Program Officer

About the GitLab Foundation

The GitLab Foundation is committed to helping people grow their lifetime earnings through education, training, access to employment, and systems change across workforce, employer, and policy ecosystems on a global scale. Our North Star is to maximize increases in lifetime earnings for every dollar we invest, with an ambitious target of generating over $100 in lifetime earnings gains for every dollar spent. We focus on supporting individuals earning below a living wage, enabling meaningful, sustained improvements in their lives. Our vision is a world in which one million more people can afford a better life.

In addition to high-impact grantmaking, the GitLab Foundation extends its impact through advisory services that support peer foundations in impact modeling and measurement, and through donor engagement efforts that mobilize additional values-aligned capital. Together, this work allows us to amplify our influence beyond direct grantmaking and contribute to stronger, more effective approaches to economic mobility across the sector.

The GitLab Foundation is an independent private foundation affiliated with GitLab Inc. We currently operate in Kenya, Colombia, and the United States, partnering with organizations that share our commitment to expanding opportunity at scale. You can learn more about the GitLab Foundation by visiting our website and reviewing our public Handbook.

The Team

The GitLab Foundation is a high-performing, fully remote team that moves quickly, values curiosity, and is deeply results-oriented. We bring together diverse experience across philanthropy, nonprofit leadership, and the private sector — leveraging a range of perspectives to act with rigor, empathy, and strategic clarity. Our culture is grounded in our CREDIT values and shaped by respect, humility, open debate, and a strong bias for action. This is a hands-on environment where priorities evolve, decisions move quickly, and team members are expected to take initiative without waiting for perfect clarity. We hold ourselves to high standards, operate with transparency and ownership, and are comfortable navigating ambiguity as we iterate, learn, and improve. Above all, we are united by a shared commitment to delivering meaningful, measurable impact in the lives of those we support.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal Program Officer brings a strong mix of strategic thinking, relationship-building skills, and hands-on execution, with fluency in economic mobility and the future of work, including how AI and emerging technologies are shaping the U.S. economy. You are comfortable managing a diverse grant portfolio and working closely with nonprofit organizations, community groups, peer funders, employers, and other stakeholders to design and advance partnerships that maximize impact for individuals navigating a rapidly changing labor market and economy.

You balance big-picture strategy with day-to-day execution, approaching your work with curiosity, flexibility, and a willingness to roll up your sleeves. You are a strong collaborator inside your organization, who partners well with team mates at all levels. You bring strong internal expertise in U.S. workforce and economic opportunity systems, including public workforce infrastructure, employer-led pathways, training and credentialing ecosystems, and policy-adjacent levers that influence economic mobility.

You are adept at guiding organizations through the full grant lifecycle — from early conversations and co-design of programs through monitoring, learning, and close-out — while balancing rigor, transparency, and respect for grantee capacity. You thrive in collaborative environments, value lived experience as a critical input to strategy, and are motivated by advancing evidence-based, technology-aware, cross-sectoral approaches to increasing lifetime earnings. 

This role reports to the Chief Programs and Partnerships Officer.

Key Responsibilities

Grantmaking and Portfolio Strategy

  • Design and advance effective grantmaking strategies aligned with the Foundation’s North Star, portfolio goals, and desired long-term impact on lifetime earnings

  • Apply a future-of-work lens — on topics such as AI adoption, automation, and digital modernization — to investment strategy, partner selection, and portfolio learning

  • Serve as an internal thought leader on U.S. economic opportunity, workforce systems, and labor market dynamics, translating complexity into clear, actionable strategy

  • Develop evidence-based, integrated, and collaborative approaches to increasing lifetime earnings across assigned portfolios

  • Stay abreast of research, trends, and advancements in economic mobility across the public, nonprofit, and private sectors; distill and translate market research findings to inform and influence stakeholders and strategy

  • Contribute lessons learned and insights to the GitLab Foundation Handbook, to inform the broader community on our achievements, failures, and learnings

Investment Execution, Due Diligence & Learning

  • Solicit, shape, vet, recommend, and monitor investments to achieve our 100X lifetime earnings goals

  • Partner closely with grantees to co-design AI-aware, worker-centered interventions, balancing innovation, rigor, and organizational capacity

  • Conduct due diligence, assessing programmatic and workforce system fit, grant evidence and execution risks, and grantee compliance, capacity, and capability vetting

  • In partnership with the Impact Modeling and Measurement team, ensure appropriate evaluation of potential investment impact, including modeling of workforce outcomes and earnings-related indicators

  • Manage grant administration, reporting, monitoring, and close-out activities

  • Advance investment proposals to executive leadership and the Board, clearly articulating how investments respond to workforce trends and economic opportunity gaps

Relationships, Ecosystem Building & Influence

  • Develop and maintain relationships with peer funders, employers, and system leaders that lead to co-investment and coordination across workforce ecosystems

  • Build trusting relationships with grantees, ensuring clarity on the Foundation’s North Star approach, future of work priorities, and economic mobility goals

  • Actively solicit insights from grantees and end users to understand how AI, automation, and labor market shifts affect worker experiences and outcomes

  • Facilitate collaborations among nonprofits, employers, funders, and public-sector actors to scale technology-enabled workforce solutions

  • Represent the Foundation at key events and forums, articulating GitLab Foundation’s perspective on AI, workforce transformation, and economic mobility

Desired Knowledge, Skills, Experience, and Personal Attributes

  • 8+ years of experience in a similar foundation, workforce or economic opportunity focused nonprofit, or related private sector role

  • Demonstrated knowledge and experience related to our mission and a strong outcomes orientation

  • Strong relationship-building and facilitation skills

  • Demonstrated fluency in AI, digital transformation, and future-of-work trends, with the ability to assess and have a point of view on how emerging technologies can affect worker outcomes, job quality, and economic mobility

  • Strong research and quantitative and qualitative analysis skills, including the ability to translate insights to non-experts

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills

  • Comfortable with giving and receiving feedback for improvement

  • Experience with human-centric design and agile ways of working is a plus

  • Thrives in a fast-paced environment and take the initiative on tasks and challenges when presented 

  • Demonstrated emotional intelligence, integrity, humility, and a commitment to transparency and active listening

  • Aligned with the Foundation’s mission and CREDIT values; committed to continuous learning, impact, and strong execution.

U.S. Compensation and Benefits

  • Location: Full-time remote position (must be based in the US). The GitLab Foundation does not offer visa sponsorship. 

  • Base Salary (U.S.): $100,000-$140,000 USD, depending on responsibilities, relevant experience, and location. 

    • Estimated Total Compensation (U.S.): ~$130,000–$200,000 USD. This estimate includes base salary plus employer-paid benefits (including 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision premiums for team members and their families, and a 401(k) with a 10% employer contribution). Total compensation varies based on salary, benefit elections (e.g., individual vs. family coverage), and location. 

  • 401(k): The Foundation contributes 10% of base salary (no employee contribution required).

  • Health coverage: Medical, dental, and vision with 100% employer-paid premiums for team members, spouses/partners, and dependents.

  • Paid time off: Unlimited time off, paid sick time, and paid holidays.

  • Additional benefits

  • Travel: Approximately 10-20% of the time

How to Apply

Submit your cover letter, resume, and a short (1–2 page) writing sample in one single file (PDF, Google Doc, or Word) to hiring@gitlabfoundation.org by March 4, 2026. We’ll contact candidates selected for interviews by March 10. Learn more about our hiring process.

GitLab Foundation is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse, inclusive team and a work environment rooted in our CREDIT values. We strive to cultivate a culture that is inclusive, respectful, and empowering for all.