About W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation supports children, families, and communities as they strengthen and create conditions so all children can achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Upon establishing the foundation in 1930, breakfast cereal innovator W.K. Kellogg instructed future trustees and staff to “Use the money as you please so long as it promotes the health, happiness and well-being of children.” To this day, the foundation envisions, and works toward, a nation that marshals its resource to assure that all children have an equitable and promising future – a nation in which all children thrive.
To advance this mission, the foundation implements an array of change-making tools – grantmaking, impact investing, communications, contracting, networking, and convenings – and uses an innovative matrixed organizational design to prioritize investment decisions and maximize effectiveness toward achieving the desired ends and improvements for children and their families. A commitment to racial equity, community engagement and leadership development is woven into each endeavor as essential to the creation of a social context in which all children can thrive. Their grant-making focuses on education and learning; food, health, and well-being; and family economic security.
The overall work of the foundation is guided by the following values:
- We believe in helping people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations.
- We believe all people have the inherent capacity to effect change in their lives, in their organization, and in their communities. We respect individuals and value their collective interests, strengths, and cultures.
- We believe stewardship requires fidelity to the spirit and to the intent of the founder and the wide use of resources. We believe in being responsible, prudent, selfless, and exercising good judgment.
- We believe innovation of thought and action leads to enduring and positive change in both formal and informal systems.
- We value integrity of purpose and action, and believe it is essential to all of our affairs.
This is a powerful time to be on the front lines of innovative philanthropy and we hope you’ll consider joining us! To learn more about the foundation, please visit www.wkkf.org and everychildthrives.com.
The Opportunity
The Organizational Effectiveness Officer (OEO) leads multiple high-impact projects, optimizing business processes, systems, and structures to enhance organizational agility and performance. This role applies a people-centered, data-driven, and adaptive approach to transformation, ensuring strategic alignment and seamless adoption across the foundation. Balancing strategic vision with hands-on execution, the OEO leverages change/project management, agile methodologies, and process improvement to drive sustainable outcomes. Serving as a key partner across teams, this role ensures initiatives are aligned with organizational goals, foster collaboration, and enhance overall effectiveness.
Specifically, an Organizational Effectiveness Officer has the following responsibilities:
Organizational Leadership & Strategy
- Lead, manage, and oversee multiple complex programs, balancing competing priorities and deadlines effectively.
- Provide strategic guidance to leaders, teams, and stakeholders, ensuring initiatives support organizational priorities and long-term success.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, adaptability, and continuous improvement across the foundation.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to drive alignment and shared ownership of goals.
- Serve as a trusted advisor, guiding teams in navigating change, enhancing team performance, and executing strategic initiatives.
- Engage across all levels of the organization, ensuring seamless coordination between leadership priorities and frontline execution.
- Use data, insights, and research to measure progress, identify challenges, and continuously refine strategies.
- May be responsible for budget, vendor, and contract management.
Change/Project Management & Business Process Improvement
- Lead the design and execution of change management strategies, ensuring smooth transitions and sustainable adoption.
- Develop structured change management plans, incorporating communication, training, coaching, and stakeholder engagement.
- Oversee multiple projects, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and goals and managing resources, budgets, and risk to achieve successful implementation of foundation-wide projects and initiatives.
- Manage and oversee multiple change initiatives simultaneously, ensuring integration with broader organizational objectives.
- Forecast and monitor activities, analyzing data to drive decisions, reporting, and continuous improvement.
- Integrate agile and project management principles, ensuring adaptability, efficiency, and impact.
- Identify inefficiencies, optimize workflows, and eliminate bottlenecks to enhance organizational effectiveness.
- Ensure that business process redesign efforts align with strategic priorities and improve operational outcomes.
Coaching, Facilitation & Learning
- Provide coaching and mentorship to individuals, teams, and leaders, enhancing organizational effectiveness.
- Lead training sessions, team workshops, and one-on-one coaching to build change resilience and capability.
- Foster an environment of psychological safety, continuous learning, and innovation.
- Design and administer surveys, assessments, and feedback mechanisms to gather insights and drive meaningful change.
Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate will have the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics:
Education/ Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in business administration, management, organizational development, or a related field (master’s preferred).
- Minimum five years of relevant experience (preferably eight or more years), with demonstrated expertise in change/project management, organizational development, or process improvement.
- Experience with change management methodologies, frameworks, and tools (certification preferred).
- Strong background in project management and business process improvement strategies, including Lean, Six Sigma, and Agile (certification preferred).
- Proven ability to manage multiple change initiatives and influence across a complex organization.
- Experience working with diverse cultural, social, and ethnic backgrounds in a global or multicultural environment.
Organizational Effectiveness Officer Core Competencies
- Change Leadership: Ability to lead and manage multiple change management projects simultaneously.
- Coaching & Mentorship: Strong ability to develop leaders, teams, and individuals to thrive in a changing environment.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Effectively builds relationships and interpersonal connections across all levels of the organization.
- Organizational Navigation: Skilled in managing complexity and navigating organizational dynamics and politics.
Core Capabilities
- Building Networks: Develops, maintains, and leverages strategic relationships and networks to support work-related goals.
- Negotiation Skills: Effectively negotiates and influences stakeholders, balancing competing interests while maintaining relationships.
- Political Savvy: Understands how to navigate organizational structures, anticipate challenges, and drive initiatives forward.
- Coaching & Mentorship: Empowers teams and individuals, fostering a culture of learning and growth.
- Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills: Uses data-driven insights to assess challenges, identify solutions, and drive sustainable improvements.
- Adaptability & Resilience: Thrives in ambiguity, adjusting strategies in dynamic environments while maintaining focus on strategic goals.
- Diversity & Inclusion Mindset: Actively seeks to involve and engage diverse perspectives, recognizing and adapting to cultural differences.
- Operational Excellence: Identifies and implements process improvements that enhance efficiency and overall organizational effectiveness.
- Influencing & Persuasion: Mobilizes stakeholders and gains commitment without relying on authority.
- Leadership Presence: Confident and empathetic communicator who can inspire and engage diverse teams.
Desired Qualities and Characteristics
- Engages: Takes ownership of responsibilities and demonstrates accountability, communicates effectively to create shared understanding, and embraces agility, resilience, and personal development.
- Executes: Drives toward outcomes and the foundation’s Ends, delivers measurable outcomes that align with organizational goals, balances decision-making with stakeholder needs, and collaborates across teams, grantees, and partners to drive impact.
- Brings People Together: Influences and inspires others without relying on authority.
- Leads Change: Effectively guides teams and individuals through transitions and transformations.
- Highly Collaborative: Works across departments, creating an interdependent, high-performing culture.
- Conflict Competence: Facilitates productive dialogue, fostering positive debate and resolution.
- Intercultural Competence: Understands and appreciates different cultural identities, recognizing systemic inequities.
- Results-Oriented: Passionate about achieving meaningful outcomes and driving measurable success.
Compensation and Benefits
Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $120,000 - $150,000 with a generous benefits package. The exact salary that will be offered to the Organizational Effectiveness Officer will be determined based on a consideration of the successful candidate’s skills, experience, and geography and aligned with the foundation’s compensation policies.
Contact
DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Erin Reedy. Submit a compelling cover letter and resume by filling out our Talent Profile. All inquiries are strictly confidential.