The Fetzer Institute announces an opening for a full-time program officer to help develop, manage, and evaluate Institute projects and programs in support of the Individual & Community Transformation (ICT)program area. The program officer will be a member of an advisory group consisting of peer program staff members, board members, and advisors. The position will report to the senior program officer for Individual & Community Transformation.

The Fetzer Institute is a private operating foundation with an endowment of approximately $490 million. Based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the Institute pursues its mission of fostering awareness of the power of love and forgiveness in the emerging global community through a deeply engaged board of trustees drawn from across the United States, a staff of 53 talented and experienced professionals, a select set of expert outside advisors, and a growing network of program and project partners.

The Institute was founded in 1962 by John E. Fetzer, a broadcast pioneer who was deeply influenced by many spiritual traditions. Today the Fetzer Institute is steadily gaining recognition as a leader in the study, application, and promotion of love and forgiveness as practical and proven resources for improving individual vitality, strengthening personal relationships, and creating meaningful social connections at all levels—from the grass roots to the global.

Individual & Community Transformation is one of three program areas at the Institute. (Science & Spirituality and Communication & Outreach are the other two.) The purpose of this work is to develop the capacity of people, individually and collectively, to love and forgive. By working with others, we want to enhance action and interaction that bring the power of love and forgiveness to the center of individual, organizational, and community life.

The successful candidate may possess:

• A bachelor’s degree (or advanced degree) in combination with experience in fields as varied as education, law, conflict transformation, international development, philanthropy, community building, business, or public policy and decision making
  
• Strong conceptual, analytical, and critical thinking skills, with the ability to absorb the broader meaning and context of the Institute’s work in relation to its mission and the program area
• An understanding of the change or transformation process at the individual and community levels
• Strong project management and organizational skills; comfort using Microsoft Suite applications and performing Internet research
• Experience interacting with other cultures and the ability to bring diverse perspectives to the increasingly global work of transforming individuals and communities
• A strong sense of authenticity and integrity, respect for diversity, and high ethical standards
• A healthy sense of humor and high energy, along with spiritual grounding and depth
• Capacity to work effectively in an organization that places a high value on relationships and ability to work collaboratively, emphasizing inclusiveness and flexibility, with an orientation to listening and learning
• Experience in philanthropy and/or the fields in which the Institute is interested
• An interest in, openness to, and personal engagement with the Institute’s mission, vision, and values

Core responsibilities include:

• Working collaboratively with members of the ICT team to develop and update the long-term strategic direction for the areas of focus
• Working with team members, advisors, consultants, potential partners, and members from other program areas to conduct and maintain research in the fields of interest addressed by the team’s strategic plan
• Representing the Institute at meetings, conferences, and site visits to gather information and establish relationships with potential partners, networks, and funding sources
• Inviting, receiving, evaluating, and responding to inquiries and proposals from a wide range of constituencies and working with the most promising projects to develop and refine program plans and budgets to be presented as project recommendations for approval by the board of trustees
• Participating in and, where appropriate, facilitating in-house and off-site meetings of project working groups, as well as conferences, retreats, dialogues, and public events
• Providing fiscal and administrative supervision for all assigned projects, including discussions with project leaders and partners; participation in project meetings and site visits; monitoring administrative and financial progress reports; preparing progress reports; developing and supervising evaluation of projects; and reporting on findings and implications of programs
• Participating in program group meetings and assisting in the conceptualization and development of the Institute’s overall program direction
• Participating in the development of annual program/advisory team budgets and financial planning, managing specific project budgets, and recommending approval of appropriate final project expenses and accountings to the Vice President–Finance & Administration

 
This position requires approximately 25% travel and the incumbent must be available after hours and on weekends for Institute-related meetings and events.

The Institute is located in a beautiful wooded setting on the outskirts of Kalamazoo, a university town in Southwest Michigan halfway between Detroit and Chicago and thirty miles from Lake Michigan. Adjacent to the Institute is its programmatic retreat center, Seasons. Seasonsis dedicated to bringing people together in dialogue, reflection, and learning. Approximately thirty miles south of the Institute is its contemplative retreat center, GilChrist, which was founded to assist individuals in their quest to nurture their experience of the sacred in everyday life.

The Institute offers a unique working environment and a competitive salary and benefits package. To learn more about the Fetzer Institute, please visit www.fetzer.org.

Qualified candidates are invited to mail, e-mail, or fax a letter of interest, résumé, and three-year salary history by March 28, 2008, to: Human Resources, 9292 West KL Ave., Kalamazoo, MI 49009, ictjob@fetzer.org, or 269-372-9633 (fax). Electronic submission as e-mail attachments in MSWord is preferred. (Please use “ictjob” in the subject line.) This position will remain open until filled.