Senior Strategy, Learning & Evaluation Officer - Education

The Opportunity

The Walton Family Foundation is seeking a skilled, highly motivated, and entrepreneurial individual to join the team as Senior Officer, Strategy, Learning, and Evaluation, supporting the Foundation’s Education Program.

The Senior Officer will report to the Director of Strategy, Learning, and Evaluation. The Strategy, Learning and Evaluation Department (SLED), serves as WFF’s internal consultative function – playing a key role in generating actionable information about the progress and results of the Foundation’s philanthropic initiatives. To ensure alignment with the Education Program, the Senior Officer will also dotted-line report to the Education Program Deputy Director.

This leader will be tasked with supporting the Education Program in designing, implementing, and continually improving its evaluation and learning practices. The Education Program is a

sophisticated, evidence-driven team with a long and rich history of rigorous research and evaluation. The Senior Officer will step into a high-performing, high-expectations environment alongside talented colleagues who are deeply expert in their respective K-12 education areas.

The Senior Officer partners closely with Education Program staff, SLED colleagues, and external partners to ensure that strategies are clearly articulated, performance is tracked, grants are evaluated, and reflection informs adaptation.

The Senior Officer also leads and manages evaluation and learning projects within the Education Program, develops tools and frameworks for data analysis, and contributes to Education Program learning priorities. Through dual expertise in learning and evaluation approaches and the K-12 education sector, the Senior Officer will promote effective collaboration, evidence building, and reflection across the Education Program, the Foundation, with SLED colleagues, and among grantees and partners as needed.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Support Program Articulation of Strategy: Partner with program staff to define, document, review, and communicate clear, consistent strategies—including goals and theories of change—aligned with foundation priorities.
• Support Grantmaking: Ensure grants align with strategy by partnering on metrics, evaluations, and end-of-grant reflection to generate actionable learning about results and impact.
• Track Progress: With Program leadership, develop, analyze, and communicate key performance indicators (KPIs) and other evidence through durable systems (e.g., data dashboards) that make progress toward strategic goals visible and reliable.
• Facilitate Reflection and Learning: Design and lead structured learning processes that integrate data, evaluations, and contextual insights to inform ongoing strategy improvement and adaptation.
• Leadership: Serve as a trusted advisor and partner to the Education Program by building strong relationships, managing evaluation projects and consultants, supporting program needs, and representing the foundation in external learning and evaluation conversations.
• Foundation-Wide Contribution: Advance foundation-wide evaluation and learning practices by contributing to shared tools, cross-program initiatives, and systems that strengthen consistency, alignment, and transparency.

Candidate Profile

While it is understood that no candidate will offer every desired skill, quality, and characteristic, the following offers a detailed, aspirational view of the ideal candidate profile:

An Expert in US K-12 Education Systems and Strategy, Evaluation, and Learning

This leader will bring:

• Deep subject matter knowledge of US K-12 education systems, including topics such as charter schools and school choice, high school redesign, curriculum and instruction, educator workforce, state/federal policy and implementation.
• Understanding of K-12 education data, research, and evaluation – coupled with the ability to design and implement complex evaluation and learning efforts.
• The ability to absorb, synthesize, and operationalize new K-12education sector content quickly.
• Proven ability to design, scope, and manage multiple large-scale evaluation projects related to K-12 education simultaneously, from concept through delivery.
• A demonstrated track record serving as a strategic and systems thinker who connects insights from evidence to long-term impact in education.

A Trusted Advisor and Strategic Partner

This leader will bring:

• Experience serving as proactive partner – both internally and externally – bringing their point of view and expertise to ensure evaluation and learning efforts deliver actionable insights and help elevate the quality of strategic thinking across the team.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills, able to connect evidence, data, and insights to decisions about grants and strategy.
• Exceptional communication and synthesis skills, with the ability to translate complex findings into clear, compelling insights.
• An ability to share findings in a respectfully assertive way with an openness to feedback, critical thinking, and collaborative insights from teammates.
• A commitment to collaboration – building trust and modeling shared ownership – ideally with experience in matrixed reporting structures.

A Highly Organized Project Manager

This leader will bring:

• Strong project management and organizational capabilities – enabling the ability to lead multiple complex initiatives simultaneously.
• An ability to scope, design, and oversee multiple evaluation projects from concept to delivery, while coordinating across internal and external partners.
• Experience leading and executing projects in fast-paced and high-expectations environments.
• A commitment to ensuring clear structure and follow-through to dynamic work.

A Commitment to the Mission

This leader will bring:

• Enthusiasm for engaging in philanthropic work and all that it encompasses.
• Intellectual curiosity with a commitment to rigorous thinking and evidence-based decision-making.
• An approach to solving complex problems with creativity, openness, and a willingness to challenge conventional assumptions.
• Comfort operating in a high-stakes environment with ambitious expectations.
• A commitment to excellence, upholding rigor and transparency in pursuit of the foundation’s mission to create lasting change in education.

In addition, the following qualifications are required:

• Master’s degree (or higher) in a relevant field such as education, public policy, economics, business administration (MBA), or related discipline.
• Minimum of 10 years of professional experience demonstrating increasing responsibility leading or managing strategy, learning, and evaluation activities in philanthropy, consulting, or complex nonprofit, private, or public sector environments.

Location

The successful candidate must be based in, or willing to relocate to Jersey City, New Jersey (preferred) or Washington, DC, and have a presence 4 days a week in the Walton Family Foundation offices in either city. The candidate must also have a willingness to travel up to 10% of the time.

Compensation and Benefits

The compensation range for this role is $208,000 – $260,000 with a generous benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan, and paid time off.

Contact

DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Cheryl Stevens and Claire Hunt. Express interest in this role by filling out our Talent Profile or emailing the search team directly at wff_sr_sleo_ed@dsgco.com. All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential.