Vice President of Programs

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Position description

The Honnold Foundation (HF) partners with local communities to expand equitable solar energy access. HF believes those experiencing the greatest impacts from climate change, economic instability, and social injustice stand to benefit the most from the renewable energy transition— and their knowledge and innovation can and should lead the way. Using a trust-based philanthropy framework, HF partners with grassroots organizations and leaders who have the vision and knowledge to create thriving, more vibrant communities in the places they call home. Over the past decade, HF has worked with grassroots organizations worldwide to increase access to solar energy, reduce environmental impact, and improve people’s lives. Powered by a tight-knit team of inventive, dedicated, and collaborative professionals, HF’s impact has scaled rapidly to reach over 130 partners, representing over $13 million of investment in grassroots communities. Please see their most recent impact report to learn more about their work, programs, and values.

The Opportunity

The Honnold Foundation is entering an exciting period of growth. Over the past two years, the organization has doubled in size, expanded its grantmaking to support more community-led solar projects and provide organizational development support to its partners, and strengthened its influence within community-led climate philanthropy. As it continues to grow, the Foundation is investing in the leadership and systems needed to scale its impact while remaining grounded in its values.

Reporting to Executive Director Emily Teitsworth, the Vice President of Programs will provide strategic leadership for the Foundation’s global and domestic programs, grantmaking, learning, and partner support. Leading a four-person programs team and working closely with leaders across advancement and operations, this role will strengthen coordination, guide program strategy, and help shape the Foundation’s evolving approach to community-led climate solutions and organizational capacity building for partners.

As a key thought partner to the Executive Director, the Vice President will help translate strategy into action, build effective systems without creating unnecessary bureaucracy, and ensure the organization continues to balance growth with flexibility, trust, and responsiveness to partners. The Vice President will also represent the Honnold Foundation externally, contributing to conversations about community-led renewable energy, climate justice, and trust-based philanthropy.

Key Responsibilities

Program Strategy

• Lead Honnold Foundation’s global and domestic program strategy, ensuring alignment with the organization’s mission, values, and theory of change.
• Set strategic priorities, guide new initiatives, and strengthen connections across grantmaking, partner support, storytelling, advocacy, and learning.
• Work with the Executive Director and senior leadership to translate strategy into clear plans and organizational priorities.
• Ensure programs remain responsive to community leadership and local context.

Grantmaking and Partner Support

• Provide strategic oversight of the Foundation’s grantmaking and long-term relationships built on trust-based partnership.
• Spend time with partners through site visits alongside the programs team to deepen relationships, understand local context, and inform program and funding decisions.
• Guide complex funding decisions while supporting multiyear, community-centered partnerships.
• Strengthen Honnold Foundation’s approach to organizational capacity building and partner convenings.
• Ensure grantmaking practices remain equitable, accessible, and responsive to partner needs.

Learning and Organizational Effectiveness

• Lead the Foundation’s approach to learning, evaluation, and continuous improvement.
• Use program insights to strengthen strategy, communications, fundraising, and organizational decision making, balancing organizational learning with sensitivity to partner time and resource constraints.
• Provide strategic oversight for the development of  systems and processes that improve coordination while preserving flexibility and autonomy.
• Support thoughtful experimentation and a culture of continuous learning.

 Team and Organizational Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing, four-person programs team and provide direct supervision of the Director of Grantmaking and Grantee Partnerships and the Manager of Knowledge and Systems.
• Partner closely with the Executive Director, Vice President of Advancement, other senior leaders, and the Board of Directors to shape and advance organizational priorities.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and accountable team culture.

External Leadership

• Represent Honnold Foundation with funders, peer organizations, and sector partners.
• Support fundraising, donor stewardship, and strategic partnerships.
• Communicate the Foundation’s community-led approach with clarity and credibility.
• Help elevate partner voices and contribute to broader conversations about climate justice and equitable philanth

Qualifications

The ideal candidate is a thoughtful and experienced program leader who combines strategic vision with humility, curiosity, and sound judgment. They are an effective listener, collaborative decision maker, and people leader who creates the conditions for others to succeed.

