Program Director

The Organization

The Hewlett Foundation invests in creative thinkers and problem solvers with different perspectives, all working to build an inclusive society where everyone has a meaningful opportunity to thrive. A nonpartisan philanthropy, the Hewlett Foundation has made grants in the U.S. and globally for nearly six decades based on an approach that emphasizes long-term support, collaboration, and trust. Learn more at

The Performing Arts Program

The Performing Arts program makes grants to support meaningful artistic experiences for communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Hewlett is the largest arts funder in the region, distributing over $20 million annually and supporting the arts across ten Bay Area counties. The program strives to create a Bay Area where all communities honor and support both their own and each other’s artistic and cultural vibrancy. In pursuit of this vision, the program has three strategic priorities:

To ensure Bay Area communities have opportunities to discover, develop, and experience meaningful artistic and cultural practices.

To ensure Bay Area artists and culture-bearers shape and benefit from the services, policies, and practices that most impact their creative agency and economic well-being.

To enable equitable access to high-quality arts education opportunities for Bay Area youth.

The Position

Reporting to the Foundation’s President, Dr. Amber Miller, the Performing Arts Program Director will lead one of the Hewlett Foundation’s longest-standing areas of philanthropic investment. This is a rare opportunity to steward and evolve a program that has shaped—and been shaped by—the Bay Area’s dynamic performing arts ecosystem for nearly six decades.

Over the course of their eight-year term, the Program Director will guide a strategy refresh that honors the Foundation’s enduring commitments while responding to the shifting landscape of the region’s cultural life. Working in close partnership with the President and program staff, the Program Director will develop and implement a bold, thoughtful, and forward-looking strategy that sets a clear direction for the next chapter of Hewlett’s performing arts grantmaking. This strategy will define measurable goals while remaining flexible enough to meet the needs of artists and arts organizations navigating a complex and evolving environment.

The Program Director will lead a highly collaborative, mission-driven team recognized for its deep knowledge of the field and strong relationships with grantees. They will oversee all aspects of program strategy and grant portfolio development, resource management, and team leadership, ensuring excellence in execution and alignment with the Foundation’s overarching strategic priorities. While the program’s focus is rooted in the Bay Area, the Program Director will bring a broad perspective on the national and global arts ecosystem, drawing on experience and relationships beyond the region to inform strategy, deepen impact, and situate the Foundation’s work within a wider cultural context.

Equally important, the Program Director will serve as a visible and engaged leader in the Bay Area’s arts community and its broader realm of arts funders by listening deeply to artists and arts leaders, serving as a thought leader and convener, and representing the Foundation in a variety of public settings within and beyond the Bay Area. They will build and maintain trusted relationships with grantees, peer funders, and civic partners, playing a key role in supporting the strength, sustainability, and equity of the region’s performing arts infrastructure.

The ideal candidate brings significant leadership in the performing arts, along with a reputation for integrity and humility and an expansive vision of the role the arts play in public life. They will be comfortable navigating complexity, balancing long-term commitments with strategic adaptation, and engaging with a broad cross-section of cultural communities. This is an opportunity for a seasoned and imaginative leader to help shape the future of performing arts in the Bay Area—and to do so as part of a foundation deeply committed to its local community and to the expansive power of the arts.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Program Strategy

Guide a refresh and rearticulation of the Performing Arts program strategy, building on the existing framework while reassessing portfolio composition, legacy commitments, and funding balance (e.g., types of organizations supported, geographic distribution of grantees across the Bay Area).

Advance a compelling, values-driven vision for the future of the Bay Area arts ecosystem that centers the expansive power of the arts and community benefit from both artistic expression and arts education.

Develop and socialize clear goals, metrics, and tradeoffs for the next phase of the strategy—within the team, across the Foundation, and with external stakeholders—ensuring alignment with the President’s vision for institutional coherence and collaboration.

Serve as the program’s primary strategic communicator, translating field insights, data, and emerging arts-sector challenges into a cohesive, actionable narrative that earns trust from grantee partners, peer funders, board members, and senior leadership.

Leadership and Management

Navigate and model institutional leadership, actively participating in the Senior Leadership Team, contributing to cross-Foundation initiatives, and ensuring the Performing Arts program is aligned with and influential in Hewlett’s evolving institutional priorities.

Guide and support a high-performing, collaborative team of three program officers, a program operations manager, and a program associate, sustaining the team’s strong culture of trust and shared values while providing clarity, structure, and thought partnership during a time of organizational change.

Serve as a bridge and translator between internal and external stakeholders, including the President, Board, legal and operations teams, and grantee partners— helping to communicate the purpose and impact of the Performing Arts program.

Manage with humility, clarity, and decisiveness, helping the team prioritize effectively within a lean staffing model, make tradeoffs transparently, and maintain momentum at a moment of change both within the Foundation and in the arts sector.

