Program Assistant, Visual Arts

Position description

The Mellon Foundation (“Foundation”) is a not-for-profit, grant making organization that believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and we believe that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom to be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. The Foundation makes grants in four core program areas - Higher Learning, Arts and Culture, Public Knowledge, and Humanities in Place - and through its signature Presidential Initiatives. The Foundation seeks a Program Assistant for our Arts and Culture team.  

 

Position Summary:  

Reporting to a Program Associate, the Program Assistant will provide programmatic and logistical support to the Program Associate, their supervising Program Officer, and the broader Arts and Culture team. The successful candidate will be thoughtful, highly motivated, energetic, collaborative, and congenial, with well-developed communication and organizational skills. The work is detail-oriented and requires strong organizational and communication skills, flexibility, cool-headedness, effective time-management, precision, patience, efficiency, and discretion. 

 

Position Description:  

Responsibilities may include, but will not be limited to the following:   

 

Grants Management:   

• Serving as a liaison for prospective and existing grantees alongside the Program Associate and the Program Officer, by participating in meetings and site visits 
• Participating in building a grant portfolio of new and renewal funding proposals under the direction of the Program Associate and their supervising Program Officer 
• Monitoring the progress of proposals from first receipt to approval, including their timely tracking and management in Fluxx, the Foundation’s grants management system, and communicating with grantees as directed about the progress of their proposals in line with Foundation deadlines 
• Carefully reviewing grant reports and requests for modifications, extensions, and transfers, correspond with grantees about successes as well as challenges, alert program colleagues regarding key activities or difficulties, and follow up as appropriate 
• Working with other Foundation departments to ensure timely delivery and processing of grant-related information for proposals, reports, and modifications, and facilitate rapid response to internal questions as they arise 
• Traveling to site visits, conferences, and other engagements, as needed 

 

Administrative Duties:  

• Keeping grant files in the Foundation's file management system up to date as well as resolving inconsistencies and preparing reports 
• Undertaking general office and grant-related work, such as electronic filing, maintaining program records, preparing correspondence, responding to requests for information, scheduling, etc. 
• Assisting with information gathering regarding the development of new grant initiatives and the review of existing programs as requested by program leadership 
• Participating in team-level process-improvement projects, as assigned 
• Representing the Arts and Culture program in cross-functional meetings and collaborating with other departments to advance program goals 
• Offering administrative support for convenings, gatherings, and events, as needed 

Qualifications

The ideal candidate would hold a bachelor’s degree, preferably in the arts or humanities, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. 

Applicants should possess:  

• 1-3 years of relevant professional experience
• Knowledge of organizational practices and trends in museums and visual arts organizations of all sizes
• A keen understanding of and interest in the arts, culture, and humanities 
• Flexibility, curiosity, integrity, as well as a willingness to learn from mistakes 
• An empathetic manner grounded in compassion, grace, and humility 

• Ability to manage multiple projects, while being a committed team player 
• An orientation toward self-starting, proactive anticipation of team needs, and creative problem solving 
• Superior written communication skills; excellent analytical, critical thinking, and organizational skills with precise attention to detail
• A high degree of competency in the MS Office suite, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, and Word, Adobe Suite, and the ability to learn new applications quickly

And, ideally, the following professional knowledge: 

• Experience working in philanthropy
• Experience working in a not-for-profit environment and/or grants administration
• Ability to read and understand organizational budgets, and/or financials

 

The Mellon Foundation is committed to building an inclusive workplace where all individuals are treated with dignity and respect. Employment opportunities are based on individual qualifications, merit, and organizational need, without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We welcome applications from qualified individuals of all backgrounds. 

Application instructions

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