A Day in the Life of a Program Officer
You’ve heard the term “program officer” many times, but do you know what all their work entails? Segal team members demonstrate what being a PO is all about in the video below. As you may know, all nine of our grantmaking staff are based in East and Southern Africa – and now West Africa too, with the recent onboarding of our first Togolese team member. Program officers are the heartbeat of our work, and they do it so well that Segal Family Foundation received the 2025 Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking by the Council on Foundations. A round of applause for our in-house rockstars!
Trust-Based Philanthropy Project published a guide titled “Reimagining the Program Officer Role” in 2023. In their words, “The program officer role is a critical one in advancing a foundation’s commitment to trust-based philanthropy. Part of ensuring they can do that successfully is to design their job descriptions with a trust-based lens. This two-page guide invites [readers] to reimagine the role in a radically different way – away from conventional norms of compliance and oversight, and towards trust-based norms of partnership, collaboration, and service.” We loved this resource because we’ve been about that life since the very beginning, and our program officers are key players. They are a vital link between local organizations and funding, so it’s a good thing they come from a variety of backgrounds including finance, law, and public health. There’s also a unique fluidity within our greater ecosystem, such that two current program officers came to Segal Family Foundation from our grantee partner organizations; similarly, we’ve had several program officers move on to work with our funder friends.
Asked what she imagines the role to be, our newest program officer Akouavi Coretta Tannous says, “I envision an exciting challenge… Each day promises a blend of big-picture thinking and hands-on engagement” – and she’s spot on. Tannous’ joining marks the solidification of Segal Family Foundation’s adventure into francophone West Africa, a region we have been exploring through the Social Impact Incubator. As director of programs Patricia Malila Pinheiro describes, “It’s about meeting communities where they are.” So, without further ado: enjoy!
