Program Director

Ryan Mahoney

Ryan Mahoney

Director of Product, FirstWho

“Program directors are genuinely hard to hire because they have to own results without controlling the people delivering them. They need to turn down a compelling grantee whose theory of change doesn't hold up, and also be willing to tear up their own plan when community feedback reveals they got something wrong. You're looking for someone who can find the variance in a spreadsheet and then sit down with a grantee to talk through what it actually means. Most people can do one of those things. The ones who do both usually don't interview well. They pause. They push on your data. They don't project certainty.”

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Competency Questions

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Program Operations & Infrastructure

Encompasses operational execution through adaptive management, equitable grantmaking processes, team supervision, stakeholder engagement, and responsive operational adjustments to meet portfolio goals while strengthening grantee organizational capacity.

Accountability Systems & Culture

Implements team check-ins and basic performance management processes; monitors compliance with organizational values.

Interview round: Business Acumen and Stakeholder Impact

Share an experience where you needed to hold yourself or your team accountable for a significant miss on commitments or goals. How did you handle it?

Positive indicators

  • Took personal accountability explicitly
  • Analyzed root causes beyond excuses
  • Notified stakeholders before they asked
  • Made concrete process or expectation changes
  • Followed up on whether changes worked

Negative indicators

  • Blamed external factors primarily
  • Minimized significance of miss
  • Delayed disclosure hoping to recover
  • No systemic follow-up
  • Punitive response to team without analysis

Attitude Questions

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Active Listening

The disciplined cognitive and behavioral practice of receiving, interpreting, and responding to communicated information in ways that honor the speaker's intent, surface latent meaning, and build mutual understanding—encompassing attention to verbal content, paralinguistic cues, emotional subtext, and systemic or contextual factors that shape what is said and unsaid. For Program Directors, this involves suspending solution-generation, managing power asymmetries that silence dissent, and creating conditions where stakeholders feel sufficiently safe to articulate incomplete or risky thoughts.

Interview round: Recruiter Screen: Role Alignment

You're in a meeting with a funder and your program officer says something that doesn't align with what you understood from previous conversations. How do you respond in the moment?

Positive indicators

  • Proposes specific clarifying question that doesn't assume bad faith
  • Mentions noticing funder's cues or context
  • Considers possibility of their own misrecollection
  • Identifies when to table versus resolve immediately

Negative indicators

  • Immediately corrects or challenges funder's statement
  • Assumes deliberate funder reversal without exploration
  • Proposes continuing based on their understanding regardless
  • No mention of documentation or follow-up planning

Progression Framework

This table shows how competencies evolve across experience levels. Each cell shows competency at that level.

Program Operations & Infrastructure

6 competencies

CompetencyJuniorMidSeniorPrincipal
Accountability Systems & Culture

Participates in feedback processes and adheres to accountability protocols; completes required trainings.

Implements team check-ins and basic performance management processes; monitors compliance with organizational values.

Designs accountability frameworks and culture initiatives; leads transparent reporting and feedback systems.

Shapes organizational values and accountability systems at the institutional level; champions ethical culture, reparative practice, and transparent governance that redistributes power to communities.

Adaptive Program Implementation

Executes assigned program tasks according to established protocols and procedures.

Adjusts program tactics in response to feedback and changing conditions; modifies workflows to improve efficiency.

Redesigns program components based on evidence and environmental shifts; leads adaptive management cycles.

Leads organizational pivot strategies and scaling decisions; establishes frameworks for organizational agility that allow rapid response to community needs and shifting political landscapes.

Data Governance & Technology Systems

Inputs data into systems accurately and runs basic reports; follows data entry protocols.

Manages data quality protocols and user permissions; troubleshoots common system issues.

Architects data systems and integrates technology across programs; develops data governance policies.

Sets enterprise data strategy and technology investment priorities; ensures cybersecurity and privacy compliance while advancing ethical data practices in service of community accountability.

Operational Process Improvement

Follows standard operating procedures and identifies obvious inefficiencies in daily workflows.

Redesigns specific workflows and documents new procedures; implements process improvements within own unit.

Leads process improvement initiatives across departments; manages change implementation for operational upgrades.

Champions organizational excellence and innovation in operational models; drives digital transformation of operations while ensuring processes remain grantee-friendly and accessible.

Stakeholder & Partner Engagement

Coordinates meeting logistics and maintains contact databases; supports communication campaigns.

Manages ongoing partnerships and facilitates stakeholder consultations; resolves operational conflicts.

Negotiates complex partnerships and resolves high-level conflicts; designs engagement strategies for diverse constituencies.

Represents the organization in sector-wide coalitions; sets partnership strategy and influences field-wide initiatives that advance digital civil society and equitable philanthropy.

Team Leadership & Talent Development

Supports team coordination and task tracking for small projects; assists with onboarding logistics.

Supervises junior staff and coordinates team workflows; conducts performance check-ins and provides coaching.

Manages department heads and designs team structures; leads succession planning and retention strategies.

Sets organizational talent strategy and culture; mentors senior leaders and shapes executive team composition to reflect equity values and community accountability.

Strategic Design & Portfolio Stewardship

4 competencies

CompetencyJuniorMidSeniorPrincipal
Outcome Measurement & Learning

Collects and cleans outcome data; assists in preparing routine evaluation reports and data entry.

Manages data collection instruments and conducts basic outcome analyses; identifies trends in program performance data.

Designs comprehensive evaluation frameworks; synthesizes learning across multiple programs and recommends strategic adjustments.

Establishes organizational learning agendas and impact measurement standards; drives culture of evidence-based decision making that centers community-defined success metrics.

Portfolio Stewardship & Compliance

Processes grant paperwork and tracks compliance checklists; maintains filing systems for agreements.

Manages grant agreements and monitors recipient compliance with reporting requirements; conducts site visits.

Oversees portfolio risk management and complex compliance scenarios; negotiates agreement amendments.

Sets portfolio strategy and compliance frameworks; manages relationships with largest grantees and institutional donors while advancing equitable grantmaking practices.

Resource Allocation & Financial Planning

Tracks budget line items and resource utilization reports; assists with expense categorization.

Develops resource allocation proposals and monitors departmental budgets; forecasts short-term needs.

Makes trade-off decisions for multi-year resource distribution across portfolios; optimizes staffing models.

Determines organizational resource strategy and endowment policies; approves major capital allocations and strategic investments including recoverable grants and program-related investments.

Strategic Framework Development

Assists in researching and documenting theory of change components under supervision; supports diagram creation and literature reviews.

Drafts comprehensive logic models and theories of change with stakeholder input; facilitates validation workshops.

Leads strategic design sessions for complex programs; validates theories of change against organizational mission and external evidence.

Architects portfolio-level strategic frameworks; sets organizational standards for strategic planning and theory of change methodology that center community power and equity.