Ms. Clinton, who was not available for comment, said in a statement: “I hope telling stories through ‘Making a Difference’ — as in my academic work and nonprofit work — will help me to live my grandmother’s adage of ‘Life is not about what happens to you, but about what you do with what happens to you.’ ”

One person close to Ms. Clinton said she had been quietly raising her profile for some time, though the public had not been completely aware of it. That person, who asked not to be identified because of a reluctance to speak for her, said Ms. Clinton had been more active in causes backed by her family’s William J. Clinton Foundation, and that she had, in fact, spoken at more than 400 town halls in 2008 in support of her mother’s candidacy.

“Even after that people would say they didn’t know what her voice sounds like,” the person close to her said. “But she enjoyed doing it.”

Ms. Clinton will continue her work with the Clinton Foundation and her studies at Oxford as she pursues the new job with NBC.

The person also said that Ms. Clinton had said she intended to donate most of the money she earned from NBC to the Clinton Foundation and the George Washington University Hospital in the name of her grandmother, who died this month.

Ms. Clinton will become the second daughter of a president hired by NBC News, and the third daughter of a recent presidential candidate. Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of President George W. Bush, works as a correspondent for NBC’s “Today” show, and Meghan McCain, daughter of John McCain, is a contributor to MSNBC.