Job  Board

Deadline to Apply: June 2nd, 2023 SUMMARY DESCRIPTION Ford Foundation’s Creativity and Free Expression (CFE) team is hiring a Program Officer (PO) for its work in global documentary film and emerging media practices as part of its JustFilms initiative. Reporting to the CFE director, this PO works alongside another JustFilms PO and collaboratively with other CFE team members to develop and implement program strategies to achieve significant and scalable impact. The PO helps shape and advance the Foundation’s work at the intersection of non-fiction media and social justice. They assess and analyze the field to identify its key ecosystems, and work with various actors to shape and influence agendas to address strategic problems and opportunities. They also serve as a ‘connector’ of grantees and work with practitioners, government officials, scholars, NGO and business leaders in addition to other donors to leverage positive impact toward strategic goals. An ideal candidate is dedicated to social justice, and will be able to thrive within a large institution with internal demands in addition to the external job responsibilities. They will have strong relationship management and organizational processing skills to manage a large volume of grants and constituent correspondence and advocacy, and  the ability to project manage, prioritize, write and communicate clearly. They will also have strong strategy development and implementation skills and substantive knowledge of the health and conditions impacting the documentary and moving image sectors. BACKGROUND Ford Foundation is focused on challenging inequality in all its forms. JustFilms is an initiative to support organizations and individuals globally to strengthen creative non-fiction film and emerging media practices that further social justice goals. It supports the creation of impactful documentary content and an inclusive documentary sector through a focus on diverse field leadership, ethical filmmaking practices and building the voice and power of those who have been most marginalized by society, culture and media. RESPONSIBILITIES Among other activities, the PO will:

• Work closely with a peer JustFilms Program Officer and program colleagues to manage a grant portfolio of 100 active grants, including organizational, individual and film production grants
• Represent JustFilms at film festivals and other events
• Develop and implement grantee convenings to advance JustFilms and grantee learning and coordination
• Collaboratively review and identify granting opportunities with fellow JustFilms Program Officer and confer on strategic decisions as it relates to Ford, grantees and filmmaking field
• Participate as a key member of the Creativity and Free Expression team  and contribute to shared learning, team culture, collaborative grants and convenings
• Serve as manager, mentor and coach to Program Assistant.  PAs are shared by two to three Program Officers
• Prepare foundation grant documents as assigned, including grant recommendations, proposals and perform due diligence on grantees throughout the grant period
• Manage and refine the applications platforms used to track all JustFilms grantmaking data and grantee deliverables
• Build and manage multi-year granting budgets
• Participate in continued refinement of JustFilms strategy
• Work closely with organizational grantees to support institutional strengthening and capacity building
• Advise and work closely with filmmaker grantees to advance , social impact efforts of supported documentary film projects
• Undertake periodic reviews of progress with grantees, perform grantee site visits, review financial and narrative reporting from grantees, and prepare grant status reports
• Support event planning and production of 8-10 annual JF events at FF and elsewhere, including significant contribution to the curation process

QUALIFICATIONS

• A minimum of 8 or more years leading social justice strategies
• Significant professional experience in the international and US domestic documentary field as a film producer/executive producer commissioning editor, funder, curator or related profession
• Knowledge of emerging digital and multi-platform storytelling practices globally
• Experience in all phases of documentary content product (pre-production, production and post production)
• Exceptional leadership presence – internally and externally
• Exceptional communications skills - strong active listening skills, constructive verbal and written skills, strong public presentation skills
• Strong project and budget management skills
• Demonstrated ability to be a productive member of a community of people at work, respecting differences while working toward shared goals, comfort with periods of ambiguity, constructive participation in on-going organizational development
• A master’s degree in relevant field of study (MA/MFA) or BA and equivalent experience

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 8 or more years as professional working in independent film and documentary field
• Strong understanding and sensibility for all phases of film production, finance, distribution and impact, including providing editorial and strategic support
• Experience in broader social justice sector a plus, including: organizing, advocacy, litigation
• Background in documentary production, history and strong familiarity with global documentary field (non-profit and for profit)
• Experience and fluency in social justice cultural and narrative shift strategies
• Experience as a grantmaker in film, journalism and arts and culture sectors

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS This position is primarily a sedentary role. However, the person in this position may need to occasionally move about inside the office to liaise with internal staff, access files, office machinery and a copy machine/printer. Additionally, domestic/international travel will be expected, approximately 20%; some travel is directly related to grantmaking, but also to attend team conferences, retreats and meetings. The Ford Foundation is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its programs, and operations. As part of this commitment, the Foundation will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application process, please contact talentacquisitionhr@fordfoundation.org. SALARY: The Ford Foundation is committed to practicing salary transparency. The minimum salary for this position is $165,000 and the maximum is $185,000. LOCATION: This position is based in the foundation’s New York office. We operate in a hybrid model and require staff to be in the office three days per week