HCF’s Collaboration Philosophy

At the Hawai’i Community Foundation (HCF), we believe that an organization’s team as a “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” (Aristotle). To us, this means that we are committed to be a collaborative ‘ohana (family) that lives and actionizes our mission, respects and cares for each other, and innovates and learns together. We understand that we must rely upon all our individual strengths as we partner to provide excellent value and achieve effective results for our generous donors, community partners, and all of Hawai’i’s people. We are excitedly looking forward to enhancing our team with the addition of a Program Officer.

Position Summary

Like all HCF team members and volunteers, the Program Officer exudes the heart and passion for HCF’s mission: to inspire the spirit of giving and invest in people and solutions to benefit our community. Specifically, the Program Officer’s role is to make effective grants and other community investments through stewardship of various funds at HCF and servicing private foundation clients, advisory committees and contracted partners. This is a key position that provides leadership for a set of grantmaking programs and clients. Additionally, the position may support the development of grant program strategies and carry out special projects.

Essential Position Responsibilities

Key responsibilities fall within primary areas of focus and are as follows:

Scholarship Program Administration

• Oversees daily management and administration of HCF’s scholarship program funds and administrative scholarship contract services.
• Implements and maintains scholarship policies and procedures while providing thoughtful analysis of the fund’s data to support and improve the fund’s purpose, ease of administration, and advancement of the scholarship program.
• Provides professional support to applicants and recipients in applying for scholarships.

Grant Review and Monitoring

• Reviews and evaluates grant proposals and provides written summaries and funding recommendations.
• Participates with colleagues on grant programs including proposal review and peer review of potential grants or awards.
• Monitors ongoing grant programs by reviewing grantee progress reports and final reports and conducting site visits, where appropriate. Evaluates completed grant-funded projects.
• Fields inquiries from the public and grant seekers regarding grant opportunities in a respectful manner.

Grant Program Management

• Responsible for an assigned portfolio of grant programs.
• Able to independently manage a grant program from start to finish in collaboration with other HCF team members.
• Develop the grant program strategy and design, including the grant program’s Request for Proposals.
• Manage grant program events and convenings, including grantee gatherings and training, as applicable.
• Oversee evaluation of grant program to track progress on meeting program’s goals and impact.
• Oversee external consultants and vendors to grant programs, if applicable.

Relationship Stewardship

• Maintains key relationships with funders and donors, program partners, and private foundation and advisory committee clients to implement community grantmaking and scholarships.
• Participates in advancing the mission of HCF and HCF clients and donors to serve the needs of communities throughout Hawaii.
• Supports activities to connect clients with nonprofit organizations and to complement client’s grantmaking and scholarship programs.
• Delivers excellent service to all clients (internal and external) and exceeds HCF’s service standard expectations whenever possible.
• Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with all clients and gains their trust and respect of HCF.

Strengthen the Education Team and Grants Department

• Motivate top performance and accountability through shared, and clear communication of collaborative goals and objectives.
• Supports the ongoing goals and development of the Education Team’s activities, initiatives, and implementation of HCF’s CHANGE framework.

Collaboratively Drive the Success of HCF

• Collaborates with colleagues and community stakeholders to build and exchange knowledge of the non-profit sector, fields of interest, and potential grantees.
• Manages external meetings to facilitate successful community grants and investments.
• Deliver a collaborative team style internally with CGI colleagues to achieve greater results
• Serve as collaborative partner with the develop and donor department to ensure comprehensive relationship management strategies are utilized.

Supervision

• Supervise and mentor staff as assigned.

Other Responsibilities

• Serve as a knowledgeable and collaborative representative of HCF in the community
• Partner collaboratively with other staff members to ensure effective outcomes
• Live the HCF values (act with integrity, treat others with respect and compassion, believe in the power of partnerships, have fun, make a difference every day)
• Perform other tasks as assigned

Position Requirements

HCF believes in ensuring that our team members can thrive in their positions. Accordingly, the Program Officer must possess the following knowledge, skills, abilities, experience, and education:

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Minimum 5 years of relevant work experience in the non-profit sector preferred
• Experience in grant writing and/or grant reviewing and evaluation
• Prior experience with monitoring projects and writing reports
• Demonstrated passion for the betterment of Hawaii and its people
• Knowledge, sensitivity, and understanding of the history and complexities of Hawaii’s multicultural community
• Capable of thriving in a highly collaborative and flexible organization with an appreciation and respect for colleagues of diverse backgrounds and perspectives and an enthusiasm to continually shift and evolve to meet the needs of the community, clients, and donors
• Proven ability to recognize and balance competing interests, policy implications, and practical considerations within diverse groups of external and internal constituents to achieve effective outcomes
• Exceptional interpersonal skills including the ability to communicate effectively with varied constituents including government officials, business and nonprofit leaders, and donors
• Ability to be extremely discrete in working with sensitive or confidential information related to client and donor information, relationships, and funds
• Excellent research, analytical, writing, presentation and organizational skills managing time effectively and meet multiple deadlines
• Ability to perform work with attention to detail and accuracy
• Strong computer skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint
• Knowledge in grant and donor management database systems preferred
• General math skills to review and produce business reports

Work Environment, Physical, and Mental Demands

• Works under regular office conditions with the ability to work remotely.
• General office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm with flexible hours as needed
• Required to travel as needed
• Ability to operate general office equipment including computer, copier, printers, fax machine, etc.
• Ability to lift, carry, push, pull, up to 25 lbs. of general office material or equipment