Program Officer, Wildfire Resilience Initiative

Location:
Palo Alto, CA

Job Id: 301

Program Officer, Wildfire Resilience Initiative

Gordon and Betty Moore established the foundation to create positive outcomes for future generations. Guided by this vision and the Statement of Founders' Intent, we foster path-breaking scientific discovery, environmental conservation, patient care improvements and preservation of the special character of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Each day we strive to make a significant and positive impact on the world. Together, we work tirelessly to honor the vision of our founders and serve as stewards of the resources they entrusted to us. We establish specific strategies based on input from experts, identify partners who share our goals, and measure results along the way—all while making adjustments as needed. We build relationships and fund work in areas where we hope to make a significant impact. We’re okay with failing, as long as we learn from our mistakes. And we know that working together expands our ability to drive meaningful change.

We believe there can be no truly lasting change for the good if that change is not just and widely shared. Comprehending and incorporating values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in pursuing goals and refining strategies is vital to achieving our desired outcomes. These values weave through what we do and drive how we operate.

Position Summary
The foundation is seeking a professional with expertise in natural resource management, environmental and/or wildland fire science and policy, and substantial on-the-ground conservation or fire management experience in the North American West, to serve as a program officer for its new Wildfire Resilience Initiative.

The program officer will conduct grantmaking and contribute to adaptive management of initiative strategies. Additionally, the successful candidate will collaborate with other initiative staff on grantmaking, measurement and evaluation, and relationship and network building across the wildfire landscape.

The initiative seeks to achieve healthy fire-adapted ecosystems and resilient fire-prone communities by helping to reduce the threat of extreme wildfire and enable beneficial fire. The long-term vision is for wildfire resilience in Western North America, where beneficial fire is the dominant contributor to annual area burned. Targeted philanthropic funding can help chart the course and align key actors to travel that path together, by supporting:

• Integration of efforts across nonprofits, government, and private industry to realize a unified long-term vision for wildfire resilience,
• Increased knowledge and understanding of wildfire and changing fire regimes through a multidisciplinary, coordinated fire research agenda,
• Accelerated advances in science, technology and data integration that make the most difference for improved early fire detection, consequence assessment, and response,
• Aligned incentives and stakeholders to implement wildfire mitigations that ensure that communities can coexist with the impacts of wildfire and smoke,
• Tested, adapted and demonstrated fire and ecosystem stewardship models to avoid the conversion impacts of extreme wildfire events and instead burn under appropriate and beneficial conditions in the context of a changing climate,
• Science-based key indicators, implementation dashboards, and outcome scorecards of wildfire resiliency,
• A framework that inspires others to collaborate and/or invest in ways that augment and accelerate collective goals.

Ecosystem conversion, conflagration and community devastation, and far-reaching smoke impacts illustrate pressing needs for improved and integrated tools and systems for early-fire detection and decision support for effective response, the development of a practical set of resiliency mitigations for communities, and the creation of knowledge and pathways for achieving healthy ecosystems in an increasingly hot and dry climate. In this context, we expect that by 2035, philanthropy can help increase wildfire resilience for fire-adapted ecosystems and fire-prone communities in Western North America—through targeted funding for integrated early-fire decision support and demonstrations of effective community mitigations and improved fire and land stewardship that enable beneficial fire and substantially decrease severe wildfire risk.

The program officer will be based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Under the foundation’s hybrid working arrangements policy, staff are required to work onsite in our Palo Alto office a minimum of four days per month, and your role, team, or other foundation business needs may require you to regularly or periodically work in the office more than four days a month.

Primary Responsibilities

• Contribute to the implementation of the Initiative’s overall strategic framework..
• Identify, develop, source and manage a portfolio of grants that advance specific Initiative strategies.
• Carry out activities beyond grantmaking to help drive change in the initiative’s focus areas (e.g., convening, facilitating, networking, communicating).
• Manage external relationships with grantees and other key partners in support of initiative goals.
• Develop effective monitoring and evaluation plans, and oversee ongoing adaptive management of grants, activities, and strategies.
• Coordinate with internal staff to complete grantmaking and monitoring processes.
• Participate in periodic presentations on initiative strategy and progress to the board, senior management, and other foundation staff.
• Maintain solid knowledge of the field and key emerging trends.
• Be an effective contributor on a variety of program- and foundation-wide issues beyond the initiative.

