For any questions or concerns about the application process, please contact Taryn Palumbo at Taryn.Palumbo@ocgrantmakers.org

Program Associate

Organization Overview

Orange County Grantmakers (OCG) is the regional philanthropic serving organization for Orange County. Representing over 40 of the largest funders and philanthropists in the County, the organization serves as a collective voice for philanthropy and grantmakers. Our mission is to advance equity by creating strategic alignment and cultivating transformational relationships and leadership among OC philanthropists and nonprofits.

While OCG’s membership is exclusive to funders and philanthropists, OCG also serves as a convener for the nonprofit community, bridging the divide between funder and nonprofit. It is our vision that Orange County is a place where philanthropists and nonprofits work together as partners to achieve equity for our most impacted communities.

Through our membership and extensive relationships with the nonprofit community OCG has a reach of over 2000+ individual contacts and email addresses representing philanthropy, business and nonprofit.

OCG is a fiscally sponsored project of Charitable Ventures.

OCG seeks a full-time Program Associate to support the Executive Director across all programs and activities. The ideal candidate must be able to function independently with minimal supervision, handle multiple projects simultaneously, and have the ability to serve as a reliable and flexible member of a small team. The idea candidate will also have a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), be willing to implement our strategic plan and will be expected to engage in continued learning and growth.

OCG is committed to fostering a workplace that reflects the diversity of our membership and community. We welcome applications from people of all cultures, backgrounds, and experiences, and we highly encourage applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, bilingual and bicultural individuals, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. OCG strives to foster an inclusive work environment and we are committed to full inclusion of all qualified individuals. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to Taryn Palumbo at Taryn.Palumbo@ocgrantmakers.org.

In execution their responsibilities, the Program Associate will have the opportunity to gain substantive experience in the Orange County philanthropic and nonprofit space. They will benefit from close collaboration with a diverse group of funders, philanthropic and nonprofit leaders, advocacy organizations and policymakers. Through our work, OCG staff gain a deep understanding of the strategies employed in the field of philanthropy, the relationship building that exists among funders and nonprofits, the critical stakeholders in this space, and the pressing issues faced by nonprofits and philanthropy alike.

There will be three rounds to the application process and all applicants will hear back from us, whether or not they are advanced to the next round. We will stop accepting applications on Friday, December 2nd, 2022 or when we receive 100 applications, whichever is first.

  • Round 1: All candidates are invited to submit answers to the following three questions via an online survey:
    • What skills and experiences do you have that directly relate to the job duties?
    • Why are you interested in this position?
    • What does equity mean to you, and why is it important?

 

  • Round 2: Those candidates that most closely align with OCG’s mission and values as well as the Program Associate job duties will have a 30-minute interview with OCG’s Executive Director.

 

  • Round 3: Candidates who advance to the final stage will have the opportunity to meet with the OCG Executive Director as well as a member of the OCG Advisory Board for a 60 minute zoom interview. Ahead of the interview, we will ask candidates to share their resume, references, and complete a short exercise to demonstrate relevant skills for the position. Candidates will be compensated for their time during this round.
  • Coordinate logistics for all OCG meetings (both virtual and in-person) including:
    • Collecting and organizing documents and RSVPs
    • Managing scheduling of necessary parties via email or doodle poll
    • Taking notes and producing minutes if requested
    • Conducting follow-up with participants and attendees
    • Scoping out and coordinating with venues and vendors
  • Manage the program content for OCG events in collaboration with the Executive Director and various supporting consultants including:
    • Member Forums
    • Issue Table Meetings and Convening’s
      • Health Equity
      • Immigration
      • Food Security
      • Early Education
      • OCCRC
    • Capacity Building Trainings and Programs
      • Ready to Grow
      • BIPOC Funders Group
    • External Programming
      • Beyond Equity Learning Series
      • Community Outreach
      • Partnership Programs with OneOC
    • Maintain accurate and detailed financial records of all program expenses including processing of program related expenses
    • Support the OCG Program Committee
    • Draft content for OCG’s monthly e-newsletter
    • Support OCG’s social media through postings aligned with programming
    • Represent OCG at community meetings as appropriate
    • Assist with other administrative tasks, including data entry and proofreading
  • Equity Orientated: People with a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; a deep understanding and alignment with OCG’s strategic plan and a strong commitment to continued learning and growth in this area
  • Pro-Active Communicators: People that will reach out when they need something. They have demonstrated ability to establish positive relationships with all types of stakeholders and personalities in order to work collaboratively with colleagues
  • Reliable and Responsive: People who you know you can reach when needed. They are also happy to jump in to help when needed on a small team
  • Disciplined: People who know how to prioritize their tasks and get things done. They have an exceptional ability to time manage and juggle multiple projects, priorities, and deadlines, and to adapt to changing context. They take initiative and work effectively and efficiently with little supervision.
  • Detail Oriented: People who have a very strong attention to detail and organizational skills. They find all the formatting errors.
  • Writers: People with excellent editing and writing skills
  • Tech Comfortable: People who are comfortable with online apps, video conferencing and can learn new tech skills as needed (Canva, social media posting, etc.)
  • Self-Learner: People who like to learn new things, and will come to the table with new ideas and a proactive, creative, problem solving attitude.
  • Minimum of two years of related work experience, including internships, work study or other volunteer experience
  • Comfort with video conferencing
  • Experience and/or understanding of the OC nonprofit and/or philanthropic space
  • U.S. work authorization

