The Raikes Foundation is seeking a Program Officer to lead their research efforts on national education strategies. The Program Officer will identify promising opportunities to bring learning mindsets and skills into education at scale by leveraging insights from researchers, educators, students and families. They will manage grantmaking and partnerships to translate research into scalable school approaches. The ideal candidate will have experience bridging research and practice, and a passion for equity and inclusion. Responsibilities include developing the strategy, managing grants, building relationships, and representing the foundation.

1. Search conducted by:
Program Officer
National Education Strategy
“Empowering young people to transform their lives”

2. 1Raikes Foundation | Program Officer
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Raikes Foundation seeks an innovative, strategic thinker to lead our research efforts as a Program
Officer on our National Education team.
Our education strategy focuses on ensuring that all students, particularly students of color and those
from low-income backgrounds, are engaged in schools that foster learning mindsets and skills, allowing
them to achieve academically and complete a high-quality post-secondary degree to thrive in a rapidly
changing world.
The Program Officer will join a small, collaborative team working to identify the most promising
opportunities to bring learning mindsets and skills into the education system at scale. The Program
Officer will manage our efforts to leverage insights from scientists, educators, students and families to
translate research about learning mindsets and skills to scalable school-based approaches.

3. To learn more about the organization, please visit www.raikesfoundation.org.
THE RAIKES FOUNDATION
Located in Seattle, Washington, the Raikes Foundation is a private foundation founded by Tricia and Jeff
Raikes, who are actively involved in the organization’s work. With a team of 11 employees and annual
grantmaking of over $11 million in 2015, the Raikes Foundation expects to grow its staff and annual
giving in the near term. The culture of the foundation encourages creative thinking, an entrepreneurial
spirit, collaborative problem-solving and intellectual rigor in the pursuit of innovative approaches to
philanthropy.
The mission of the Raikes Foundation is to empower young people to transform their lives. Our
three core grantmaking strategies include a focus on ending youth and young adult homelessness in
King County, improving the quality of after-school programs across Washington State and improving
educational outcomes through our national education strategy. The Raikes Foundation is committed
to diversity, equity and inclusion within our organization and its application in our programmatic work.
The foundation believes in the power of catalytic philanthropy. This translates into grantmaking strategies
that look for high-leverage opportunities to maximize impact by:
• Convening the right players and supporting projects with impact
• Taking calculated risks and supporting under-resourced areas
• Concentrating grantmaking on a discrete set of issues
• Working with urgency, while recognizing that complex challenges take time to solve
• Challenging assumptions—including the foundation’s own
• Driving action based on evidence and data
2Raikes Foundation | Program Officer

4. 3Raikes Foundation | Program Officer
NATIONAL EDUCATION STRATEGY
In 2012, the Raikes Foundation launched its national education strategy focused on learning mindsets such
as belonging, growth, self-efficacy, purpose and relevance, and skills such as goal-setting, time management
and knowing when to ask for help. We selected learning mindsets and skills as our focus area because a
growing body of research shows that empowering students with learning mindsets and skills can unlock
their potential to succeed in any subject at any age. By helping the education system prioritize learning
mindsets and skills, we hope to ensure every student is motivated to learn and knows how to learn.
This focus has been shown to improve grade point average and academic performance in core subjects
like reading and math, lead to higher attendance, course completion, and graduation rates as well as give
students the confidence and skills they need to succeed throughout their lives. We believe that building
the knowledge and practices that schools and teachers can use to cultivate learning mindsets and skills is
key to ensuring that all students, particularly students of color and those from low income backgrounds,
are prepared to complete a high quality post-secondary degree and thrive in our rapidly changing world.
Our strategic initiatives include funding basic and applied research,supporting the development of practical
tools that teachers can use with students and expanding opportunities to integrate learning mindsets in
the existing education ecosystem.We convene networks supporting schools to adopt and continuously
improve research-based practices. Because this is still a nascent field, we are also investing in field-building
activities that will establish strong networks of practitioners, researchers and other partners who can
advance the science and practical application for the benefit of all students.
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5. 4Raikes Foundation | Program Officer
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PROGRAM OFFICER ROLE
As we seek to grow the foundation’s impact and capitalize on momentum around learning mindsets
and skills, the Program Officer will manage our efforts to leverage insights from scientists, educators,
students and families to translate research about learning mindsets and skills to scalable school-based
approaches.
The ideal candidate will have systems level experience translating research into practice and a passion
for including the perspectives of students, families and teachers throughout this work. As a “learning
engineer,” our ideal candidate brings research expertise to support discovery of relevant knowledge in
the basic and applied research networks we support, and the translation of those findings into solutions
that have promise for practical implementation in the U.S. education system. Our ideal candidate brings
credibility and experience working with both practitioners and researchers across multiple disciplines
and from diverse backgrounds.
Given the foundation’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, we are looking for candidates who
are committed to advancing equity and who also possess knowledge, skills and experience that would
enhance our ongoing equity work.
The skills and attributes that will drive success include:
• Ability to “think big” at the strategic level while also being able to focus and prioritize tactical goals
• Excellent relationship-building and interpersonal skills
• Ability to establish rapport and trust, and work collaboratively with diverse internal and external
partners
• Ability to synthesize research findings and identify implications for the foundation’s strategy as well
as the broader field
• Strong writing and presentation skills and the ability to communicate complex ideas effectively
with diverse stakeholders such as researchers, practitioners, and parents
• Proactive and comfortable leading by influence in ambiguous environments without positional
authority
• Thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative work environment
This position reports to the Director, National Education Strategy and is based in Seattle, Washington.

