Program Associate, Strategic Initiatives

The Rippel Foundation is seeking a Program Associate, Strategic Initiatives that will advance the goals of Rippel’s programs and cultivate, manage, and sustain Rippel’s strategic relationships. This role requires skills and experience in the administration and execution of complex projects (50%) and business development/strategic partnerships supportive processes (50%). This role has the potential to help shape and implement strategies to ensure Rippel can successfully raise funds to meet revenue goals, deepen strategic partnerships across the country, and effectively spread and increase uptake of Rippel’s tools and content.

The Program Associate, Strategic Initiatives is a remote position and reports to the Deputy Director, Strategic Initiatives.

Who you are:

• Organized and efficient. You can keep track of many different things at once. Managing through complexity and ambiguity comes naturally for you; you thrive in a busy environment and are calm under pressure.
• Collaborative and enthusiastic people-person. You love working with people, can quickly earn trust, are a team player and enjoy engaging with diverse perspectives.
• Clear communicator. You are direct and concise. You write clearly and adapt to strike the right tone with a respective audience.
• Trustworthy. You handle confidential and sensitive information with humility, professionalism, and discretion.
• Passionate. You want to use philanthropy as a force for good to improve health and well-being and advance equity.
• Patient, adaptable and proactive: When you see challenges, you seek to offer solutions and suggest alternatives for helping move through ambiguity. 

About the Rippel Foundation

The Rippel Foundation (Rippel) was established in 1953 to invest in initiatives addressing cancer, heart disease, the health of women and the elderly, and the maintenance of our nation’s hospitals. In 2007, we refocused our approach to these priorities, recognizing that a commitment to broader health system change is essential to achieve real, lasting impact. Today, Rippel is a nonprofit operating foundation with one primary strategic purpose: to be a catalyst for an equitable future for health and well-being. We believe that this goal is attainable if enough of us—individuals and organizations in all sectors—see ourselves and each other as interdependent stewards in a growing movement to thrive together. To accomplish this, Rippel focuses on creating equitable health and well-being for all in the US, beginning with those who are struggling and suffering. Rippel helps stewards adopt new mindsets and practices, enabling them to better assure the vital conditions and urgent services that all people need to thrive exist in communities across the country.

Working at the cutting edge of system transformation and building on its deep experience and expertise, Rippel focuses on those stewards best positioned to affect change in philanthropy, health systems and corporations. Rippel also partners with peers in a growing field to shift commitments, relationships, actions, and investments as well as create new norms – all grounded in what people need to thrive.

About the Strategic Initiatives Team

Our strategic initiatives team is at an exciting point in executing Rippel’s 10-year strategic roadmap. In 2024, this team emerged from the combination of the strategic partnership and program teams to streamline the strategic initiatives process from development and cultivation of relationships to implementation of strategic programming. The team is the largest at Rippel and facilitates, designs, disseminates, and coaches partners on Rippel’s core content, tools, and systemic models.

Program Associate, Strategic Initiatives

Job Description

Classification: Full-time; Exempt; Benefits-eligible

Summary

Reporting to the Deputy Director, Strategic Initiatives, the Program Associate will advance the goals of Rippel’s programs by taking responsibility for the design and execution of discrete tasks that assist with the processes of cultivating, managing, and sustaining relationships with external partners and delivering Rippel’s core content. This is to ensure Rippel can both successfully raise funds to meet revenue goals and deepen strategic partnerships across the country. The Program Associate will be able to contribute content expertise and experience in administration and management of complex projects and have solid familiarity with business development/strategic partnerships processes. The Program Associate has a true commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Duties and Responsibilities

CRM Management and Coordination

• Assist with the implementation and management of the Customer Relationships System (CRM) at Rippel including supporting development of materials and trainings for successful organizational roll out

