About Sall Family Foundation
Sall Family Foundation ("SFF"), founded more than 30 years ago, supports transformative change at the nexus of the environment, public health, and community resiliency. SFF believes communities are best placed to make the decisions that affect their everyday lives and create locally governed, sustainable solutions that benefit both people and nature.
SFF brings its vision to life by backing leaders and organizations closest to complex challenges across the environment, public health, and poverty reduction. The Foundation funds locally led civil society organizations and larger nonprofit agencies, encouraging knowledge sharing and collaboration so community-driven approaches can draw on collective wisdom, scientific evidence, and the efficiencies of scale.
Curiosity, learning, experimentation, and humility shape SFF's work. The Foundation embraces complexity and a long-term view, recognizing that lasting solutions often emerge through deep listening, adaptation, and continuous improvement.
Learn more about Sall Family Foundation at https://sallfamily.org/.
The Opportunity
Sall Family Foundation seeks an adaptable, highly organized Program Associate to contribute across the full grantmaking lifecycle. Working with program and operations colleagues, this person will research prospective and current grantees, support grant analysis and portfolio learning, coordinate grant processes, and maintain the data and systems that make thoughtful decisions and strong partner relationships possible.
Designed for someone a few years into their career, this hands-on role on a small, collaborative team offers a foundation for growth in grantmaking and program work. The Program Associate will learn how SFF develops a pipeline, assesses opportunities, works with grantee partners, supports grant decision making, and follows progress over time, while taking ownership of the operational details that support each step.
Key Responsibilities
Program Research and Analysis
- Research current and prospective grantee organizations, their work, and the contexts in which they operate to inform program discussions and early diligence.
- Support landscape and pipeline research on relevant issues, geographies, potential partners, and peer funders; organize findings and flag questions or opportunities for program colleagues.
- Join selected grantee calls with program colleagues, capture key takeaways, and coordinate follow-up.
Grantmaking Coordination and Support
- Coordinate grantmaking activities from inquiry and diligence through approval, payment, reporting, and renewal, including timelines, templates, document requests, and follow-up.
- Request, collect, review, and organize information from grantee partners; maintain complete grant records and follow up with clarity, tact, and persistence when materials are missing.
- Learn and apply relevant diligence and grantmaking requirements with guidance from the team, building an understanding of the grantmaking lifecycle.
- Prepare grant summaries and materials for internal review, bringing together program research, partner information, budgets, and grant records with guidance from program colleagues.
Data Systems and Process Management
- Maintain accurate information across Airtable, the grants management system, shared documents, and spreadsheets; own day-to-day data entry, quality control, mapping, and updates.
- Build and refine practical templates, trackers, workflows, and process documentation that make recurring work more efficient and easier to navigate.
- Review historical data ahead of key deadlines, identify gaps, and help implement system and process improvements while remaining involved in running the tools after launch.
Team and Cross Functional Support
- Provide flexible project and coordination support across program and operations work, adapting as priorities evolve and helping cover essential work when colleagues are away.
- Prepare meeting materials and decision documents, coordinate internal information requests, organize shared resources, and help ensure timely follow-through on action items.
- Contribute ideas and practical solutions in SFF's spirit of curiosity, learning, and continuous improvement.
Candidate Profile
Strong candidates may bring different combinations of lived and professional experience. SFF values the following qualities and a genuine interest in learning the rest:
- Detail and ownership. Keeps information accurate and organized, notices inconsistencies, and follows tasks through without losing sight of deadlines.
- Adaptability and initiative. Responds constructively as priorities evolve, asks thoughtful questions, and moves work forward without needing every step prescribed.
- Systems thinking and hands-on execution. Connects workflows while remaining comfortable with data entry, document management, and other essential tasks.
- Collaboration and humility. Shares ownership, receives feedback well, and steps in where needed across a small, noncompetitive team.
- Communication and judgment. Writes clearly, uses discretion, and communicates respectfully across organizational and cultural contexts.
- Research and synthesis. Gathers information from varied sources, evaluates its relevance, and conveys useful findings and questions clearly and concisely.
- Curiosity and learning orientation. Seeks to understand grantee partners, program priorities, and grantmaking decisions as well as the systems and practices that support them.
In addition, strong candidates will offer
- Approximately two to four years of substantive professional experience in nonprofit, philanthropy, international development, research, program support, operations, or a similarly analytical and multifaceted environment, ideally on a lean team or within a small unit of a larger organization.
- Professional experience using Airtable or similar grants management software to organize and maintain data, along with comfort using spreadsheets, Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, and new technology platforms.
- Experience conducting research and preparing concise written summaries or analysis; prior grantmaking experience is welcome but not required.
- Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and communicate early when timelines need to change.
- Exposure to global work or lived experience outside the United States is valued, as is an appreciation for the varied contexts in which SFF's grantee partners operate.
- A bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
What Makes This Role Unique
- Meaningful participation in program research, grant analysis, grantee interactions, and portfolio learning, alongside engagement with the systems and processes that support this work.
- The chance to learn the full lifecycle of a grant, from landscape and pipeline research through decisions, implementation, reporting, and renewal, with guidance from experienced colleagues.
- A foundation for a career path within a small, collaborative team that values both analytical judgment and reliable execution.
Compensation and Benefits
The anticipated salary range for this position is $85,000 to $105,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications. SFF also offers a competitive benefits package and opportunities for professional development.
Location
This is a remote/work-from-home position. SFF has a strong preference for candidates in the Eastern time zone. The Foundation may consider strong candidates elsewhere in the Central time zone.
Contact
DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Turner Delano. Submit a compelling cover letter and resume by filling out our Talent Profile. All inquiries are strictly confidential.
DSG | Koya is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email [email protected]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.
SFF values and supports a diverse and inclusive environment throughout its organization. All qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to their race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other status protected by local, state, or federal law. Candidates who contribute to SFF’s broad commitment to diversity are strongly encouraged to submit their materials for consideration.
About DSG | Koya
DSG | Koya, a DSG Global company, is the nation’s premier search firm dedicated to mission-driven leadership. Since its founding in 2004, DSG | Koya has had an exclusive focus on mission-driven clients and was founded on the belief that the right leader can transform an organization and have a deep and measurable impact on our world. DSG | Koya works with nonprofits & NGOs, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.
DSG Global is consistently recognized by Forbes on its top 10 list of “America’s Best Executive Recruiting Firms” and is an industry leader in recruiting transformational leaders for a changing world. The firm is deliberately different in its approach, with best-in-class teams who have decades of experience in cultivating inclusive leaders, understanding the dimensions of diversity, and building equitable teams.
Learn more about DSG | Koya via the firm's website.