6. 4 5Raikes Foundation | Program Officer
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KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategy, Evaluation & Organizational Learning
• Work with education strategy team members to define strategic direction with particular emphasis
on:
• Advancing basic research, including identifying gaps in current research that are critical
to our aim of more equitable post-secondary degree completion.
• Developing cutting edge approaches to translating research to practice that incorporate
perspectives from science, practice, students and families.
• Collaborate closely with education strategy team to ensure that the foundation’s scaling partners
are informed by the latest research findings.
• Collaborate closely with the Director of the National Education Strategy and other team members
to ensure an integrated approach to measurement and evaluation across the portfolio.
• Play a proactive role in the foundation’s organizational learning; seek opportunities to collaborate
and contribute to exploring synergies across the foundation’s strategy areas.
• Organize grantee visits, learning sessions and other forms of engagement to deepen the foundation
leadership’s knowledge of the strategy and understanding of progress, challenges and lessons
learned.
Grant Portfolio Development & Management
• Conceptualize and cultivate grantmaking opportunities and work with prospective grantees to
develop proposals that advance the strategy.
• Conduct due diligence for potential grant opportunities and assess alignment with the foundation’s
strategy.
• Prepare grant recommendations and provide feedback to grant applicants.
• Manage a portfolio of research grants, including developing milestones, outcome metrics and
reporting requirements.
• Build positive and productive relationships and ensure ongoing communication with grantees.
• Design and manage research grantee gatherings and field learning opportunities.
External Relations and Thought Leadership
• Build strong relationships with key stakeholders and advance the Raikes Foundation as a thought
leader in learning mindsets and skills, as well as translation of research to practice in the U.S.
education system.
• Foster relationships with a variety of stakeholders, including current and prospective grantees,
researchers, teachers, education sector leaders or networks, policymakers, etc.
• Identify partnership and co-funding opportunities to advance the foundation’s strategies.
• As appropriate, scope, identify and manage outside consultants or contractors.
• Represent the foundation externally in a variety of settings.
• Partner with the foundation’s communications team and external consultants to support strategic
communications and advocacy, including preparing content for the foundation’s communications
channels and integration of the latest relevant research findings about learning mindsets and skills
into communications materials.

7. 6Raikes Foundation | Program Officer
QUALIFICATIONS
Candidates must have at least eight to ten years of relevant professional experience. Candidates should
combine robust social science research skills and practical knowledge of the education field. A background
translating learning research into practice in the education field is ideal. Experience applying research
that interfaces with teaching, curriculum design, and instructional practice is highly desired. A track
record of building relationships, identifying partners across diverse communities and creating systems
to advance new thinking and change is preferred. A master’s degree or doctorate in a learning science-
related discipline such as human development, psychology, neuroscience or education is valued. The
position is based in Seattle, WA, but may include up to 25 percent of time on domestic travel.
TO BE CONSIDERED
Please submit your resume and cover letter online at http://candidateportal.waldronhr.com. Cover letters
expressing your passion for the mission and fit for the role should be addressed to Melissa Merritt.
Materials will be reviewed on a rolling basis until February 14, 2016.