Principal, Programs and Policy (Philanthropic Partnerships)

About Omidyar Network (ON): 

Omidyar Network (ON) is a philanthropic organization whose mission is to bend the arc of the digital revolution toward shared power, prosperity, and possibility. Digital technology is a powerful and ubiquitous force that, harnessed wisely, makes wondrous things happen. We believe in working together to guide tech’s trajectory intentionally. Our vision is for our shared humanity to steer our digital future.

So far, we have committed more than $1.94 billion to initiatives that share our vision. We engage, partner with, and fund some of the world’s brightest thinkers and innovators to guide our digital future toward the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

About the Programs and Policy team: 

Our Programs and Policy team focuses on the key drivers of our shared digital future: the culture, the governance, and the business of digital tech. Through grantmaking, advocacy, and funder partnership, we aim to shape more intentional societal governance and amplify our shared agency. We work with a broad range of stakeholders, including investors, tech firms, policymakers, consumers, and workers, to guide tech’s trajectory and build coalitions and counterweights to concentrated power in civil society. Our team members come from policy, advocacy, nonprofits, community organizing, technology, consulting, philanthropy, education, and the arts.

About the Role: 

As the Principal, Programs and Policy (Philanthropic Partnerships) at ON you will play a central role in honing our engagement across the philanthropic ecosystem at a time when so many funders, new and seasoned alike, are asking questions about artificial intelligence and digital technology: What role should we play? Where to begin? Who’s doing what? What opportunities stand out?   

In this role, you will upgrade our approach to philanthropic partnership in three domains: (1) funder education, everything we do to help individual and institutional funders get oriented, networked, and off the sidelines; (2) funder collaboration, including a portfolio of formal partnerships and faster-moving aligned funding opportunities; and (3) signature initiatives or products to elevate our network’s point-of-view and priorities.   

This is an exciting time to join ON. In recent years, we’ve incubated or seeded new initiatives (e.g., Andaris, The Tech We Want), co-founded philanthropic collaboratives (e.g., Humanity AI, Responsible Tech Youth Power Fund), and co-convened funder learning tables and workshops (e.g., AI and labor, competition, California policy). 

The ideal candidate is a savvy orchestrator who excels at the relational, intellectual, and strategic dimensions of moving a fragmented philanthropic ecosystem toward greater impact. You are equally at ease one-on-one with a family foundation principal discussing what we know about AI’s labor implications or briefing an eclectic room of 30 funders on ON’s priorities. Day to day, you are the conductor of a team-wide partnership approach that demands judgment calls about what to spotlight, who to pull into meetings, and how to translate an opportunity for different audiences.  

This role reports to the Senior Director, Programs and Policy, who is based remotely in Los Angeles, CA.

How You’ll Contribute to our Impact: 

• Be a trusted resource for funders. Run substantive briefings on the tech/AI and society landscape and the opportunities most responsive to field and funder priorities. Create and manage a library of assets including briefing presentations and two-pagers that illuminate opportunities for institutional philanthropy, high-net-worth individuals and family offices, funding intermediaries, donor advisors, and other public interest funds. Plan and facilitate events that connect funders with learning and investment opportunities, bringing in relevant experts and ON colleagues. 
• Steward relationships with funders. Manage a pipeline of funder relationships spanning inbound inquiries, proactive outreach, and existing partnerships. Convene regular strategy and learning conversations across our anchor partnerships (e.g., Humanity AI, Andaris, The Tech We Want, etc). Collaborate with ON’s leadership and members of the Programs and Policy team to share timely co-funding opportunities, joint initiatives, and aligned strategies. Work with our Strategy, Learning, and Impact team on tracking and reporting our impact.
• Listen, learn, and shape the philanthropic conversation. Stay current on the evolving philanthropic landscape as it relates to the governance of digital technology, artificial intelligence, and societal implications. Travel to represent ON at strategic convenings and conferences. Be a recognized voice on philanthropic partnership and our priority areas.

Location: 

This is a hybrid role, with employees working in the office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. This position will be based out of our San Francisco or Washington, DC office. Employees must reside within 100 miles of their assigned office location. This role will require moderate travel (20-30% depending on time of year). 

Candidates must have a current U.S. work authorization to be considered. ON does not sponsor or provide support for visas or work authorization, including H-1B, OPT, STEM OPT, and other temporary work authorization programs.

Compensation: 

This is a full-time, salaried position that features competitive pay and benefits, including health care (medical/dental/vision), paid time off, and a generous employer 401(k) contribution. The starting salary range for this role is $171,400-$214,200 in San Francisco and $154,200-$192,800 in Washington, DC. ON manages pay equity seriously and new hires generally start at the midpoint of this range.

What You'll Bring to the Team: 

• Minimum of 7 years in philanthropy, partnerships, fundraising, or a related field. Relevant experience may include, but is not limited to: work with foundations or funder collaboratives; donor advisory or family office teams; institutional or major-gift fundraising at a non profit, research institution, or policy organization.
• An entrepreneurial mindset and commitment to our mission. You’re comfortable with ambiguity, energized by building, and quick to spot emerging trends across technology, policy, and philanthropy. You care about shaping the digital future for shared power, prosperity, and possibility.
• Credibility within the philanthropic ecosystem and a strong track record with funders. You build trust quickly with senior decision-makers, listen as well as you advocate, and have produced sustained high-impact partnerships that produced results and stayed true to shared values. You understand who is funding what and where the openings for collaboration are. You bring relationships in some part of the philanthropic ecosystem (institutional and family foundations, family offices, individual donors and their advisors, funding intermediaries, or newer tech and AI funders) and the instincts to build the rest.
• Fluency in digital technology, AI, and its societal implications. You don’t need to be a technologist, but you demonstrate a sophisticated level of engagement with major aspects of technology and AI governance, grasp what’s at stake, and can translate issues in a clear and accessible manner.
• Strategic thinking and execution. You connect outside opportunities to our goals, turn big-picture thinking into concrete next steps, and keep many relationships moving at different stages, with the organization and follow-up discipline that earns funders’ trust: nothing slips, every conversation has a next step, and you know where your time matters most. 
• Outstanding writing and presentation skills. You have delivered presentations or briefings that oriented senior audiences, including board level rooms, to a complex field, and you can write the materials yourself.

Omidyar Network is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes people from all experiences, abilities, and perspectives to apply. We fundamentally believe that people are inherently capable but often lack opportunity. We know that a diverse workforce reflecting a broad range of backgrounds and views allows us to see problems in more nuanced ways, creating the thought leadership needed to elevate humanity and evolve the culture, governance, and business of technology. We actively recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a broad candidate pool. We are committed to an inclusive and accessible hiring process. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in any part of the application or interview process, please let us know at recruitment@omidyar.com.