Cultivation and Coordination of Strategic Partnerships

• Conduct discrete research projects to identify and cultivate new partnership opportunities, including spotting opportunities for Rippel staff to participate in networking
• Compile and analyze potential partnership opportunities to identify alignment and write recommendations to further Rippel’s mission and commitments
• Assist with the production of proposals, including managing coordination of concept and proposal development and grant reporting requirements pre- and post-award
• Track exploratory and developmental opportunities to ensure appropriate review and visibility for internal stakeholders
• Assist in the facilitation of large external virtual and in-person workshops and gatherings that may be needed with new and existing partners; facilitate smaller meetings and gatherings of diverse stakeholders as assigned
• Assist in the coordination of ReThink Health Toolbox webinar series (or similar communications opportunities) to broaden organizational audience and support building demand for Rippel’s services

Process Coordination and Improvement for Strategic Partnerships

• Provide ongoing review of Rippel’s strategic partnerships processes and make recommendations for process improvements and upgrades to contribute to organizational effectiveness in cultivating, managing and sustaining relationships
• Help to facilitate coordination of organizational needs (e.g. preparatory materials, agendas, other invitees) related to cultivating and sustaining new relationships to ensure the Associate Director and other senior leaders are equipped for meetings and networking opportunities with new partners

Strategic Initiatives Team Member

• Assist in the facilitation of large external virtual and in-person workshops and gatherings; facilitate smaller meetings and gatherings of diverse stakeholders as assigned
• Provide programmatic support in the development of new tools and/or exercises to support program/project objectives using an equity lens
• Provide project management support to project directors to ensure smooth workflow and on-time delivery of quality deliverables including tracking budgets and organizing materials
• Participate in ongoing communication of organizational learning
• Independently author and/or contribute to others’ blog writing; contribute to proposal and report preparation; and participate in social media posting
• Participate in, and assist in the planning of, organizational activities and convenings
• Maintain respectful, clear, and timely communication with external partners as requested
• Special projects and other
• Provide ongoing review of internal work processes, recommending upgrades or improvements
• Participate in all staff meetings, organizational development, and on-going team update meetings
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, business, public policy, or social sciences or equivalent experience
• At least 2 years’ experience in data management and the coordination and implementation of projects and/or initiatives and synthesizing learnings and insights for a broader team. A combination of education, work, and community engagement experiences will be considered to meet this requirement.
• Experience in philanthropy or fundraising/development is preferred but not required
• Understanding of the concept of health equity and how it can apply to systemic change work at Rippel 
• Ability to learn and master new technology quickly, comfortable with Microsoft Office applications, shared calendaring, shared file systems, webinar hosting, project management, and other databases
• Superb attention to detail
• Ability to work independently or with a team; ability to take initiative and to establish good working relationships with team members at all levels of the organization and with external partners
• Experience working effectively with diverse colleagues and clients
• Demonstrated excellent organizational, written, verbal, intercultural communication, and analytical skills
• Demonstrated ability to exercise independent judgement, prioritize, and accurately complete multiple tasks, and to work under deadlines and changing priorities
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of information
• A broad appreciation for and sensitivity to Rippel’s culture and workplace environment, including its commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion across racial, cultural, political, and ideological differences

Additional Conditions of Employment

• Fully remote or hybrid position. Northeast location preferred.
• Some out of town and overnight travel required, approximately 10% to 15%.
• The work environment is a typical hybrid office setting, requiring regular sitting; frequent talking; hearing; repetitive motions such as typing and writing; and use of virtual conferencing systems and practices.
• Requires close visual acuity to perform activities such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading.
• Requires concentrated attention to execute responsibilities related to legal contracts, editing, writing, research, and understanding high-level concepts.
• Rippel is committed to an ongoing journey for equity and justice. We prohibit discrimination and harassment based on characteristics, perceived or actual, protected by applicable federal, state, and local laws or ordinances in all employment practices. We encourage applications from those who, through both their work and lived experience, can further our efforts to help create just systems where all people thrive.
• Applicants requiring an accommodation due to a disability should contact Human Resources at awells@rippel.org.

Benefits

Salary: $75,200 - $84,600 annually

Rippel offers a comprehensive and flexible benefits package including health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, basic life/LTD, flexible spending accounts, 401k, and generous paid time off, including paid family leave.