Program Assistant, Director’s Portfolio

The Mellon Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the arts and humanities, seeking a Program Assistant for its Arts and Culture team. The role involves providing programmatic and logistical support, managing grants, and assisting with administrative duties to ensure the smooth operation of the team.

Responsibilities

• Serving as a liaison for prospective and existing grantees alongside the Senior Program Associate and the Program Director, by participating in meetings and site visits
• Participating in building a grant portfolio of new and renewal funding proposals under the direction of the Senior Program Associate and their supervising Program Director
• 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
• 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

Skills

• Bachelor's degree, preferably in the arts or humanities, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• 1-3 years of relevant professional experience
• A keen understanding of and interest in the arts, culture, and humanities
• Familiarity with the literary arts, including literature and creative writing across genres such as creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, as well as with experience with literary arts organizations including nonprofit presses and publishers, poetry or book festivals, residencies, fellowships and reading series
• 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
• Experience working in a not-for-profit environment and/or grants administration
• Ability to read and understand organizational budgets, and/or financials
• Flexibility, curiosity, integrity, as well as a willingness to learn from mistakes
• An empathetic manner grounded in compassion, grace, and humility

Benefits

• Mellon offers a generous total reward package that includes base salary and a comprehensive benefits program, as well as an excellent working environment.
• Mellon is committed to providing compensation that is competitive and equitable within the philanthropic sector.
• Mellon maintains a hybrid work schedule, with a minimum of three days per week in person at the Foundation’s Manhattan offices.

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