Vice President, Strategic Learning & Impact

Position Overview

The Vice President of Strategic Learning & Impact leads the enterprise-wide strategy for ensuring that the Foundation's initiatives achieve meaningful, measurable, and credible outcomes. This senior leadership role involves partnering with internal teams and external stakeholders to define impact metrics, gather evidence, and narrate the Foundation's success stories effectively.

Key Responsibilities

• Shape and drive the organization's vision and operational framework for learning, impact measurement, and evaluation, aligning with top-tier, fit-for-purpose methodologies tailored to philanthropic innovation.
• Serve as a trusted counselor to executive leadership, integrating insights on program efficacy and value into decision-making processes.
• Collaborate with Business Insights, Strategic Communications, and Organizational Development functions to promote synergy and clarity in impact strategies.
• Lead enterprise-wide reporting efforts on outcomes and evaluations, significantly contributing to the annual impact report.
• Develop systems and forums, including biannual strategic dialogues, to foster knowledge sharing and evidence-based program adaptation.
• Support program teams in constructing theories of change, mapping impact pathways, identifying risks, and ensuring credible impact claims.
• Facilitate programmatic evidence generation to refine and adapt strategies for sustained impact.
• Oversee the engagement and management of external evaluation partnerships.
• Champion data-driven improvements in program design and execution.
• Produce, validate, and communicate evidence and impact narratives to reinforce the Foundation’s reputation.
• Position the Foundation as an authoritative leader in strategic learning, evaluation, and adaptive philanthropy.
• Ensure all impact claims are substantiated and defensible against external examination.
• Provide thought leadership through publications, events, and strategic alliances, representing the Foundation to peers and partners.
• Lead and cultivate a high-performing team of learning professionals fostering inclusion, collaboration, creativity, and accountability.
• Offer strategic guidance, coaching, and mentorship to senior leaders within the department.
• Define team objectives, priorities, and performance standards aligned with organizational goals.
• Manage departmental resources and external investments to fulfill strategic and operational targets.

Qualifications

• Minimum 15 years of growing leadership experience in strategy, learning, evaluation, impact measurement, or related fields.
• Required bachelor's degree, with an advanced degree preferred in public policy, international development, public health, social sciences, management, evaluation, or similar disciplines.
• Proven ability to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives in global or multinational settings.
• Deep expertise in both established and innovative impact measurement methodologies.
• Experience advising top executives on strategic and operational impact considerations.
• Track record of developing and managing measurement, evaluation, and learning frameworks that enhance organizational impact.
• Outstanding communication, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement abilities.
• Preferred experience across philanthropic, public, and private sectors, with familiarity working across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America.
• Strong professional networks relevant to the Foundation’s mission.

Competencies

• Proactive and energetic approach to tackling challenging opportunities.
• Collaborative mindset to build effective partnerships for shared goals.
• Adeptness in managing complexity to solve challenging problems.
• Adaptability in learning from experimentation, using both successes and failures for growth.
• Strategic outlook capable of envisioning future possibilities and crafting groundbreaking strategies.
• Commitment to developing talent to meet individual and organizational objectives.

Additional Information

The work schedule follows a hybrid model, requiring office presence Monday through Thursday. The hiring salary range is between $257,800 and $314,000 annually, contingent upon experience and other factors. The Rockefeller Foundation offers an attractive benefits package including health insurance, tuition support, 401K provisions, parental leave, and paid time off to support employee well-being and engagement.

The Foundation is committed to values of transparency, optimism, accountability, collaboration, trust, and equity, fostering a culture of inclusion and innovation. It is committed to equal employment opportunity and compliance with all relevant laws, ensuring a diverse and welcoming workplace free from discrimination.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

A leader in philanthropic innovation, The Rockefeller Foundation invests in science, technology, and partnerships to drive well-being worldwide across sectors like food, health, energy, and finance. The Foundation emphasizes bold, high-impact initiatives to advance humanity's welfare.