Program Associate, Prize Alumni Relations; GEF

Posted on May 08, 2018

The Goldman Environmental Foundation was established by Richard & Rhoda Goldman in 1989 to honor and inspire grassroots environmental activism around the world. The Foundation administers the Goldman Environmental Prize, the world’s largest prize for grassroots environmental leaders. The Prize is awarded each year to environmental heroes from six geographic regions:
Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands & Island Nations, North America, and South & Central America. The Prize is presented at ceremonies each April in San Francisco and Washington, DC.

The Prize recognizes individuals for sustained and significant efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment, often at great personal risk. Each winner receives a significant and unrestricted cash award, international recognition that enhances their credibility, and worldwide visibility for the issues that they champion. The Goldman Prize views grassroots leaders as those creating positive change through community or citizen participation in the issues that affect them.

By putting a spotlight on these individual leaders, the Prize seeks to inspire ordinary people to take extraordinary actions to protect the natural world.

For more information, please visit http://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

The Goldman Environmental Foundation (GEF) seeks a Program Associate to play a crucial role interacting with past Prize winners. GEF’s alumni relations programs provide guidance and assistance to the winners and the Program Associate will work at the heart of this effort to support this extraordinary group of grassroots activists.

The Program Associate will play a leading role in maintaining close relations with Goldman Prize winners to help ensure their safety and security, make them aware of networking opportunities supported by the Foundation, and offer them periodic opportunities to apply for grants in support of their work. This position requires an organized, outgoing, and highly personable individual who is capable of engaging comfortably in a variety of tasks—from logistics to external relations—with people from all walks of life and all corners of the globe.

Working in collaboration with the Executive Director, Deputy Director, and Program Officers, the Program Associate will focus in three areas:

• Defense of Prize Winners:
  The Program Associate will communicate regularly with Prize winners to maintain awareness about threats to their safety resulting from their environmental work and build stronger relationships with winners so they will alert GEF if new threats arise. After identifying Prize Winners at risk, the Program Associate will assist the Program Officers and senior staff in providing appropriate support to enhance winners’ safety and security.
• Networking Program:
  The Program Associate will work closely with the Deputy Director to develop, implement, and coordinate individual and group networking opportunities for Prize winners. In doing so, the Program Associate will coordinate with GEF’s communications staff to share Prize Winner updates for possible publication in the Foundation newsletter and on social media.
• Grantmaking Program:
  The Program Associate will oversee all aspects of the grants program, from soliciting proposals from Prize winners to managing grant disbursement through GEF’s Donor Advised Fund.

The Program Associate will report to the Deputy Director.

The Program Associate will perform the following and other duties as assigned:

Defense of Prize Winners

• Solicit and respond to Prize winners’ assessment of risk or hardship, including physical, professional, and digital concerns.
• Administratively support expert-conducted risk assessments and interventions for both past and current Prize winners.
• With the program staff and the Deputy Director, work with security experts to continually develop and coordinate the risk assessment and intervention processes.

Alumni Engagement and Networking Support

• Under the guidance of the Deputy Director, manage existing alumni network tools (including…