The Mellon Foundation (Mellon) seeks an inspiring and versatile learning and evaluation professional to join its burgeoning Learning & Evaluation (L&E) team as Manager, Strategic Learning & Evaluation (Manager, SLE). As part of the Office of the Executive Vice President, Programs, the L&E team supports Mellon, in collaboration with grantees and partners, to rapidly learn from, translate, and adapt strategies at the program area level, which are core to Mellon’s efforts to advance a more just society, enriched by the arts and humanities.

With a social sciences lens and strong facilitation acumen, the Manager, SLE will support the Foundation’s ongoing learning and the fulfillment of its mission and broader programmatic objectives. In this pursuit, they will work collaboratively to advance efforts to best support Mellon’s key decision-makers, grantee partners, and the broader field in new and creative ways. Together with program, library staff, and the grants management team, the Manager, SLE will co-design meaningful and actionable learning opportunities for cross organizational knowledge capture.

The largest funder of the arts and humanities in the United States, Mellon supports innovative programs that address contemporary challenges in education and the arts. Located in New York City, Mellon’s campus is a diverse and vibrant community of experts committed to the Foundation’s vision and mission, rooted in the belief that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity and the belief that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom to be found there. The Foundation makes grants in four program areas: Higher Learning, Public Knowledge, Arts & Culture, and Humanities in Place.

Additionally, the Foundation’s Presidential Initiatives led by Mellon President Dr. Elizabeth Alexander, a recognized thought leader on race, justice, the arts, and American Society, provides grantmaking that addresses some of the most pressing issues of the day. A historic $500 million-dollar commitment to transform the nation’s commemorative landscape by supporting public projects that reflect the breadth and complexity of American stories and communities will be fulfilled through The Monuments Project. An incredible $125 million is also being committed to Imagining Freedom Initiative and another $50 million to the Puerto Rico Initiative to strengthen the vibrant, cultural knowledge and memory ecosystems.

Since its founding, Mellon has provided partnership and financial support to a wide range of organizations in the US and around the world. In addition to widely acclaimed institutions, Mellon today supports a complex array of just communities and visionaries who unlock the power in arts and humanities to inspire critical thinking, build connection, and create the conditions where ideas and imagination can thrive. Mellon’s inclusive grantmaking is catalyzing innovative approaches to the work. As a leader in this space, Mellon is committed to the success of their grantees and understands the power of the stories and the truth that is uncovered and preserved. In an effort to fulfill its audacious mission, remain agile, and give voice to the achievements of Mellon and their grantees, the Learning & Evaluation team was created with an imperative to foster a culture of learning and reflection, consistently incorporating evaluation, research, and learnings throughout Mellon’s grantmaking utilizing responsive, iterative, equitable, and participatory frames.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Strategic Learning & Evaluation and working closely with L&E colleagues, the Manager, SLE will work across all areas of the Foundation, in collaboration with each program area and embedded research and strategic planning staff, as well as centralized library, grants administration, and communications staff. Together, they will enable responsive, data-informed decision-making at every level of the Foundation and help communicate the stories of Mellon, its grantees, and the power of social justice in the arts, culture, and humanities in ways that will resonate with executive and non-research audiences.

Ideal candidates will have a strong understanding of applied social sciences and experience driving organizational change and evaluative practices that encourage reflection and learning. Compelling candidates will also demonstrate a solid understanding of and experience with designing and providing guidance in the application of appropriate mixed method evaluations and monitoring approaches that utilize the principles of Equitable Evaluation Initiative© and demonstrating the principles of Emergent Learning©. An understanding of current evaluation and learning concepts, norms, and practices is important, but formal education in evaluation or experience as a professional evaluator is not required.

Self-initiating, detail-oriented, and intuitively a connector of people and information, the incumbent will welcome collaboration across teams and departments and exhibit a keen sense of responsibility and comfort in working with multiple demands, shifting priorities, and constant change. While no explicit content or sector expertise is strongly preferred, it would be helpful if candidates possess some depth of knowledge around one of Mellon’s core investment areas and possess experience working in collaboration with a kaleidoscope of organizations, consultants, and sector leaders who are mission adjacent. Excellent organizational and interpersonal skills are necessary. Strong verbal and written communications skills are absolute musts. A personal and professional commitment to inclusivity is vital to advancing the work and contributing to the Learning & Evaluation team.

Learning & Evaluation Team: Fostering a Culture of Learning & Evaluative Thinking

Led by Senior Director of Strategic Learning & Evaluation, Jessica Mindnich, the L&E team’s mission is to foster a culture of learning and evaluative thinking. Jessica and the Manager, SLE are joined by a Manager, Insights & Analytics and together support the Mellon Foundation, in collaboration with grantees and partners, to rapidly learn from and adapt strategies at the program area to advance the Foundation’s mission.

