Program Officer

About the Foundation
Washington Area Women’s Foundation is a community-supported foundation that invests in the power of women and girls across the Washington metropolitan area via grantmaking and advocacy. Twentyseven years ago, The Women’s Foundation was founded on the principle that women working together can help enhance the physical, social, and financial well-being of all women and girls. Our current efforts focus on investing in women and girls of color from birth to the boardroom through our Maternal Health and Birth Equity, Early Care and Education, Young Women’s Initiative, and Black Women and Gender-Expansive Leadership Project programs.

Position Overview
Reporting to the President & CEO, the Program Officer leads strategy development, grantmaking execution, funder engagement, and external representation for the Early Care and Education (ECE) and HERizon Fund portfolios. Grounded in a commitment to gender, racial, and economic justice, this role advances funding strategies that support systems-change organizations and directly resource women and girls of color, while ensuring their voices and lived experiences inform policy and philanthropic influence.

The Program Officer manages the full life cycle of grantmaking for the Early Care and Education Funders’ Collaborative (ECEFC)—a pooled fund investing in women-led systems change advocates across the Washington, DC region—and the HERizon Fund, which provides scholarships for students pursuing degrees and certifications in early childhood education and maternal health to strengthen the local workforce.

This highly independent role is ideal for a strategic thinker who thrives at the intersection of philanthropy, policy, and community engagement.

What You Will Do:

Grantmaking & Funders Collaborative Leadership (60%)

• Lead the Early Care and Education Funders Collaborative (ECEFC), including the facilitation of monthly meetings, internal convenings, and annual grantmaking cycle.
• Lead the HERizon Fund grantmaking cycle, including designing the grant application process, leading grant review, conducting site visits, disbursing grants, and collecting reports.
• Identify funding priorities aligned with systems change advocacy in early care and education.
• Lead administrative management of the grantmaking platform to develop and issue Request for Proposals (RFPs), conduct application reviews, prepare grant dockets, centralize documentation, and track compliance.
• Conduct grantee partner site visits.
• Facilitate grant review meetings.
• Provide strong written summaries, analysis, and recommendations to steward ECEFC members through grant review and funding decisions.
• Build trust-based relationships with women-led advocacy organizations.
• Design and facilitate learning sessions for ECEFC members with policymakers, agency representatives, and community leaders to deepen understanding of the ECE landscape.
• Recruit and cultivate current and prospective collaborative funding members.
• Work closely with ECEFC co-chairs to refine strategy and strengthen member engagement.

Communications, Donor Engagement & Fund Development (20%)

• Draft funder reports, impact summaries, and narrative updates.
• Contribute to grant proposals and donor materials in partnership with the Development team.
• Present program strategy and portfolio impact to funders and prospective supporters.
• Partner with the Director of Communications on newsletters, digital content, social media, and public-facing storytelling.
• Articulate the value of pooled funding and gender-focused systems change investments in early care and education.

Policy Engagement, Learning & Field Representation (15%)

• Monitor legislative, budgetary, and regulatory developments across DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.
• Attend hearings, policy briefings, conferences, and coalition meetings to stay abreast of emerging issues.
• Provide written or oral testimony annually as appropriate and signing onto aligned policy communications when relevant.
• Translate policy developments into insights and strategic considerations for funder members.
• Coordinate messaging with advocacy partners when necessary.

Internal Collaboration & Administration (5%)

• Collaborate with communications, development, operations, and finance staff to ensure alignment and strong execution.
• Provide regular updates to the President & CEO, periodically presenting program updates and strategy to internal leadership.
• Manage documentation, data tracking, and internal reporting systems.
• Participate in cross-portfolio learning and organizational strategy discussions.

What You Will Bring

• Demonstrated commitment to gender and racial justice.
• A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant or related field of study (required); a Master’s Degree in a relevant or related field (preferred).
• Experience working in or alongside early care and education policy, advocacy, organizing, or the ECE workforce.
• Experience managing grants, pooled funds, or philanthropic collaboratives.
• Excellent written communication skills, particularly for synthesizing information and drafting reports.
• Excellent listening, oral, and analytical skills.
• Strong facilitation of meetings to steward diverse stakeholders through decision-making processes.
• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Experience working with grant management systems (NextZen or similar platforms preferred).
• Comfort with representing an organization in public and policy-facing settings.
• Experience working in partnership with diverse stakeholders toward shared goals.
• Ability to work in a team environment with collegiality and respect to sustain connectivity and cohesion with staff in other functional areas.
• Ability to work in a remote environment with file sharing, databases, and other technologies.
• Strong ties to the Washington, DC metropolitan region.

Our Commitment to an Inclusive Workplace

Washington Area Women’s Foundation is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression.

To Apply

Please email your resume and cover letter to jobs@wawf.org with the subject line “Program Officer” by 5:00 pm on March 17, 2026. Only complete applications will be considered until the position is filled.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $75,000.00 - $80,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Washington, DC 20002