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Strategy, Learning & Evaluation Officer - Home Region
Walton Family Foundation
Bentonville, AR, USA
Posted on Mar 14, 2026
Strategy, Learning & Evaluation Officer – Home Region
Position: Strategy, Learning & Evaluation Officer
Department: Home Region
Location: Bentonville, Arkansas
About the Walton Family Foundation
The Walton Family Foundation (“WFF”) is at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of its founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses, work together to lead the foundation.
The Foundation’s mission is to create access to opportunity for people and communities. WFF pursues this mission through three primary areas of focus: strengthening the connections between education and lifelong opportunity; protecting rivers, oceans, and the communities they support; and advancing the Home Region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. In 2024, the foundation awarded $548.8 million in grants in support of this work.
Headquartered in Bentonville, with additional offices in Washington, D.C., Jersey City, and Denver, WFF brings together more than 100 dedicated staff committed to long-term, collaborative solutions. The Foundation’s work is guided by values that emphasize engaging many perspectives, listening and collaboration, respect for communities, learning, and a commitment to continually evaluating and improving its impact.
The year 2026 marks the beginning of a new five-year strategic cycle for WFF. As the Foundation concludes its 2025 strategy and embarks on its next chapter, it is positioned to build on its momentum, continuing to innovate, deepen partnerships, and create meaningful impact for future generations.
The Walton Family Foundation is an equal opportunity employer committed to a workplace that is free of discrimination and harassment of any kind. All applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.
Learn more about the Walton Family Foundation at waltonfamilyfoundation.org.
Home Region Program
The purpose of the Home Region program is to honor the Walton Family’s shared values and longstanding commitment to communities in the Home Region, stretching across Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta, by creating opportunity and enhancing quality of life for all.
Specifically, the Home Region’s work supports initiatives that build a more vibrant, welcoming community in Northwest Arkansas and advance education and economic opportunity in the Delta.
In Northwest Arkansas, this work includes bold, innovative investments that strengthen civic infrastructure–including mobility options, access to housing, essential utilities, and community spaces–and enhance economic opportunity for all residents by supporting entrepreneurs and cultivating a career-ready workforce.
In the Delta, this commitment includes supporting the next generation of community leaders by expanding access to high-quality educational options and pathways, supporting small businesses and workforce development, and creating economic opportunities that help Delta residents build a brighter future for their region.
Read more about the Home Region Program at: https://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/our-work/home-region-program.
The Opportunity
The Walton Family Foundation is seeking a skilled, highly motivated, and entrepreneurial individual to join the team as a Strategy, Learning, and Evaluation Officer, supporting the Foundation’s Home Region Program.
The Officer will partner with the Senior Strategy, Learning, and Evaluation Officer for the Home Region and will report to the Director of Strategy, Learning, and Evaluation. The Strategy, Learning and Evaluation Department (SLED), serves as WFF’s internal consultative function – playing a key role in generating actionable information about the progress and results of the Foundation’s philanthropic initiatives. To ensure alignment with the Home Region Program, the Officer will also dotted-line report to the Home Region Program Deputy Director.
This role supports the Home Region Program in designing, implementing, and continually improving its evaluation and learning practices. The SLED Officer partners closely with program staff, SLED colleagues, and external partners to ensure that strategies are clearly articulated, performance is tracked, grants are evaluated, and reflection informs adaptation.
Additionally, the SLED Officer leads and manages evaluation and learning projects within the Home Region Program, develops tools and frameworks for data analysis, and contributes to Home Region Program learning priorities. This position promotes collaboration, evidence building, and reflection within the Home Region Program and across the Foundation.
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Evaluate Grantmaking & Portfolios: Ensure grants align with strategy by advising on metrics, support and manage portfolio evaluations and end-of-grant reflection to generate actionable insights about results and impact. Manage data collection from a variety of sources including grantee reporting and surveys.
- Support Strategy Articulation: Assist program staff to define, document, review, and communicate clear, consistent program strategies—including goals and theories of change—aligned with foundation priorities.
- Track Strategy Progress: Track and manage KPI data and other evidence through durable systems (e.g., dashboards) that make progress toward strategic goals visible and reliable.
