Weiss Asset Management

Position Title/Short Description

Full Text of JOE Listing:

The WAM Foundation is seeking a proactive, diligent, and analytical Program Manager to support an increase in grant-making activity. In addition to a passion for identifying high-leverage and innovative approaches to charitable giving, a successful Program Manager will be comfortable with quantitative modeling, conducting analytically rigorous research in the non-profit space, and managing multiple stakeholders. He or she will have the opportunity to work closely with top minds in the field, including a Nobel Prize winning economist, while maximizing altruistic impact in the distribution of several million dollars each year.

The Program Manager will be the first full-time employee of the WAM Foundation, which to this point has been run by Weiss Asset Management employees with an interest in effective philanthropy. The Program Manager will be expected to take an entrepreneurial and proactive approach to help grow the Foundation.

We are particularly interested in candidates with some past exposure to development economics. However, we will also consider candidates who have completed or are enrolled in a quantitative advanced degree program (including quantitative social sciences) or who have completed at least three years of post-graduate work in an analytically rigorous field. The ideal candidate will be based in Boston or San Francisco and will be willing to travel for diligence and networking once conditions allow.

Responsibilities:

Source and evaluate grant recipients with the aim of maximizing impact, and present findings to the WAM Foundation allocation committee for review
Coordinate activity with Weiss Asset Management employees and with the WAM Foundation’s allocation committee
Maintain accountability among grant recipients and manage logistics to ensure grants are received
Build relationships and keep up with the latest research in the development economics and effective giving spaces
Communicate WAM Foundation activity effectively to employees of Weiss Asset Management
Institutionalize effective processes to scale the WAM Foundation

About the WAM Foundation:

The WAM Foundation operates as the charitable arm of Weiss Asset Management. The Foundation’s mandate is to maximize the alleviation of suffering. For example, the Foundation has recently made substantial grants to deploy oxygen concentrators in rural communities in India in response to the COVID crisis and to provide primary health care in rural Nepal via a network of community health workers. Weiss Asset Management’s employees are significantly involved in applying their typical analytical rigor to selecting donation recipients. Weiss Asset Management has recently made a substantially increased financial commitment to the Foundation, expected to result in an increase in grant-making activity on the order of several million dollars per year.

About Weiss Asset Management:

For 30 years, Weiss Asset Management has developed proprietary value-based investment strategies designed to deliver high risk-adjusted returns to our investors, who include charitable foundations, pension plans, endowments, hospitals, government entities and private investors. We manage approximately $2.7 billion across hedge funds and institutional accounts. We work collaboratively to solve problems, and to identify undervalued assets through deep fundamental research, statistical analysis and an analytically rigorous approach to decision making. Above all else, we value integrity, uncompromising rationality, creativity and entrepreneurship, and continuous learning and improvement.

Our team of around 100 individuals is the engine of our success and we welcome truly exceptional candidates from all backgrounds.

WAM is an equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.