Jobs Board

Learning Associate (Part-time, Time-Limited) (The California Wellness Foundation)

Company Name

The California Wellness Foundation

Company City

Company State

CA

Job Location

Los Angeles, CA or Oakland, CA

Company Information

The California Wellness Foundation (Cal Wellness) is a private, independent foundation established in 1992 with a mission to protect and improve the health and wellness of the people of California. As one of the largest health-focused foundations in California, with over $1 billion in assets, Cal Wellness is a nationally recognized leader for its strategic core operating support for grantees; public policy grantmaking; and a focus on violence as a public health issue. It is Cal Wellness’ desire to promote equity and level the playing field so that everyone has access to good-paying jobs; healthy and safe neighborhoods; and quality health care services.

The foundation’s current Advancing Wellness grantmaking strategy includes four interrelated portfolios. Since its founding, Cal Wellness has awarded nearly 9,000 grants totaling more than $1 billion. As the foundation looks to the future, it is pursuing new and innovative strategies beyond its core grantmaking to advance its mission, including implementation of new technology systems, development of its public affairs capacity, and establishing mission- and program-related investment portfolios.

Cal Wellness has a diverse staff of approximately 45 located in its Los Angeles and Oakland offices and a diverse 12-member Board located throughout the state of California. The foundation’s work underscores a belief that wellness requires social justice, a deep commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and sustained efforts to eliminate systemic barriers that prevent access to health care, education, employment, and safety.

Please visit www.calwellness.org for more information.

Job Description

THE OPPORTUNITY

The California Wellness Foundation seeks a Learning Associate to work on a time-limited part-time basis (20-25 hours per week), reporting to the Director of Learning & Innovation. The dates for this position are January 2023 through December 2023. This position may be based in the Los Angeles or Oakland area.

Under the guidance of the Director of Learning & Innovation, the Learning Associate will support the design and execution of learning events and activities for the Foundation’s staff and board. The Learning Associate must have strong project management skills, organizational skills, the ability to facilitate conversations in a hybrid work environment, and the ability to use a diversity of tools to manage projects and reach group consensus.

THE LEARNING & INNOVATION UNIT

The Learning & Innovation unit is led by the Director of Learning and Innovation. This unit supports an organizational learning culture that blends insight and foresight to assess the foundation’s impact, identify promising practices and explore emerging opportunities to resource communities across California. Priority areas of work include:

Strategy and Planning

  • Research, analysis, impact assessment and knowledge management;
  • Meeting management and facilitation; and
  • Leveraging grant and investment capital to support innovation.

In 2023, key deliverables for this unit include:

  • Selection and management of Learning & Assessment team, including: support around discovery phase, key stakeholder engagement and coordination with leadership team;
  • Manage CEP grantee and declined applicants surveys; and
  • Implementation of 2023 Learning Agenda that includes: board-staff joint learning sessions, workgroups (learning labs) and staff Lunch & Share sessions.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Learning Associate is responsible for supporting and working collaboratively with the Director of Learning and Innovation to lead a Foundation-wide learning approach and a set of prioritized activities in support of our strategic planning process. Specific duties may include:

Project Management

  • Schedule and coordinate meetings, including meeting preparation, notetaking at meetings, documenting decisions made, next steps and tracking follow-up activities.
  • Track projects, including creating timelines and logging the specific status of projects, deliverables and next steps.
  • Draft meeting agendas, presentations and other materials, as needed.
  • Provide administrative support, as needed.
  • Serve as a point of contact for consultants supporting the Learning & Innovation unit.

Internal Learning

  • Help to manage foundation-wide learning calendar and support logistics around internal reflection sessions and briefings connected to the foundation’s learning plan.
  • Support learning conversations at quarterly board meetings. Activities include speaker research, communications, and preparation of background and presentation materials, note taking, etc.
  • Support Learning Labs and other staff learning conversations to capture and synthesize notes. Conduct relevant research, as needed.
  • Support efforts to disseminate results and institutional “learnings” on The Well and through other channels, as appropriate, including developing new learning products as needed.
  • Develop resources materials, research speakers, and other support to operationalize learning related to the strategic planning process.
  • Coordinate additional Foundation-wide learning activities, as assigned.

Deliverables will include:

  • Create and maintain organization-wide learning calendar.
  • Successful execution of a minimum of 8 learning events outlined in 2023 learning plan
  • Research to inform strategic planning discussion/decisions and synthesis of insights from meetings
  • Draft written materials and slide decks to 4 board learning events.
  • Synthesis of meeting insights and resources for each learning event: share with all staff via blog and/or post on the internal communication portal, The Well (minimum 8 posts)
  • Liaison (back-up) for external consultants supporting the Year of Learning.

Job Qualifications

CANDIDATE PROFILE

We are seeking a candidates with the following characteristics:

  • Some relevant professional work experience. This is not an entry level position.
  • Understanding of how non-profits work, through professional and/or volunteer experience.
  • Self-starter, resourceful, critical thinker, problem solver
  • Research skills complemented by innate curiosity
  • Strong organizational and project management skills; comfort using Asana or Smartsheet a plus
  • Technology and system skills:
  • Program management systems (e.g. Asana, Smartsheet)
  • Visual collaboration tools (e.g. Miro, Google Jam Boards, etc)
  • MS Office Suite, with a high level of proficiency with Outlook calendaring, creating PowerPoint presentations, and managing Word and Excel files
  • Ability to synthesize information from different inputs and types of data to support decision making.
  • Strong analytical ability and experience in producing clearly written materials for multiple audiences
  • Excellent written and oral presentation skills
  • Strong people management skills, including demonstrated ability to think independently, to be flexible and to juggle multiple priorities.
  • Passion for the issues and communities served by the Foundation’s mission and goals
  • Able to work independently and in teams to think imaginatively about opportunities; to create and respond to novel and innovative approaches to addressing an issue; to inspire others to work towards achieving organizational learning goals.

Desired but not required:

  • Familiarity with the philanthropic sector, tools of philanthropy and the grantmaking process
  • Experience with inclusive approaches to meeting design (Emergent Learning, Liberating Structures, etc.)
  • Commitment to the principles of trust-based philanthropy and demonstrated experience incorporating a justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) lens in program work.

How to Apply

Pleases apply online.

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