Reimagining the Program Officer Role

The program officer role is a critical one in advancing a foundation’s commitment to trust-based philanthropy. Part of ensuring they can do that successfully is to design their job descriptions with a trust-based lens.

This two-page guide invites HR professionals, supervisors, and program officers to reimagine the role in a radically different way - away from conventional norms of compliance and oversight, and towards trust-based norms of partnership, collaboration, and service. Included in this guide is a list of responsibilities, skills, and competencies that can help guide hiring decisions and a deeper examination of how the P.O. role can support trust-based philanthropy.