Salary is $24 – $29/hr, depending on the years and type of experience a candidate brings. OCG (through our fiscal sponsor Charitable Ventures also offers all employees 401(k) voluntary employee contribution and full-time employees (30 or more hours per week): health insurance (medical, dental, vision); paid time off; and company-wide holidays.

This position is remote, but the candidate must be based in Orange County, CA. This position does not provide a relocation allowance. The Program Associate must have an ability and willingness to travel on occasion, including for 1x monthly meetings with the Executive Director, and for in-person events and programs as they are scheduled. The Program Associate will be stationary (at a desk) for extended periods of time to complete their work. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week. However time of work is negotiable, so long as the candidate is available and present for all programs and meetings as are scheduled.

How do we build a compassionate and inclusive America in an age of distrust? WAJAHAT ALI knows from personal experience that when we come together to be the superheroes of our own stories, we can create honest social change. The beloved TED speaker has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and The Atlantic about our urgent issues—immigration, politics, parenthood—with boldness, hope, and humor. His memoir Go Back to Where You Came From, one of Amazon’s Best Books of the Year, follows his life as a Muslim Pakistani-American on a surprising, emotional, and challenging quest for the good life. Iconic journalist Katie Couric says that “we are all so fortunate to be on the receiving end of his intellect, his humanity, and his heart.”

Wajahat Ali

“With wit and charm, Ali delivers a masterful meditation on growing up brown in America...he gives us a clear-eyed affirmation of the country America could be.” — Mara Gay, New York Times

Wajahat Ali uses his platform to fight tirelessly for the social change we need in our country—and he isn’t afraid to get personal while doing it. The Daily Beast columnist and former New York Times writer, TED speaker, award-winning playwright, and Peabody-nominated producer of the documentary series The Secret Life of Muslims offers us his experiences of triumph over hardship as a beacon of hope and resilience in the face of life’s impossible situations. From his experiences of Islamophobia growing up as a Muslim Pakistani-American to his two-year-old daughter’s liver cancer diagnosis, Wajahat is living proof that when we share our authentic stories, we build the America we wish to live in.”

In his memoir Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American, Wajahat teaches us how to create our own superhero origin story, invest in hope for the future of America, and enact real social change. The book was called “biting and funny and full of heart” by NPR. Representative Ilhan Omar called Wajahat’s work “hilarious” and “deeply moving”, and legendary writer Dave Eggers said it was the book he’d “been hoping Wajahat Ali would write for ten years—hilarious, stylistically fearless, deeply humane.”

Wajahat is also the author of The Domestic Crusaders—the first major play about Muslim-Americans in a post-9/11 world. He was the lead researcher and author for the Center for American Progress’s seminal report “Fear Inc., Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America,” and served as a national correspondent for Al Jazeera America, where he told stories about communities and individuals often marginalized or under-reported in mainstream media.

As Creative Director of Affinis Wajahat Labs, he worked to create social entrepreneurship initiatives to support and uplift marginalized communities. He also worked with the US State Department to design and implement the “Generation Change” leadership program to empower young social entrepreneurs. Wajahat initiated chapters in eight countries, including Pakistan and Singapore. For his work, he was honored as a “Generation Change Leader” by Sec. of State Clinton and recognized as an “Emerging Muslim American Artist” by the Muslim Public Affairs Council. 

He has given keynote speeches around the world such as TED, The Aspen Ideas Festival, Google, the United Nations, and The New Yorker Festival. His writing appears regularly in the New York TimesThe Atlantic, the Washington Post, and The Guardian. He’s a Senior Fellow at The Western States Center and Auburn Seminary and co-host of Al Jazeera’s The Stream.