Position: Senior Advisor
Department: K-12 Education

Reporting to: K-12 Education Program Director
FLSA Status: Exempt
Location: Jersey City, NJ

The Walton Family Foundation is seeking a skilled, highly motivated, and entrepreneurial individual to join its Education Program as Senior Advisor. The ideal candidate will bring leadership experience, a proven ability to execute at a senior level, and strong interpersonal and communication skills. They will demonstrate a respectful and analytical approach to supporting grantees, a commitment to expanding high-quality educational opportunities for students, and the ability to work effectively both as a leader and as a collaborative team member.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

We believe every associate should have access to success. Creating an environment centered on trust, respect, and bringing people together is critical to this belief.

Our aspirations are as follows:

• Create an environment where we hire, retain and bring to the table people with diverse backgrounds, viewpoints and lived experiences to create a more successful organization.
• Ensure fairness, equity and access to success for all of our associates.
• Create an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, safe, able to engage honestly.

About the Position

The Senior Advisor will play an important role in shaping and advancing the Foundation’s Education Program strategy to improve learning outcomes in the classroom. As the leader of the initiative focused on high-quality instructional materials, education technology, and teacher supports, the Senior Advisor will manage a team of Program Officers responsible for designing innovative grantmaking opportunities, cultivating strategic partnerships, and supporting grantees to maximize impact.

This role requires demonstrated leadership, coaching, and people management skills, and a record of operational and strategic excellence. The ideal candidate will bring a proven history of scaling and funding high-quality instructional materials and education technology, as well as developing innovative strategies that empower teachers in their practice and support them in their career growth.

What You Will Do

As Senior Advisor, you will play a leadership role in the Foundation’s K-12 Education Program. Your responsibilities will center on three core functions:

1. Serve as a Member of the Director’s Leadership Team

• Partner with the Program Director, Deputy Director, and K-12 leadership to shape and strengthen the Program’s culture, strategy, and impact.
• Provide counsel on current and emerging priorities, ensuring alignment with the Foundation’s vision and goals.
• Contribute insights, data, and learnings to inform strategic shifts and long-term planning.
• Represent the Foundation internally and externally, modeling its values and inspiring collaboration across teams and with key stakeholders.

2. Manage a Team of Program Officers Toward High Impact

• Lead, coach, and develop Program Officers to design and implement innovative grantmaking opportunities.
• Foster a positive, inclusive, and high-performing team culture built on collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Promote seamless collaboration across the K-12 team, the Foundation, and external partners.

3. Strengthen Grantee Relationships and Field Partnerships

• Oversee and deepen relationships with current and prospective partners aligned with Program strategy.
• Provide proactive and responsive advising to grantees – anticipating needs, resolving challenges, and guiding strategies for sustainability, monitoring, and funding.
• Shepherd proposals through the Foundation’s approval process and support grantees in achieving meaningful, measurable impact.
• Identify and cultivate new opportunities, including due diligence on prospective grantees, funding partners, and coalitions that advance new approaches and greater impact.
• Convene grantees, funders, and stakeholders for learning and knowledge-sharing that strengthen the field.

Who We Are Looking For

The ideal candidate has the following qualifications and prior work experience:

• A bachelor’s degree required; an advanced degree (master’s or higher) is preferred.
• At least 10 years of experience in education, philanthropy, or related fields.
• Demonstrated success leading and managing teams, including developing organizational strategy, shaping culture, and fostering high performance.
• Proven ability to coach, grow, and develop individuals and teams that value collaboration and accountability.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce clear, timely, and compelling materials for diverse audiences.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to prioritize and execute effectively across multiple projects.

Personal attributes that support your success

• Ability to act as a trusted advisor to principals and colleagues, exercising discretion, and demonstrating expertise and integrity.
• You are helpful, a team player, and show respect while collaborating with others to succeed together.
• A lifelong learner, who is inquisitive and solves problems with bold thinking and innovation.
• You are results oriented and exercise sound judgment in your work.
• A visionary who plans for the future with imagination and wisdom.
• You are dedicated to achieving excellence and work with others to tackle the tasks at hand.

All offers of employment are contingent on your successful completion (where permitted by state law) of a confidentiality agreement and background check. In addition, you will need to provide proper identification verifying your eligibility to work in the United States on your first day of work.

Benefits Information

Compensation Range: $219,000.00 - $329,000.00 annually

Benefits Information: We offer a comprehensive and generous benefits package which includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401 (k) retirement plan and paid time off.

About the Walton Family Foundation 

The Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses, work together to lead the foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. We work in three areas: improving K-12 education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. To learn more, visit waltonfamilyfoundation.org  and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Walton Family Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building and maintaining a culturally diverse workplace that is free of discrimination and harassment of any kind. We encourage women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.