Qualifications

• A background and demonstrated knowledge in landscape-scale stewardship and/or fire or resource management, conservation, or conservation science (at least 10 years), such as work in a non-governmental organization, government, or applied academic fields.
• A record of successfully promoting and working on complex partnership or multi-stakeholder projects to achieve tangible outcomes.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to travel ~six times a year.
• A Master’s or Doctorate degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field, e.g., natural resource and/or wildland fire management, forestry, environmental conservation, or state/federal land management policy is preferred, as is prior experience in a philanthropic or public sector organization.

Desired Competencies

• A sophisticated understanding of changing fire and climate regimes, and forest and freshwater resources across the North American West.
• Demonstrated strategic planning skills, with the ability to identify and rigorously evaluate new opportunities.
• Strong project management skills, with demonstrated ability to manage large projects and budgets, set realistic goals and objectives, and balance multiple priorities.
• Strong individual contributor who can work well with a high-functioning team.
• Demonstrated strong teamwork and people skills, with ability to develop productive relationships with colleagues, grantees, stakeholders, and others. Respectful, collaborative, and energetic working style.
• Demonstrated comfort with, and experience in, public speaking and meeting organization/facilitation.
• Demonstrated ability and openness to quickly adapt and adjust strategy and approach to changing conditions.
• Strong business acumen.
• Personal motivation to support the foundation mission and goals.
• Ability and interest in traveling to local and out-of-town grantee meetings, site visits, and national/international conferences.
• Willingness to support and promote the foundation and colleagues through commitment to enhancing the foundation’s considerations of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Attributes
The ideal candidate will demonstrate the following attributes that describe how we at the foundation strive to do our work with each other and our partners.

• Committed to Excellence - We bring our best to all we do.
• Passionate - Inspired by the vision of our founders, we are passionate about our work.
• Collegial - We are part of a team striving toward common goals.
• Open and Honest - We act with integrity, putting the good of the foundation first.
• Humble and Self-Aware - Emulating our founders, we bring a sense of humility to our work.

Compensation and Benefits
The Moore Foundation provides a generous total compensation package that includes a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits to support your life, health, and well-being.

The salary range for this position is between $142,090 and $272,080 per year. Offers are based on the candidate's years of experience and our practice of upholding salary equity within the foundation.

Health benefits include employer-paid options for medical insurance and employer-paid dental and vision insurance for employees and dependents; an employee assistance program; employer-paid disability, and life insurance benefits; paid parental leave; and pre-tax flexible spending accounts for medical and dependent care expenses.

Other benefits include 6 weeks of paid time off per year and 10 paid holidays; 401(k) retirement savings plan with a foundation contribution of up to 10% and a Roth 401(k) option; matching gifts program for qualifying charitable contributions; hybrid work arrangements; commuter benefits program; tuition assistance; and professional development opportunities.

Application Process
The Moore Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes a diverse pool of applicants. We depend on individuals who possess varied skills, perspectives and expertise. We seek to recognize many forms of excellence in candidates, attract individuals with varied identities and backgrounds and enable all employees to feel they belong and can contribute to the mission of the Moore Foundation.

We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military or veteran status, marital status, registered domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or on any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law. We also do not discriminate based on the perception that anyone has any of these characteristics or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of these characteristics.

The 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 hr@moore.org. A request for accommodation will be responded to within three business days. However, non-disability related requests, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the ordinance.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

COVID-19
The Moore Foundation requires that all employees be up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations as defined by the CDC, except as required by law. Any employment offer will be contingent upon satisfactory proof that you are fully vaccinated from COVID-19, subject to reasonable accommodations for medical or religious reasons, and/or as otherwise required by applicable law.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $142,090.00 - $272,080.00 per year

Salary : $142,090 - $272,080