This is achieved through:

• A focus on continuous learning aimed at advancing Mellon’s mission;
• Attention to the mindsets, relationships, processes, and structures that facilitate learning;
• Access to timely and meaningful research, analysis, and evaluation that can be used to inform decisions and refine strategies;
• Enabling feedback loops that foster learning with and from our grantees and philanthropic partners; and
• Engagement with the broader philanthropic sector so that Learning & Evaluation can stay abreast of emerging trends, identify opportunities for partnerships, and share our learnings with other social justice funders.

Core Responsibilities of the Manager, Strategic Learning & Evaluation

Under the general direction of the Sr. Director of Strategic Learning & Evaluation, the Manager, SLE will support the Foundation’s ongoing learning through analysis, evaluation, and most importantly, the delivery of actionable, additive, and easily digestible opportunities to strengthen Mellon’s culture of learning.

As a member of the Learning & Evaluation team, the Manager SLE will work in partnership with the Learning & Evaluation Team, including Library staff to fulfill the mission of the office. The Office of the Executive Vice President, Programs encompasses the Learning and Evaluation team. The Manager will also work in close collaboration with program areas, grants management, and administrative staff to support the broader programmatic objectives of the Foundation.

Responsibilities of the Manager, SLE include, but are not limited to:

• Strengthen the Foundation’s learning culture by working with program staff to develop opportunities for shared meaning with staff, grantees, funders, and other key partners
• Illustrate Mellon’s impact through compelling visual and narrative data storytelling, utilizing quantitative and qualitative data to capture our learning and impact
• Work with grants management and information technology to collect, maintain, and apply accurate, reliable, and purposeful data
• Design and facilitate engaging and effective meetings that support learning, reinforce the Foundation’s priorities, and drive action
• Develop processes and practices that make the Foundation’s learning more transparent to grantees, other funders, and external partners
• Develop approaches informed by the Equitable Evaluation Framework™, demonstrating principles of Emergent Learning©, and utilizing tools of Results Count© to drive strategic clarity, alignment, and to track effectiveness over time
• Engage with the philanthropic sector so that Mellon stays abreast of trends in the sector and is informed by best practices among social justice funders
• Ensure that the ways the team operates are in alignment with the values of the Foundation and demonstrate a commitment to social justice

The ideal candidate will be accomplished, collaborative, and consultative and have the following traits:

• Ability to collect, analyze, synthesize and represent quantitative and qualitative data
• Excellent communications skills with the ability to utilize storytelling, data visualization, and other tools to illustrate change, motivate, and inspire
• Capacity to effectively use research and evaluation for learning and strategy development
• Strong facilitation skills with the ability to move groups from talk to action, utilizing Emergent Learning© and other tools to create shared meaning
• Strong project management skills that include the establishment of milestones, communication plans, and the timely delivery of final products
• Broad knowledge of evaluation and learning trends and familiarity with key industry publications and associations
• Passion for the development of a learning culture built on trusting relationships that can foster vulnerability, learning, and change
• Flexibility, adaptability, curiosity, and a continuous learner
• Ability to maintain momentum in a dynamic work environment with shifting priorities
• An advanced degree in social science or a related field or an equivalent combination of relevant education and experience

Location, Schedule, and Compensation

The Mellon Foundation offers competitive compensation and exceptional benefits. The Foundation’s benefits program is intended to offer employees multiple choices in high quality benefit plans, comprehensive core benefits, and the flexibility to choose optional benefits. Mellon seeks to provide employees with the benefits that best fit their needs and the needs of their families. Current benefits include:

• A competitive salary
• A retirement savings plan, including employer contributions, as well as the opportunity for employee tax-advantaged savings
• Comprehensive insurance coverage, including medical, dental, and vision (also covering domestic partners), life and accidental death, and disability
• General time-off benefits including holiday, vacation, personal, and sick days
• Employee assistance and referral programs
• Tuition reimbursement and student loan repayment programs for employees

Mellon maintains a hybrid work schedule, with three days per week in person at the Foundation’s Manhattan offices. Compensation for this role is $185-195K.

Interested in Learning More?

The Mellon Foundation has partnered with Talent Citizen to assist in this recruitment. Please contact President Tracy D. Welsh, and Senior Associate Eva Kotilinek to share your resume and cover letter via email at: MELLON-MSLE@talentcitizen.com. To learn more, click here.

Mellon Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.