External Relations

Serve as a visible ambassador and thought leader for Hewlett’s Performing Arts program, representing the Foundation at convenings, engaging with grantees and funder peers, and articulating the value of the arts in a changing philanthropic and political landscape. And through this work, help to draw in new funding collaborations to increase support for the arts.

Build and strengthen relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including Bay Area arts organizations across disciplines, sizes, and communities; peer funders; government partners; and cross-sector collaborators to amplify impact and foster strategic alliances.

Communicate a clear and compelling narrative about the Performing Arts program’s strategy, values, and impact, advance field understanding, and align with institutional goals around transparency and learning.

Term - The Program Director, Performing Arts serves an eight-year term and will lead the strategy for the tenure of the term.

Team - Direct Reports - Three Program Officers, Program Associate, and Program Operations Manager

Team Supports - Communications Officer, Grant Officer, Legal Counsel

Performing Arts Grant Portfolio - Currently, the Performing Arts program has over 170 active grant partnerships, totaling nearly $67 million.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate for the Program Director position possesses the following competencies:

Drives Vision and Purpose - Painting a compelling picture of the vision and strategy that motivates others to action.

Communicates Effectively - Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.

Strategic Mindset - Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies.

Decision Quality - Making good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward.

Builds Effective Teams - Building strong teams with a strong identity that apply their diverse skills and perspectives to achieve common goals.

Stakeholder Focus - Building strong stakeholder relationships and delivering targeted solutions.

Qualifications and Experiences

A proven track record of leadership experience within (e.g.) performing arts organizations, nonprofits, universities, philanthropy, public sector, or other cultural institutions.

Established reputation for integrity and credibility among artists, administrators, funders, and thought leaders in the performing arts ecosystem.

Expansive, inclusive view of the performing arts, grounded in both artistic practice and the operational realities of sustaining cultural institutions.

Familiarity with a diverse range of performing art forms and institutions.

Exceptional communication and listening skills, with the ability to engage thoughtfully across a wide spectrum of voices.

Demonstrated ability to build and sustain strong relationships with arts leaders, funder peers, and policy advocates, both locally and nationally.

Strategic thinker with an adaptive mindset, capable of balancing legacy commitments with innovation in response to evolving community needs.

Demonstrated ability to convene stakeholders—artists, administrators, funders, and community members—for meaningful dialogue, learning, and collective action.

Understanding of and meaningful relationships in the Bay Area’s performing arts sector preferred.

Knowledge of philanthropy or prior grantmaking experience preferred.

Demonstrated ability to both successfully and collaboratively lead a team, and contribute constructively as an engaged member of a senior leadership team

WHO WE ARE

Guiding Principles

Hewlett Foundation uses its resources in ways that remain true to the philanthropic ethos and values of its founders. This includes evolving the Foundation’s approaches to changing contexts while maintaining core principles that have guided its work for nearly 60 years. To help ensure its actions are consistent with its aspirations, the Hewlett Foundation has articulated a set of guiding principles.

The Foundation:

Seeks to bring about?meaningful and socially beneficial?change in the fields in which Hewlett?works.

Pursues change by?tackling defined problems in a?pragmatic, nonpartisan manner.

Focuses on outcomes?to?maximize the?effectiveness of its support.

Is committed to?openness, transparency, and learning.

Is committed to working,?both internally and externally, in a?collaborative fashion based on mutual?respect. Grantees, peer funders, and other?colleagues in their work are partners in?problem-solving.

Seeks to promote the?values and practice of diversity, equity,?and inclusion in their workforce, culture, and grantmaking.

Approaches its role in?philanthropy and its responsibilities to?society with humility and respect for?others.

Is dependent on a lean staff, which is given considerable autonomy; a commitment to simple, flexible procedures; and a cooperative working relationship between the Board, staff, and President.

Location

Residency in the Bay Area is a requirement for the position. All Hewlett employees spend a minimum of 3 days/week in the office when not traveling.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, and experiences.?

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The Hewlett Foundation is committed to providing compensation that is competitive within the philanthropic sector. A generous total compensation package that emphasizes both base salary and comprehensive benefits is offered for this role. The salary range for this position is $280,000–$415,000, dependent on the individual’s skills, experience, abilities, and qualifications and our practice of maintaining salary equity within the Foundation.

TIMELINE AND NEXT STEPS

Interested candidates should submit a resume as soon as possible. If a cover letter is helpful for you to communicate your interest, alignment, and qualifications, please submit that as well. We will need a list of references for all candidates selected for an in-person interview at the Foundation.

If you are interested in this position, please click here. All applicants will receive an email confirming receipt of their application.

If you are selected to move forward for an initial screening call, we expect you to hear from us by mid-August.

Jennifer Fleischer

Principal

Kennedy A. Turner

Talent Consultant

Merav Schwartz

Associate Talent Consultant

Submit an application HERE.