Vice President, Strategic Learning & Impact

About the Role

The Vice President, Strategic Learning & Impact, leads The Rockefeller Foundation's enterprise-wide approach to impact, measurement, and evaluation (M&E). As a senior leader and trusted advisor, the role shapes how the Foundation develops, measures, and adapts its work to maximize impact and advance its mission. The Vice President provides strategic counsel to executive leadership and the Program Leadership Team, ensuring evidence and insights inform decision-making across the Foundation. This position oversees a team of strategic learning professionals and external partners, establishes best-in-class learning and measurement practices, and strengthens the Foundation's brand and reputation as a credible, data-driven organization.

Responsibilities

• Establish and lead the Foundation's vision, strategy, and operating model for strategic learning, impact measurement, and evaluation, setting and upholding institutional standards and practices aligned with global best-in-class methodologies tailored to the Foundation’s Big Bet model of philanthropy.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to executive leadership on matters related to impact, including defining and measuring the efficiency, effectiveness, value, and impact of major investments.
• Shape institutional practices that integrate impact-related considerations into decision-making processes.
• Collaborate closely with the Business Insights, Strategic Communications, and Organizational Development and Learning teams to ensure alignment, clear delineation, and synergy.
• Lead the development of enterprise-level reporting on impact, outcomes, and evaluation, contributing significant data, evidence, and thought leadership to the annual impact report.
• Build systems, processes, tools, and forums that enable knowledge sharing, reflection, and evidence-based adaptation, including twice-yearly strategic dialogues.
• Guide program teams in designing theories of change, impact pathways, surfacing impact-related risks, and ensuring the integrity of charitability claims.
• Enable priority program and non-program teams to generate evidence about what is and isn’t working to support refinement and adaptation of strategies for measurable and lasting impact.
• Direct the design, procurement, and management of external evaluation and learning partnerships.
• Promote the effective use of data and insights to improve program design and execution.
• Generate and quality-assure evidence, data, and impact stories to elevate how the Foundation tells its impact story.
• Strengthen the Foundation's reputation as a data-driven organization and a leader in strategic learning, evaluation, and impact measurement, and adaptive philanthropy.
• Ensure the Foundation’s impact claims are credible, defensible, and can withstand external scrutiny.
• Contribute thought leadership through publications, convenings, presentations, and strategic partnerships.
• Represent the Foundation with peer institutions, funders, evaluators, researchers, and other strategic partners, expanding its network.
• Lead and develop a high-performing Strategic Learning & Impact team, fostering inclusion, collaboration, innovation, and accountability.
• Provide strategic direction, coaching, and mentorship to directors and senior staff.
• Establish team goals, priorities, and performance expectations aligned with Foundation objectives.
• Steward departmental resources and external investments to achieve strategic and operational objectives.

Requirements

• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in strategy, learning, evaluation, impact measurement, program design, or related disciplines.
• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree in public policy, international development, public health, social sciences, management, evaluation, or related field strongly preferred.
• Extensive experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives and teams within global or multinational environments.
• Deep technical knowledge of impact measurement practices and methods, including established best practices and emerging approaches.
• Experience advising senior executives and organizational leaders on strategic and operational decisions.
• Demonstrated experience designing and overseeing measurement, evaluation, and learning frameworks that drive organizational impact.
• Exceptional communication, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Experience working across philanthropic, public, and private sectors is strongly preferred.
• Experience working with global partners across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America is preferred.
• Extensive relevant networks and contacts to leverage in support of the Foundation’s work.

Skills

• Action Oriented: Takes on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm.
• Collaborates: Builds partnerships and works collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
• Manages Complexity: Makes sense of complex, high-quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
• Nimble Learning: Learns through experimentation when tackling new problems, using both successes and failures as learning opportunities.
• Strategic Mindset: Sees ahead to future possibilities and translates them into breakthrough strategies.
• Develops Talent: Develops people to meet both their career goals and the organization's goals.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We make big bets to promote the well-being of humanity in food, health, energy, and finance, including through our public charity, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC).

Benefits

The Rockefeller Foundation offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that includes:

• Health insurance programs
• Tuition reimbursement and student loan repayment
• Generous 401K
• Parental leave
• Various forms of paid time off

Pay

Hiring range: $257,800 - $314,000. Actual pay will vary based on various factors, including but not limited to experience.

Schedule

This role is on a hybrid work schedule and is required to be in the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.