Description

Bonsai Leadership Group is pleased to partner with Plastic Solutions Fund in its search for a U.S. & Canada Program Manager to help shape and strengthen its grantmaking, partnerships, and role in the Break Free From Plastic movement across the U.S. and Canada. 

ABOUT PLASTIC SOLUTIONS FUND
Plastic Solutions Fund (PSF) is an international funder collaborative dedicated to addressing the global plastic pollution crisis, which threatens the health of people, communities, and ecosystems worldwide.

PSF supports systems-change strategies across the entire plastics lifecycle, from extraction to disposal, with a focus on preventing plastic production and challenging corporate influence. As a core partner of the global Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) movement, PSF works to strengthen grassroots leadership to drive transformational change. Over the next five years, PSF is focused on extending BFFP’s reach, power, and capacity while broadening the diversity of partners it supports, including communities and organizations historically excluded from philanthropic investment. Learn more at plasticsolutions.org. 

THE OPPORTUNITY
The U.S. & Canada Program Manager (Program Manager) is a newly created role designed to add dedicated capacity to PSF’s Americas work as the organization grows. 

Reporting to the Americas Program Manager, the Program Manager will join a growing Program Team that includes Program Managers across Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as a Senior Strategist, an Impact and Learning Advisor, and a Grants Coordinator.  Working closely with the Americas Program Manager, the person in this role will help advance grantmaking, deepen partner relationships, and help shape PSF’s regional strategy across the US and Canada. The person in this role will support an active portfolio of approximately 20 grantees while also helping PSF look beyond its current footprint to identify new opportunities and partners aligned with its 2030 Strategic Framework. PSF’s work in Canada has not yet begun, making this a rare opportunity to help lay the groundwork for expanding its impact in the country.

PSF operates with a trust-based, co-creative approach. Grantees are partners, not recipients, and this person will be expected to build genuine relationships rooted in that philosophy. The right candidate is someone who is already connected to the communities PSF serves, particularly those on the frontlines of the plastic pollution and petrochemical crises in the Gulf South, Appalachia, and similar regions. PSF’s work in Canada is still in its early stages, making this role a rare opportunity to shape the organization’s initial grantmaking strategy and partnerships in this area.

PSF is a global, fully remote organization that has grown and evolved in recent years. The Program Manager will be joining at a moment of real organizational momentum, which means there is room to contribute, shape, and build. This role is best suited to someone who is proactive and self-directed, comfortable operating in ambiguity, and energized by the opportunity to help establish new ways of working as the organization matures.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
The Program Manager will have the following core responsibilities:

Civil Society Partnership and Grantmaking [50%]

• Support and help shape PSF’s grantmaking and partnership work, serving as a key connector between PSF and civil society organizations advancing systemic solutions to the plastics crisis.
• Build and sustain trusted relationships with civil society partners, supporting BFFP movement priorities and helping connect community-led work with aligned resources and opportunities.
• Help develop and implement PSF’s US and Canada BFFP movement strategy and involvement.
• Guide current and prospective grantees through grant application and reporting processes, offering thoughtful advice and substantive feedback.
• Represent PSF in relevant BFFP movement spaces, partner convenings, and collaborative networks across the US and Canada.
• Deliver clear and timely written updates, summaries, and briefings to support internal decision-making and funder communications.
• Identify opportunities to expand and deepen PSF’s relationships with civil society groups, frontline organizations, coalitions, and emerging BFFP movement leaders across the region.

Strategic Contribution and Movement Alignment [30%]

• Actively participate in BFFP coordination meetings, national and regional convenings, and relevant conferences to maintain strong alignment with the broader BFFP movement ecosystem.
• Share regional insights, emerging developments, and partner perspectives with the PSF team to help inform strategy and learning.
• Contribute to PSF’s 2030 Strategic Framework by helping articulate regional goals, priorities, and the organization’s theory of change in the US and Canada.

Internal Collaboration and Monitoring, Evaluation, & Learning [20%]

• Partner with the Impact and Learning Advisor to capture, document, and share learning from the US & Canada portfolio, contributing to a more systematic monitoring, evaluation, and learning culture and informing collective strategy and future grantmaking.
• Prepare written briefings, grant recommendations, and progress updates for PSF’s Participating Foundations and Advisory Board, representing the US & Canada portfolio clearly and compellingly.
• Collaborate across PSF teams, including communications and fundraising, as needed to support the organization’s broader goals.

Requirements

PSF values a range of professional backgrounds and pathways. Candidates who bring many, though not necessarily all, of the following experiences and qualities are encouraged to apply:

• 7+ years of experience building and managing programs, partnerships, or grantmaking strategies that support movement building, systems change, or collective impact within philanthropy or the nonprofit sector in the U.S. and/or Canada.
• Lived knowledge and/or professional experience in grassroots organizing, movement building, or environmental justice advocacy working alongside frontline, fenceline, or Indigenous communities affected by plastic pollution, petrochemical expansion, extraction, or environmental injustice.
• Familiarity with the plastics, petrochemical, or environmental justice landscape, including relevant policy, industry dynamics, and BFFP movement ecosystems in the US Gulf South, Appalachia, and/or relevant regions in Canada.
• Trusted relationships within grassroots, Indigenous, environmental justice, labor, or community-led networks in the US and/or Canada.
• Ability to build and sustain authentic relationships across a wide range of partners, especially those rooted in frontline and community-led movements, in ways that reflect equity, trust, and shared power.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to convey complex ideas clearly to diverse audiences. Bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish is strongly preferred.
• Understanding of philanthropic, participatory, or trust-based funding approaches, and/or a genuine interest in growing in this area.
• Comfort with monitoring, evaluation, and learning new concepts and a willingness to contribute to a culture of shared accountability and reflection.
• Cross-cultural awareness and the ability to work effectively within a globally distributed, remote team, including proficiency in navigating across time zones and cultural contexts.
• Proactive, adaptive, and self-directed working style, with the ability to thrive in a growing organization where processes are still evolving, and initiative is welcomed.