They bring significant experience working across cultures and geographies and demonstrate genuine cultural humility, approaching their work with self-awareness and a willingness to keep learning from those they partner with. They understand the realities facing grassroots organizations and community-led initiatives, and they are willing to name and interrogate dominant culture assumptions embedded in traditional philanthropic practice — from who holds decision-making power to how “impact” and “rigor” get defined. Ideally, they have experience working with both nonprofit organizations and philanthropy, enabling them to balance partner needs with institutional priorities while remaining committed to trust-based, community-centered approaches.

This leader is comfortable navigating complexity and ambiguity. They build effective systems without overcomplicating processes, make thoughtful decisions, and help organizations scale while preserving culture and flexibility. They are a trusted executive partner who can translate ideas into action, establish clear priorities, and foster accountability while empowering others.

An engaging communicator, they represent organizations with credibility and authenticity and are passionate about advancing climate justice, equitable philanthropy, and community leadership. Experience with community development, global programs, Indigenous communities, grassroots organizations, and/or participatory philanthropy is more important than technical expertise in solar energy. Above all, they bring integrity, warmth, and a deep commitment to the Honnold Foundation’s mission.

Qualifications

Competitive candidates will bring many of the following experiences and capabilities:

• Approximately 10 or more years of progressively responsible experience in nonprofit programs, philanthropy, global development, climate justice, community development, renewable energy access, or a related field, including significant experience leading teams, strategy, and organizational priorities.
• A track record of leading program strategy in a growing or evolving organization, including experience strengthening systems, coordination, and organizational effectiveness without sacrificing flexibility or autonomy.
• Demonstrated success managing, coaching, and developing staff, including subject matter experts.
• Experience implementing and overseeing grantmaking, subgranting, pooled funds, or other funding mechanisms, along with a strong understanding of trust-based, participatory, equity-centered, or community-led approaches.
• Meaningful lived and/or professional experience in communities like those Honnold Foundation supports, with substantial experience developing partnerships across cultures, languages, and geographies. Experience partnering with Indigenous communities is strongly valued.
• Extensive, relevant experience in at least two global regions (e.g. Central America, Southeast Asia, etc)
• Professional fluency in Spanish is strongly preferred. Fluency in French, Portuguese, or another language relevant to the Foundation’s work is also valued.
• Experience supporting grassroots or community-based organizations through capacity building, partner-centered learning, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Ability to align program strategy with fundraising, budgeting, operations, organizational planning, and external communications, including advocating for partner voice and leadership, and translating impact for funders, Boards, partners, and public audiences.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, strong judgment, and the ability to make decisions amid uncertainty, competing priorities, or incomplete information.
• A clear commitment to environmental justice, equity, and community-led solutions, along with the ability and willingness to travel periodically within the United States and internationally.

Salary, Benefits, and Location

The salary range for this position is $135,000 to $155,000, based on experience.

This is a remote position open to candidates based in the United States. Honnold Foundation offers flexibility in how and where employees work, along with shared expectations for communication, collaboration, and participation in team activities.

Honnold Foundation offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• A four-day, 32-hour workweek, Monday through Thursday
• A generous and flexible vacation policy
• A professional development stipend
• A work-from-anywhere allowance
• 100 percent employer-paid medical and dental insurance for employees
• 25 percent dependent insurance coverage
• An employee wellness stipend
• Retirement contributions matched up to five percent
• Pro deals and outdoor industry discounts

The Foundation’s compensation and benefits reflect its commitment to supporting employees as whole people. The Honnold Foundation expects team members to produce high-quality work and contribute fully to the mission while also placing a high value on flexibility, autonomy, and control over one’s time.

Work Environment & Expectations

The Honnold Foundation is a primarily remote organization that operates with a high degree of trust, flexibility, and shared accountability. Staff are expected to communicate clearly, meet commitments, and participate in collaborative work during agreed-upon hours.

The Foundation maintains a four-day workweek, with core working hours from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. PT, and seeks to protect the boundaries that make this model successful. Because the organization works across regions and time zones, some early morning or evening meetings will be necessary, with flexibility to adjust schedules accordingly.

The Vice President of Programs will participate in periodic team retreats, programs team gatherings, partner visits, and external convenings. The role requires occasional domestic and international travel, but frequent travel is not expected.

The organization’s culture is candid, collaborative, and low in hierarchy. The Vice President will be expected to model respectful communication, curiosity, accountability, and a commitment to community leadership in their relationships and decisions.

Application instructions

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