Unbound Philanthropy Seeks Migrant/Refugee Rights Program Officer

Unbound Philanthropy (UP) is a new private foundation that supports and promotes justice, equality and opportunity for migrants and refugees at a time when these rights are being challenged worldwide. Our program areas are those that we believe most urgently need to be addressed in the migrant and refugee communities: children and youth, women and girls, public awareness, and justice. Grantmaking will focus initially on the United States, the United Kingdom and Africa, but we have the flexibility to expand to other geographic regions over time.

The position: The ideal candidate will be a creative and visionary professional with comprehensive knowledge of refugee and migrant issues, based much more on field experience than a track record in philanthropy. Working with the executive director, the program officer will develop, implement, evaluate and report to the board on UP's grant making programs. The position is based in New York.

Responsibilities:

  • Strategy Creation: Reach out to experts, activists, policymakers and others in relevant fields to define the assumptions, strategy and desired impact for UP's grant-making programs.
  • Grant Development: Seek out and evaluate potential grantees and work with them to develop proposals. Make periodic site visits. Ensure that overall grant programs are strong and coherent. Identify and deal with problematic grantees in a thorough, fair and respectful way, including phase out of support if necessary.
  • Board Relations: Prepare grant recommendations for the board of directors. The recommendations will include grant making goals, strategies, theory of change and evaluation plans. Coordinate, with the executive director and other staff plus consultants, periodic board visits to grantees and the annual retreat.
  • Evaluation: Report to the executive director and the board of directors on the progress under individual grants and the progress of the programs overall.

After the foundation's programs are well established, the program officer will also:

  • Identify and develop strategies to address technical assistance, training and other capacity building needs of core grantees, as well as opportunities for coordination across grantees' fields of work.
  • Work with other UP staff to identify and respond to synergies across the four programs (Migrant Children and Youth, Migrant Women and Girls, Migration and Public Awareness, and Migrant Justice) and across the geographic areas where the foundation makes grants.
  • Interact with a diverse range of actors and across continents, e.g. UNHCR, national and supranational government bodies, NGOs, and other funders.
  • Organize periodic meetings of grantees in each program, and occasionally across programs.

Qualifications: • A minimum of 7 years professional experience working on immigrant and/or refugee issues internationally; field experience in the developing world, including Africa, is essential. Experience working closely with or on the staff of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is a strong plus, as is fluency in French. • A sound understanding of the legal framework within which European nations operate and the international network of treaties that govern the treatment of refugees, IDPs and migrants internationally. • Knowledge and experience of UK and international NGOs working in the refugee and migrant sector. • Knowledge and experience in delivering education to refugee children, IDPs or conflict-affected children, especially in Africa. • Understanding of the methods to measure and shape public opinion in the UK. • An understanding of the intersection of national and EU powers and the work being done on a Europe-wide basis. • Training in law, public policy or other relevant fields would be useful. • Experience in program development and assessment. • The ability to think strategically about the social and policy goals of the foundation, while remaining focused on the detail-oriented work and follow through required by the position. • Strong communications skills. The ability to write clearly and succinctly under time pressure. • Willingness to travel.

Salary and benefits:

Salary is based on experience. A generous benefits package is provided.

How to Apply

Unbound Philanthropy is an equal opportunity employer and invites applications from candidates regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or religion. Email resume, cover letter explaining why you are interested in this job (and including your salary history), an unedited writing sample, and names and contacts of three references to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . The deadline for applications is September 1, 2008. In the subject line of your email, please state "UP Program Officer." No phone calls please.