The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is seeking a skilled individual to join the Foundation as a Strategy Officer supporting strategy implementation and learning across the Foundation’s grant-making programs. This position will support the Foundation’s Strategy, Learning and Evaluation Division (SLED) with the implementation of Strategy 2030, with a primary focus on the Early Childhood Development, Refugees, and Safe Water initiatives.
The Strategy Officer will play a pivotal role at the Hilton Foundation, serving as an ongoing, engaged thought partner to assigned initiative teams. Working in close partnership with the Senior Strategy Officer, SLED Director, SLED Learning and Evaluation Officers (LEOs), and program teams, you will maintain a continuous presence with assigned initiative teams, supporting the translation of approved five-year strategies into implementation plans, monitoring strategic progress, and adapting course as evidence and context evolve. This will entail facilitating team learning practices to ensure implementation is grounded in evidence, expertise, and leadership guidance, translating strategy progress into clear materials for the Board and Program Committee, and liaising with the Partnerships team and other departments to advance the initiative strategies. You will report to the Senior Strategy Officer within the Strategy, Learning and Evaluation Division.
Strategy 2030 Implementation Support
- Supports the Early Childhood, Refugees, and Safe Water initiative teams in translating approved Strategy 2030 strategies into implementation plans, milestones, and decision points.
- Serves as a thought partner to Initiative Teams and Learning and Evaluation Officers (LEOs) by asking good strategic questions, assessing resource distribution in alignment with goals, surfacing assumptions, and testing theories of change against implementation evidence.
- Co-designs and facilitates working sessions among initiative staff and other participants (e.g., quarterly strategy reviews, cross-program learning sessions, external experts).
- Generates and/or reviews draft strategy documents (e.g., progress memos, PowerPoint presentations).
- Conducts and/or manages targeted analysis and synthesis, in partnership with LEOs, in support of implementation decisions (e.g., landscape updates, portfolio and financial analyses).
- Works with initiative leadership to assess new implementation evidence or contextual changes that warrant a strategic revision, and supports teams through course corrections.
Board Translation and Annual Reporting Process Management
- Manages the annual review and board reporting process for assigned initiatives, including timelines, templates, and workflows, coordinating inputs across initiative teams, LEOs, and leadership to ensure a consistent, on-schedule cycle.
- Translates strategy progress, portfolio data, and evaluation findings into clear, decision-oriented materials for quarterly Program Committee and biannual Board meetings for assigned initiatives (e.g., initiative annual update presentations).
- Supports initiative teams in framing implementation progress, risks, and proposed course corrections for board and leadership audiences, including preparing staff for annual board reporting discussions.
- Builds collaborative and positive working relationships and effective communication channels with team members and staff.
Partnerships and Cross-Foundation Coordination
- Liaises with the Partnerships team to align co-funding and funder-collaborative opportunities with initiative strategies, and feeds strategic insights from assigned initiatives into partnership development.
- Coordinates with the Communications Department to advance initiative strategies through strategic communications.
Other Responsibilities as Assigned
- May include supporting the development of the department’s data and knowledge management strategy and other duties as assigned.
- Bachelor’s degree in organization development, public policy, social welfare, business administration, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
- 7+ years of professional experience, including 2–5 years of experience in a formal strategy consulting role and 2–5 years in a project management role.
- Experience supporting multi-year strategy implementation, including monitoring progress against plans and facilitating course corrections.
- Demonstrated ability to convey complex information using supporting tables, graphs, and other visual representations.
- Experience working with research and evaluation experts to translate data and evidence to inform strategy implementation and adaptation.
- Ability to translate ideas, data, and information effectively to a variety of audiences, including organizational leadership, the board, and staff.
- Intellectual agility, including the ability to quickly understand new issues, analyze qualitative and quantitative data, spot patterns, make connections across topics/issues, and translate complex ideas effectively across staff, leadership, and board audiences.
- Experience utilizing analytical tools, including a willingness to learn about and adopt AI tools.
- Experience building effective presentation materials and decks that convey data, learnings, and recommendations.
- Proven ability to design and facilitate productive, engaging meetings.
- Ability to work in a self-guided manner and manage multiple priorities.
- Excited to work with diverse teams and across barriers such as language, culture, and distance.
- Excellent listening skills and empathy.
- Commitment to the Foundation’s mission and values.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree in a related field (e.g., MBA, MPP, MPH).
- Experience in philanthropy or international development, particularly in contexts relevant to the assigned initiatives.
- Experience designing or managing knowledge management systems or organizational learning practices.
- Experience or familiarity with strategic learning principles and practices.
Physical Requirements
- Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
