Director of Democracy and Governance

Position Title	Director of Democracy and Governance
Requisition Number	11-0170
Post Date	9/16/2011
City	Washington, DC
Description	Position Summary: The Director, Democracy & Governance provides leadership for the Democracy and Governance (DG) platform; provides key input into existing and proposed Pact projects in the DG sector; coordinates the DG Community of Practice; and takes an active role in the management of Pact’s knowledge. S/he manages a team of assigned Program Officers, advises and supports them in carrying out their program support functions for DG and Peace-building projects. S/he is an active member of the Program Advancement Team, which advises the Vice President of Program Advancement on a range of issues. The Program Advancement Team, which includes all sector team leaders, the Director of Results & Measurement, and the Director of Capacity Building and Management, meets weekly to ensure that there is integration across sectors and core competencies and to advise the VP of Program Advancement on higher level decisions affecting the department as a whole. This Program Advancement Team serves as a forum for adjusting Pact-wide program strategies, developing annual Program Department work plans and budgets, agreeing upon programmatic policies and quality standards, planning and overseeing the implementation of core competency capacity-building investments in Pact’s program team at HQ as well as in promising staff in the field. Specific Duties and Responsibilities: 1. Provide Technical Leadership for the DG Sector:  Provide intellectual leadership to Pact within the DG sector by staying abreast of trends and research findings within the sector and disseminating them to the field;  Play a representational role for Pact in relevant US-based fora and working with our field offices to develop and present papers that help Pact to maintain an image as a leader within the DG sector;  Network with donors active in the DG sector and gather intelligence on up-coming funding opportunities;  Facilitate a dynamic community of practice of Pact staff worldwide within the DG sector that serves to ensure continuous learning across field offices as well as between the Pact HQ and the field in both directions;  Continue to strengthen, implement, and – when necessary – revise Pact’s DG strategy and policies;  Coordinate efforts to identify and document Pact’s best practices in the DG sector and disseminate to all field offices;  Maintain the DG section of Pact’s intranet which serves as a platform for sharing Pact and external best practice documents, toolkits, curricula, and relevant research;  In collaboration with part-time, virtual team members who are based in the regions – whether at the regional hubs or in one of Pact’s field offices – provide technical assistance to field offices so that they better understand and are able to meet Pact and industry standards in the DG sector; and  Ensure that all proposals submitted by Pact in the DG sector are technically sound and capitalize upon learning from other parts of Pact world. 2. Manage a Team of Program Officers Responsible for a Portfolio of Projects in the DG and Peacebuilding Sectors: Supervise and mentor a team of two to four Program Officers who are responsible for performing the following tasks for a portfolio of projects in the DG and Peacebuilding Sectors:  Support the field and the region during the project start-up phase, by helping to develop PMPs and Work Plans, and solicitations; share tools and materials from other similar projects within and outside of Pact; recruit, orient and train new program staff; help field to implement initial project activities;  Provide, recommend or arrange technical assistance upon request, drawing upon Pact’s global resource base as well as external consultants;  Ensure the technical quality of project reports;  Assess project burn rates to ensure that they are in line with programmatic results achieved;  Ensure projects are implemented in compliance with donor and Pact’s rules and regulations;  Maintain a full archive of project documents on the Pact network servers, including project agreements, PMPs, Work Plans, Quarterly Reports, documentation of deliverables promised in the award documents;  Coordinate with other Pact HQ departments to ensure that field requests are processed in a timely fashion;  Lead Country Portfolio Review process for projects and countries within the portfolio;  Organize periodic Country Management Team meetings (at least Quarterly) to identify and resolve issues affection the smooth implementation of projects at the field level;  Prepare and track closeout plans six months prior to closeout, in an effort to ensure that projects close out on time and with no cost overruns. Qualifications: • Ability to establish and sustain interpersonal and professional relationships with Pact HQ staff and overseas offices, in donor organizations and in peer organizations • Experience in effective design of DG programs • Deep knowledge and understanding of USAID, World Bank or other major donor’s policies, procedures or regulations for program implementation • In-depth knowledge in the DG sector • Demonstrated English-language writing and analytical skills • Ability to communicate professionally (written and verbally) in at least one foreign language, preferably two. • Demonstrated skills in team management and leadership • Demonstrated facilitation skills • Demonstrated program development skills • Ability to travel • Ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks. • Proficiency in word processing, spreadsheets and database skills. • Strong oral and written communication skills. Education and Experience Requirements: Required: • Master’s or PhD in relevant discipline • 5 years or more working on DG projects in an overseas setting Preferred: • Fluency in a language other than English
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