersectional forms of oppression
Experience living/working in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and/or an Indigenous community
At least seven years of relevant work experience
Strong written and oral communications skills
Strong organizational skills, including in the context of grantmaking or other project management
Experience implementing participatory learning methodologies, such as Emergent Learning, Participatory Action Research, or progressive approaches to monitoring, evaluation, and learning
Experience with decolonial approaches to learning.
Demonstrated experience working effectively as part of a team, across multiple time zones, and with colleagues of diverse backgrounds and perspectives;
Proven self-starter;
Experience using Microsoft Office software, including Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
Experience using WhatsApp and Zoom. Experience with additional tools and platforms preferred (Concur, Canva, Creative Cloud, Salesforce, and Trello all could be useful)
Fluency in English. Second language preferred (French, Spanish, Bangla, Swahili, Inuit languages all would be especially useful)
How to Apply
Please send resume (max. 2 pgs.), cover letter (max. 2 pgs.), phone and email contacts for two professional references, and a writing sample (max. 4 pages) to kanchen.shakya@cjrfund.org. The last day for submission of applications is April 28, 2024.
Location, Status, Salary/Fees, and Benefits
This is a fully remote position that could be performed from many places. The selected candidate will have flexible hours, but must be available regularly for several hours per week of video meetings and real-time interaction with colleagues based in the Eastern North American time zone (GMT-5/GMT-4 depending on daylight savings). Weekly meetings will all take place on zoom between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm Eastern North American time. The P.O. will also have frequent contact with CJRF board members and grantmaking participants in locations spread from GMT-10 to GMT+10 . Applicants should have access to adequate internet bandwidth to facilitate this communication and should be comfortable working with these time zones.
Applicants selected for interviews will receive a questionnaire asking for details about their remote office set-up, internet access, and equipment. CJRF is committed to supporting a healthy and effective work environment and will reimburse certain equipment and office supply costs.
CJRF’s fiscal sponsor, the New Venture Fund, is incorporated in the United States, and its hiring practices comply with US labor law. If a US-based applicant is selected for this role, they most likely will be hired as a New Venture Fund employee exempt from overtime pay (see benefits statement below). If an applicant outside of the US is selected, this position will most likely be filled through a Professional Employment Organization. A salary/benefits offer will be developed at the time of selection, commensurate with market rates in the applicant’s location and their salary history.
All applicants should have authorization to work in their proposed work location at the time of application. CJRF will not support visa applications or relocation for this role.
Hiring Statement
The Climate Justice Resilience Fund is a project of New Venture Fund (NVF), a 501(c)(3) public charity that incubates new and innovative public-interest projects and grant-making programs. NVF is committed to attracting, developing and retaining exceptional people, and to creating a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding and enables each of us to realize our potential. NVF’s work environment is safe and open to all employees and partners, respecting the full spectrum of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, and all other classifications protected by law in the locality and/or state in which you are working.
E-Verify
NVF participates in E-Verify and will provide the US federal government with employees’ Form I-9 information to confirm authorization to work in the United States. Job candidates and employees with the right to work may not be discriminated against on the basis of national origin or citizenship status.
Benefits
If an applicant based in the US is selected for full-time work, they will receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for employees (and their families). Employees are able to enroll in 401k retirement plan and are eligible for a 3% automatic contribution and up to a 3% employer match on 401k contributions. Employees are also eligible for pre-tax transportation benefits. Employees will receive 120 hours of vacation time, 80 hours of health leave, up to 2 days of casual leave, and 20 hours of volunteer leave annually. Employees will also receive 13 paid holidays throughout the calendar year. Employees are eligible for 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave after 90 days of employment.
If an applicant outside of the US is selected, this position will most likely be filled through a Professional Employment Organization. A benefits offer will be developed at the time of selection, commensurate with market rates and legal requirements in the applicant’s location.