- Facilitate Reflection and Learning: Lead structured learning processes that integrate data, evaluations, and contextual insights to inform ongoing strategy improvement and adaptation.
- Cultivate Partnerships: Serve as a trusted advisor to the Home Region Program by building strong relationships, managing evaluation projects and consultants, supporting program needs, and representing the foundation in external conversations.
- Contribute Foundation-Wide: Advance foundation-wide evaluation and learning practices by contributing to shared tools, cross-program initiatives, and systems that strengthen consistency, alignment, and transparency.
Candidate Profile
While it is understood that no candidate will offer every desired skill, quality, and characteristic, the following offers a detailed, aspirational view of the ideal candidate profile:
An Expert in Evaluation
This leader will bring:
- Deep experience leading or managing evaluation activities – ideally within place-based or systems-oriented work.
- Strong data, analysis, and research skills, with experience using various forms of data, evaluation methodologies, and reporting to drive decisions about grants and strategy.
- An ability to evaluate complex initiatives, where impact is not always linear or easily attributable.
- Creativity and flexibility in their thinking, with an ability to apply analytical tools in innovative ways.
A Strategic Partner, Collaborator, and Communicator
This leader will bring:
- Intellectual curiosity, with the ability to analyze complex systems and identify patterns.
- Experience serving as a collaborative partner – building trust and modeling shared ownership – ideally within matrixed reporting structures.
- A high degree of collaboration and a commitment to building trust with colleagues and external partners.
- A comfort in navigating relationships across multiple internal teams, community stakeholders, and philanthropic partners.
- Experience translating complex findings into clear, compelling insights for diverse audiences.
A Highly Organized Project Manager
This leader will bring:
- A highly organized and detail-oriented nature, with the ability to manage competing priorities, budgets, and timelines across multiple workstreams.
- Strong organizational and project management skills, with experience coordinating complex initiatives that involve multiple stakeholders.
- A solutions-orientation and proactive approach in identifying opportunities to improve systems and processes.
A Commitment to the Home Region and Mission
This leader will bring:
- Enthusiasm for engaging in philanthropic work and all that it encompasses.
- An understanding of and connection to the Home Region geographies and a commitment to building a strong sense of shared purpose with the Home Region team.
- Professionalism and sound judgement when handling sensitive organizational and community information.
- A commitment to excellence, upholding rigor and transparency in pursuit of the foundation’s mission to create lasting progress in the Home Region.
In addition, the following qualifications are required:
- Master’s degree in a relevant field such as public policy, public administration, urban or regional planning, economics, applied social sciences, business administration (MBA), or related discipline.
- Minimum of 8 years of professional experience demonstrating increasing responsibility leading or managing strategy, learning, and evaluation activities in philanthropy, consulting, or complex nonprofit or public-sector environments.
Location
The successful candidate must be based in, or willing to relocate to Bentonville, Arkansas and have a presence in office 4 days a week, with the ability to travel up to 10% of the time.
Compensation and Benefits
The compensation range for this role is $142,000 – $178,000 with a generous benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan and paid time off.
Apply Now
https://talent-profile.dsgco.com/search/v2/23000
Contact
DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Cheryl Stevens and Claire Hunt. Express interest in this role by filling out our Talent Profile or emailing the search team directly at wff_sleo_homeregion@dsgco.com. All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential.
DSG | Koya is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email NPSIsearchoperations@dsgco.com. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.
About DSG | Koya
DSG | Koya, a DSG Global company, is the nation’s premier search firm dedicated to mission-driven leadership. Since its founding in 2004, DSG | Koya has had an exclusive focus on mission-driven clients and was founded on the belief that the right leader can transform an organization and have a deep and measurable impact on our world. DSG | Koya works with nonprofits & NGOs, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.
DSG Global is consistently recognized by Forbes on its top 10 list of “America’s Best Executive Recruiting Firms” and is an industry leader in recruiting transformational leaders for a changing world. The firm is deliberately different in its approach, with best-in-class teams who have decades of experience in cultivating inclusive leaders, understanding the dimensions of diversity, and building equitable teams.
Learn more about DSG | Koya via the firm's website.