Program Manager, Rights and Economic Renewal in the U.S.. Washington, D.C.. Posting Date: 02/27/2026. Deadline: 03/13/2026

Role Title: Program Manager, Rights and Economic Renewal in the U.S.

Contract Type: Regular (5 Year Assignment)

Reporting To: Director, Rights and Economic Renewal in the U.S.

Program/Department/Unit Name: Programs

Location: Washington, D.C. or New York

Team Name: Rights and Economic Renewal in the U.S.

Role Purpose

The U.S. Rights and Economic Renewal program is looking to hire a Program Manager to join their 5-year initiative that aims to safeguard core freedoms that are under attack, expand rights, and improve Americans’ economic wellbeing.

The Program Manager will support the implementation of the OSF’s U.S. Rights and Economic Renewal strategy by serving as a primary day-to-day liaison with grantees and field partners focused on building power at the state and local levels. They will also bring strong subject matter knowledge on state-based organizing, advocacy, and/or governance to translate strategic priorities into effective, well coordinated program execution.

Key responsibilities

• Serve as a key point of contact for a specific set of states in the Rights and Economic Renewal strategy.
• Identify key leaders and organizations that could advance political power at the state level.
• Deliver as the day-to-day liaison with grantees to ensure the opportunity is designed, launched, implemented, and exited according to the outcomes defined.
• Build a strong understanding of the field and partnerships, in developing and designing the grant selection processes.
• Support the Director to deliver on the opportunity’s outcomes with professionalism.
• Work collaboratively with other members within the opportunity team and with colleagues across OSF to ensure the opportunity is effectively leveraging OSF’s capabilities to reach the agreed outcome.
• Effectively manage the grant-making process by communicating with grantees for proposal submission, assisting in grant record preparation, grants processing, payments, reporting, and other related processes.
• Manage relationships with partners, in close coordination with Geographic Policy Groups as relevant, and work with them to achieve OSF’s strategic objective through the opportunity.
• Work with leadership to maintain grant-making practice aligned with OSF's approach to grant-making and in compliance with organizational and external standards and regulations.
• Assist in the construction, maintenance, and assessment of grant making portfolio(s), sharing responsibility for strategy design with manager.
• Contribute to the larger opportunity strategy.
• Monitor and document: progress implementation, project risks, expected and unexpected results and learnings, and other relevant. status updates; adjusting implementation based on MEL insights, surfacing risks and unintended effects and ensuring adaptive delivery that’s aligned with intended outcomes.
• 25% of travel is required.
• Other duties as required.

People responsibilities (Total Team/DRs)
None

Key internal relationships
Directors, Associate Directors, Program Managers, Administrative Officers

Key external relationships

Grantee Partners, Philanthropic Peers

The ideal candidate

• Experience working with mid-size and large state-level organizations, as well as organizations that support them and make them more resilient and effective.

• Prior work experience to have been gained in the civil society sector, state and local governments, private sector, think tanks, academia and/or multilateral organizations.

• State-level experience on organizing, advocacy, policy, and/or voter engagement.

• Experience with 501c3 and 501c4 programmatic efforts.

• Competent to manage grants and partner relationships end-to-end, including due diligence, monitoring, and coordination with internal teams to ensure timely and compliant execution.

• Ability to serve as a trusted, day-to-day point of contact for nonprofit, advocacy, and research partners.

• Strong project management skills to track multiple workstreams, deadlines, and cross-team dependencies in a small, fast-moving team (Director, Associate Director, and two Program Managers).

• Ability to produce clear grant materials, internal memos, and learning summaries to support senior staff decision-making.

• Demonstrate an orientation toward learning and systems thinking.

• Proficient to work independently and being self-motivated.

• Demonstrate commitment to OSF’s core values of humility, commitment, collaboration, respect, inclusivity and integrity.

What we offer

• Exceptional opportunities to learn, grow, and make an impact; from a generous annual professional development allowance for every employee to onsite training and learning conversations with visiting experts.
• Excellent benefits and perks to promote well-being and a healthy work-life balance, including:
• Generous time off and flexible work arrangements.
• Employer-paid health insurance and dental plans for individuals and families (no employee contribution required).
• Exceptional retirement savings plan (non-contributory for employees) and life insurance.
• Progressive paid parental leave, reproductive and family planning support, and much more.
• A commitment to nurturing a diverse and inclusive workplace, so you can bring your whole self to work and make a positive impact.

The salary range for this role in the US: $136,900 - $157,000. The final offer is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set and level of experience.

Who we are

Open Society Foundations aim to establish vibrant and inclusive democracies where governments are accountable to their citizens. Our operating model organizes grantmaking around specific, time-limited projects, developed alongside support for established partners, enabling us to respond swiftly to emerging needs. We are committed to promoting human dignity, equality, and rights; reimagining democratic ideals and practice; and advancing equity in governance systems.

Guided by our founder’s values and the belief in the art of the possible, we engage directly with global entities, individuals, and policymakers through grants, advocacy, impact investing, and strategic human rights litigation to drive positive change. At the heart of our mission is a deep commitment to rights, equity, and justice, inspiring every action we take.

Additional information

Open Society Foundations is committed to building an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We actively seek applications from talented individuals across all backgrounds, identities, and life experiences. Each candidate is evaluated solely on their unique qualifications without regard to race, age, sex, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, or any other legally protected characteristics.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities

Competitive rates of pay apply.

Open Society Foundations is committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, and to building a diverse staff that reflects the movements, issues and communities that our mission serves. Candidates from all underrepresented backgrounds, identities and communities are encouraged to apply.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants and colleagues with disabilities.