The James Irvine Foundation (“Foundation”) seeks a curious, adaptive, and highly collaborative learning strategist to serve as its next Senior Impact Assessment & Learning Officer (IA&L). Guided by the Foundation’s Impact Assessment and Learning Framework and working across different teams, the new Senior IA&L Officer will help facilitate strategic learning within grantmaking initiatives, across grantmaking teams, and more broadly in the organization to inform grantee, staff, and board insights and decision-making. This is an attractive opportunity for an accomplished and dynamic learning professional to play a key role in strengthening strategic and comprehensive learning and impact efforts.
The James Irvine Foundation is a private, nonprofit grantmaking foundation dedicated to expanding opportunity for the people of California. The Foundation’s current focus is a California where all low-income workers have the power to advance economically. Since 1937 the Foundation has provided more than $2.92 billion in grants to organizations throughout California. The Foundation ended 2025 with $3.6 billion in assets and provided $160.2 million in grants. For more specific grantmaking initiative information, please visit Irvine – Our Focus.
IA&L at the Foundation supports assessment and learning efforts to guide strategy and enhance impact; advance accountability and transparency about what the Foundation is doing and learning as well as how that learning is being applied; and, where relevant, uplift these experiences so that they can be leveraged by others. We seek to ensure that evaluation is done equitably and in service of equity with those we seek to serve at the center of our work. To accomplish this, the Senior IA&L Officer will serve as a collaborator and facilitator with others to build multiple spaces and modalities for Foundation staff, grantees, and partners to interrogate and evolve their practices, determine how/if they align with evolving foci and principles, identify next steps, and provide strategic tools and resources to advance their work.
Reporting to the Director of Impact Assessment & Learning, Kim Ammann Howard, the Senior IA&L officer will work closely and collaboratively with IA&L team members, program staff, and foundation leadership around institutional learning and impact. As each initiative manages its respective programmatic evaluation efforts, the Senior IA&L Officer will be charged with advising Initiative Directors and their teams throughout their learning journey. They will understand and navigate both the potential and challenges for the Foundation and its’ key stakeholders, working to facilitate learning by building capacity, providing a suite of learning tools and methodologies tailored to each situation, and possessing the organizational acumen to work deftly with a range of personality and professional types. In this sense, they will serve as a trusted advisor, sense maker, and learning concierge for Foundation constituencies – helping to select resources and facilitate learning in each appropriate context as well as exploring pathways for emergent and cross-portfolio learning. As a result, it will be important that, more than a tolerance for ambiguity, the Senior IA&L Officer possess a keen appetite for creativity and the ability to support the curiosity of others.
Ideal candidates will have an appreciation for the ways that learning and evaluative practices drive reflection and inform strategic decision-making at all levels: institutionally, programmatically, within ecosystems and in relations to systems change. Compelling candidates for this position must be highly motivated, capable of self-directed work, detail-oriented, and able to work collaboratively across teams and departments. Incumbents must exhibit a keen sense of responsibility and enjoy working with multiple demands, shifting priorities, and ongoing change. While an understanding of current evaluation and learning concepts, norms, and practices is important, formal education in evaluation or experience as a professional evaluator is not required. Candidates must have experience facilitating convenings, workshops, and peer learning across issues; a history of working with an explicit focus on equity and inclusion; and proficiency in developing learning agendas, materials, and other products that advance learning and adaptation. An understanding of the principles, strategies, and mindsets required to organize individuals to influence institutions and a broader field is critical. They will also bring an extensive amount of experience in applied social science activities, which preferably includes philanthropic contexts.
Previous experience working in a complex organization is highly desired, as is the ability to hold space for others, understand multi-directional power flow and experience working in collaboration with a kaleidoscope of organizations, consultants, and sector leaders with different missions. The successful candidate will be a strong relationship builder and bring a consultative and facilitative posture to their work. Excellent organizational and interpersonal skills are necessary. Strong verbal and written communications skills are absolute musts. Most importantly, a personal and professional commitment to equity and inclusiveness is vital to advancing the work, including the understanding of how one’s own identity and lived experiences inform their work.
Application Instructions
How to Apply
The James Irvine Foundation has partnered with Talent Citizen to assist in this recruitment. To express interest in this opportunity, please contact President Tracy D. Welsh and Senior Associate Eva Kotilinek to learn more and share your resume and cover letter via email at: if-sial@talentcitizen.com.
The Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we encourage applicants who reflect the diversity of California. Qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered pursuant to the FCO.
The Foundation greatly appreciates all expressed interest.
