Working in Education Philanthropy
Ascendium Education Group is a nonprofit organization with multiple functions. We’re a student loan guarantor, an education philanthropy and a provider of services for school and employer financial wellness and student loan success. Ascendium believes in the promise of a better life no matter where you started – and the power of education and training beyond high school to transform the lives of learners from low-income backgrounds.
Through our four grantmaking focus areas, we fund projects that support learners from low-income backgrounds, specifically those who are first-generation students, rural community members, veterans, students of color and incarcerated adults.
Ascendium’s Education Philanthropy is an operating division within Ascendium Education Solutions, Inc., a member company of Ascendium Education Group, Inc. & Affiliates. Our philanthropy is national in scope and has grown to become one of the country’s most active postsecondary education philanthropies.
Currently Available Positions
Senior Program Officer
Purpose of Position
Ascendium is seeking a passionate and experienced grantmaker to join our Expand Postsecondary Education in Prison team. A senior program officer in this grantmaking portfolio will design and lead complex grants and partnerships that address barriers facing incarcerated adults who don’t have equitable access to postsecondary education and workforce training. A senior program officer will also gain deep expertise on this subject and serve as a thought leader to advance learning and scaled impact in the field. This position is based at Ascendium’s headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin.
Associate Program Officer
Purpose of Position
In this dynamic role, an associate program officer will support Ascendium’s Education Grantmaking team by assisting with project intake, partner communications, targeted research and initiative development, and grant cycle process management. The ideal candidate also shares Ascendium’s commitment to improving social mobility and postsecondary education success for learners from low-income backgrounds. This position is based at Ascendium’s headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin.
Senior Program Officer
Purpose of Position
Ascendium is seeking an experienced grantmaker to join our Removing Structural Barriers to Success team. At Ascendium, senior program officers lead work in their focus area by contributing deep subject matter expertise while designing and leading complex grants and partnerships to advance team goals. We’re looking for a seasoned, well-connected senior program officer who’s passionate about transforming the postsecondary education system to elevate opportunities for learners from low-income backgrounds. This position is based at Ascendium's headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin.
Learning and Impact Officer
Purpose of Position
Reporting to the Deputy Director of Learning & Impact (L&I), the newly created position of L&I Officer will have primarily internal facing responsibilities for contributing to the three main workstreams of the emerging Learning and Impact unit: (1) collecting actionable information about Ascendium’s operations and impact, (2) facilitating learning practices across all four focus areas, and (3) effectively communicating resulting lessons learned to internal and external stakeholders. This position supports the philanthropy division’s efforts to both demonstrate the impact of our work and learn from our experiences in ways that sharpen our grantmaking strategy and practice. It is based at Ascendium’s headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin.
