Program Assistant, Global Initiative

The Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA) is a collaborative of foundations seeking to realize the potential of forests and lands to mitigate climate change, benefit people, and protect the environment. The CLUA member foundations are the ClimateWorks Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Good Energies Foundation, and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies also awards grants in alignment with the CLUA strategy. By bringing together our resources and diverse expertise, CLUA supports policies, practices, and partnerships that halt and reverse forest loss, advance sustainable land use and development, and secure the rights and livelihoods of Indigenous and forest communities. For more, please visit climateandlandusealliance.org.

Position Description

The Program Assistant plays a key programmatic operations support role for the Global Initiative Team. The Program Assistant will support the Global Team with coordinating calendars, preparing meeting materials, meeting logistics, and arranging frequent international travel and team retreats. She/he will also coordinate with stakeholders across the Alliance, including other Initiative teams, senior leadership, and operations team members, as well as with external stakeholders, including other funders and grantee partners.

The successful Program Assistant must be proactive, take guidance from supervisors and peers, and possess strong organizational and interpersonal skills. This includes working remotely with team members and diverse stakeholders located in different geographies. The Program Assistant will report to the Global Initiative Lead and work directly with and support all members of the Global programs team.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

The Program Assistant will be primarily responsible for the following duties:

Meeting Scheduling and Calendar Management

• Plan and coordinate complex scheduling across international time zones to facilitate collaboration, ensuring that online and offline meetings are inclusive and accommodate international schedules in alignment with established priorities
• Help program team members to track and balance competing time priorities 
• Assist with meeting coordination, including meeting logistics and international travel arrangements if necessary
• Communicate proactively and responsively in English via email with internal and external stakeholders

Meeting Coordination and Facilitation

• Ensure that meeting participants have necessary agendas and pre-reading material in a timely manner
• Ensure that interpretations or translations, as necessary, are organized in advance of virtual or in person meetings
• Facilitate meetings, establish and follow meeting norms, take notes, produce and distribute meeting summaries, and support the team to identify and track action items

Travel Arrangements and Event Planning

• Support the team with arranging travel, in diverse international contexts, that balances scheduling needs with convenience, cost, and other factors
• Research and reserve hotels, restaurants and venues, and coordinate with venues and vendors to ensure successful events
• Follow security protocols and processes to ensure staff safety during travel and events

Grantmaking Support

• Support the Global Initiative Lead and Program Officers with grant and contract development by coordinating with grantee partners and contractors to submit necessary application materials.

Additional Responsibilities

• Engage effectively with staff at all levels of the organization to complete tasks on time while also contributing to a highly collaborative, transparent, and mutually supportive sense of team. Monitor deadlines, follow up on delegated tasks, and provide appropriate reminders.
• Undertake research and special projects, such as locating and synthesizing information, and responding to requests for information.

Preferred Experience & Competencies

Applicants will ideally have many of the following competencies and some of the following experience:

• A minimum of 2 years of administrative work experience.
• An associates degree or equivalent experience work experience in a relevant field.
• Previous experience with supporting teams working internationally
• Experience with planning events, and arranging international meetings and travel arrangements for individuals and large groups
• Strong computer skills, with a high degree of proficiency in Google Suite (Drive, Docs, Forms, Sheets)
• Experience and passion for leveraging technology (including AI) for task and process management (e.g. Slack, Miro, Asana)
• Skill with diverse forms of information presentation, e.g. visualizations, mappings, etc
• Outstanding organizational skills, including record keeping and information management
• Strong communication skills, including ability to draft and copy edit clear correspondence and documents in English (bonus points for Spanish, Portuguese, or Bahasa Indonesia)
• Ability to build and maintain relationships across all levels of the organization
• Being self-motivated, persistent, dependable and proactive
• Demonstrated sensitivity to the needs and concerns of individuals from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and orientations
• Being creative, resourceful, and professional approach to work 
• Ability to work under pressure, prioritize, and be flexible
• A strong commitment to justice and equity work
• Experience coordinating and creating collaborative environments among organizations
• Intermediate written and spoken English
• Ability to work outside of typical work hours (i.e. early mornings and/or late evenings) when required to accommodate various time zones

Location

This position is a part-time (50%) and remote consulting role, with a preference for candidates based in the Americas.

The successful applicant for this part-time role will be available at least 4 days/week, on a regular schedule, during hours of the day that overlap significantly with their team members’ working hours. The position will require work across multiple time zones, and in close collaboration with colleagues around the world, that includes early and late calls and activities to support colleagues in multiple time zones in the Americas, Europe and Indonesia. 

Compensation

The compensation range for this position is between USD 1,500 and 1,700 gross, per month, depending on experience and location.

Equal Opportunity and Access

Equal staffing opportunity is a fundamental principle at the Climate and Land Use Alliance, where staffing and promotional opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/affectional preference, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established under law. The Climate and Land Use Alliance does not discriminate against formerly incarcerated individuals.

Application Process

All interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. We encourage candidates of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and identities to apply. CLUA will complete an initial review of applications received by October 31, 2025 and on a rolling basis thereafter until the position is filled. To be considered, please apply online and submit a cover letter and resume in English.