Program Assistant, Visual Arts

Position Summary

The Mellon Foundation (“Foundation”) is a not-for-profit, grant-making organization dedicated to fostering just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking. Through its grants, the Foundation supports various programs including Arts and Culture. The Foundation seeks a Program Assistant for its Arts and Culture team. Reporting to a Program Associate, the Program Assistant will provide programmatic and logistical support.

Responsibilities

• 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
• Maintaining 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 facilitating rapid response to internal questions as they arise
• Traveling to site visits, conferences, and other engagements, as needed

Qualifications

• Holds a bachelor’s degree, preferably in the arts or humanities, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Has 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
• 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