At the Burke Foundation, we are focused on improving the health of mothers, babies, and families through the all-important First 1,000 Days from pregnancy through a child’s second birthday. Backed by data, we believe that relieving stress on families during this critical start to life can build the foundation for a lifetime of physical and mental health and well-being.
High-quality birth-to-five programs for children can deliver a 13% per year return on investment. As Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman puts it: Society improves when we invest in early childhood education and development. The short- and long-term impact on families, health, education, and our workforce is worth the investment.
Our home state of New Jersey suffers from some of the nation’s widest racial disparities in maternal and infant health; our mission is to close these gaps and support families as they navigate the challenges of early parenting. Using an entrepreneurial, data-driven approach, we identify and support changemakers whose early-childhood initiatives can transform communities and improve health and achievement outcomes for children and families. Our grantmaking focuses on supporting healthy pregnancies and births, healthy parent-child relationships, and high-quality early care and education. We are committed to effecting systems-level change; to accomplish this, we partner on shared priorities with peer foundations and government at the state and local levels. Our funding supports statewide initiatives and place-based projects in Camden, Newark, Trenton, and other communities. The new Program Officer will be instrumental in carrying out this work.
Overview of Program Officer Role
The Program Officer will manage a growing portfolio that includes the Foundation’s philanthropic investment in expanding availability of high-quality child care; supporting expansion of Early Relational Health programs in pediatric clinics; and pursuing innovative ways to strengthen economic mobility for working families, including leading grantee partner selection and supporting large-scale collaborations to improve the conditions for families’ success. This portfolio complements our successful work in expanding maternal home visits throughout the state, increasing availability of community doulas, and strengthening the continuum of care for families.
To help ensure our investments fully reflect communities’ needs and voices, the Program Officer will serve as a content expert within the Foundation and act as a prominent external representative in networking and collaborating with key stakeholders, including policymakers, other funders, and experts in the field. The Program Officer will be an important part of a nimble, goal-oriented, collaborative staff to help make sure our processes and systems support the desired impact.
This is a unique opportunity for a skilled project manager with a strong commitment to collaboration and problem solving. The ideal candidate is someone who is excited by the opportunity to build deep connections with grantees, keep up with and incorporate new ideas from the field, address questions and challenges, and bring a collaborative and learning mindset to the work.
The successful candidate will come to this role with a background in program management, research, policy, or grantmaking related to early childhood development and bring strong relationship-building, communication, and analytical skills to the work.
Key Responsibilities
Manage new child care partnerships with responsibility for guiding the reporting process and providing strategic support to grantees.
Manage collaborations with other funders to create the conditions for success for new families in New Jersey.
Develop and maintain a productive network of professional relationships with key government, philanthropic, nonprofit, and other community leaders.
Oversee development of materials for internal and external use that tell a clear, compelling story of the portfolio’s impact that elevates grantees and invites additional investment.
Develop a pipeline of funding opportunities, identifying and cultivating relationships with organizations and initiatives that fit with our mission.
Represent the Burke Foundation by participating in funder collaboratives, policy initiatives, and meetings or groups focused on workforce development.
Evaluate grant applications, including performing due diligence and budget reviews.
Develop and present funding recommendations to the Board of Trustees.
Work with our external evaluation partner and grantees to assess the impact of Burke’s funding.
Manage research interns — providing direction and mentoring to promote effective contributions to our work.
Collaborate with other staff to refine our Request for Proposals and grantmaking cycles and processes.
Qualifications
Subject-matter expert in child care, public health, healthcare, maternal health, workforce development, public policy, or related fields, with an advanced degree or equivalent work experience.
Excellent writing, verbal, and public speaking skills with a strong focus on persuasively and concisely conveying complex, technical issues to a non-expert audience.
Exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills with a commitment to accountability and excellence with capacity to multi-task, prioritize, and follow through to successfully complete multiple projects with tight deadlines.
Strong analytical skills, and a high level of comfort and competency in evaluating quantitative, qualitative, and financial data.
Demonstrated experience in work supporting healthy development of young children and families, with a proven commitment to equity.
Minimum of 5 years fulltime professional experience, including success in policy, research, program management and evaluation, or philanthropic grantmaking roles.
Deep curiosity, with an appetite for continuous learning and ongoing research to inform the work.
Skilled with building relationships; able to form and steward partnerships with stakeholders who bring a variety of perspectives and priorities; strength as a convener and connector.
Ability to take initiative, stay organized, and direct your own work flow, while contributing to the success of the organization and our partners as part of a high-performing team.
Enthusiastic about joining an organizational culture that prioritizes innovation, continuous learning, humility, partnership, and commitment to the communities we serve.
Energized by attending site visits, stakeholder meetings, and knowledge-building events throughout New Jersey.
Compensation and Benefits
This is an exempt position with a salary commensurate with experience. Employee benefits include 401k match, platinum-level health coverage, dental and vision insurance, generous paid time off, paid parental leave (including for adopted children), company holidays (including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day), and half-day summer Fridays.
Application Process
Please send a resume and cover letter that thoughtfully explains how you will contribute to the mission of the Burke Foundation as a single PDF attachment (filename: LastName_FirstName.pdf) to Sandy Moskovitz at [email protected] with the email subject “Program Officer.”
This is a hybrid position that requires being in our Princeton office at least 2 days per week. Occasional evening and weekend events may be required, as well as off-site visits and meetings throughout the week. During certain times of the year, a heavier workload may be required. Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 is required.
Applications will be accepted until November 10; qualified candidates will be contacted on a rolling basis. Estimated start for the position is January 2024.
The Burke Foundation celebrates the diversity of our nation and community, and we seek to build a team that reflects that diversity. We welcome and encourage all qualified applicants who share that vision, and we want to engage all those who can contribute to our work and the mission. We encourage any individual to apply for this position, and we do not discriminate based on ethnic, racial, gender, socioeconomic background, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law. The Foundation abides by all applicable rules and regulations in its recruiting and employment practices, including the Americans with Disabilities Act and state disability laws.
About the Burke Foundation
The Burke Foundation is a leading philanthropic institution in New Jersey, with a history of supporting innovative programs that create equal opportunities for all families and children. The Foundation was established in Princeton in 1989 by the late Jim E. Burke and his wife Diane (“Didi”) Burke. During his 37 years with Johnson & Johnson, Jim Burke built a legacy of visionary leadership and served as Chairman and CEO for the last 13 years of his tenure. Jim received the highest civilian honor in the nation in 2000, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and was named one of history’s greatest CEOs by Fortune magazine.
In 2017, the Foundation reimagined our grantmaking focus and strategy, identifying prenatal health and early childhood development as areas where our investments can achieve the greatest good for New Jersey children and their communities. Through grantmaking and intense collaboration, we work with nonprofits to identify, rigorously evaluate, and help scale programs and policies that foster the healthy development of children and families in New Jersey. To learn more about our history and work, please visit our website.