Program Officer, Middle East
JOB TITLE: Program Officer, Middle East
Location: Washington, D.C., Amman, Jordan or London, U.K. (with travel to field up to 50%)
Reports To: Regional Director, Middle East
SUMMARY: The Program Officer, Middle East (PO) will provide country desk management at the RI headquarters for one or more likely, several countries in the Middle East where RI is responding to the crisis in Syria as well as other humanitarian and development needs. He/she will be solely responsible for ensuring the primary day-to-day support and communications with the country office or offices, under the direction of the Regional Director and broader oversight of the Vice President of International Programs. The PO will uphold the highest standards of the RI country desk officer management practice by delivering those areas of work and associated duties via a basic foundation of skills and capacities. The PO will be an effective and discrete communicator, adept at maintaining confidentiality as well as providing rapid and timely liaison functions between RI headquarters and its country office(s).
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
All duties will be conducted under the RI established Standard Operating Policies and Procedures. The following terms of reference summarizes the Areas of Work and associated Tasks for RI’s Country Desk Officer Practice to be performed and delivered by the PO, with more detail to be provided upon hire. The PO will execute this common set of duties and practices as a entry to mid-level country desk management practitioner capable of contributing excellent leadership, sound foundational skills, and ability to work both independently and as part of a team framework. The PO will be expected to deliver high quality results across tasks in program management, operational oversight and program development for his/her country programs, as well as other areas within RI. To be successful, the PO will need creative thinking and problem-solving skills, comfort working in a fast-paced environment, flexibility and initiative.
Program Management (60-70%)
The following Program Management areas of work and tasks are to be executed from the HQ level in partnership with Country Offices / Country Leadership, with complimentary support and effort on the same areas of work conducted specifically during Field Visits. The PO will also be required to successfully manage a remote relationship with his/her supervisor as well as other team members from the Programs, Emergency Response and Program Development departments, while developing positive day-to-day working relationships with colleagues and management.
Project Cycle Management: Coordination and organization of project designs, project mobilization and closure management; project management support to country and project personnel; performance and impact tracking; and at-risk projects management. Given the context of the Syria crisis, the PO will be required to adjust his/her project cycle management practice to the nature of the emergency response programming.
Country Office-HQ Liaising: Coordination and organization of communications with assigned country offices; management of country and regional context information; conducting routine country field visits; contributing to host country and local relations; managing country program and specific project mobilizations and demobilizations; and organizing linked Country Office-HQ calendars for time management on project cycle deliverables.
Emergency Response: Provide hands-on contributions and leadership in coordination with the Country Offices and Emergency Response Departments for emergency situation monitoring, response, coordination; emergency assessments, program development and implementation; and emergency situation reporting.
Personnel Support & HR Coordination: Coordination and organization of country-based personnel matters in coordination with the Human Resources Department; international personnel recruitment; performance evaluation of international personnel; grievance management; international deployments and repatriations; information management and support for country office-based human resources matters; and nominations to the RI National Officer Corps.
Safety and Security Management: Coordination with the Global Safety and Security Department for country and regional safety and security plans; incident management; and situation monitoring.
Grants and Contracts Management: Execution of review and approval processes for material submissions managed in the Grants and Contracts system; organization of country contracts and modifications; coordination for new programs entered in RI systems; and quality and timely project reporting.
Budget Management: Development and use of regional and country-specific operational budgets and budget projections; design of sound proposal / new project budgets and cost share applications; analysis and recommendations for budget versus actual (BVA) spending reports; review and analysis of country requests for funds (RFFs); and as requested on audits.
Procurement & Travel Management: Development of country and project-based procurement plans in support of sound project cycle execution; substantive pre-reviews for country program and operations procurements requiring HQ senior management approval; and organization in coordination with the Operations Department for any movement of personnel into or out of the country programs assigned.
Administrative Management: Organization of country and regional material archives at HQ.
Internal & External Representation: Support RI efforts in institutional advancement and philanthropy; networking; information sharing on country, regional, and sector issues for internal capacity building; representing for RI on countries and region of assignment in the donor and interagency community; and providing inputs for the preparation of organizational print and web communication content in support of the RI Mission and constituency.
RI Mission & Culture: Provide positive contributions and developments to the RI operating and program environment, including mentorship of junior colleagues. Remain current on and uphold RI’s policies and best practices. Forge professional and positive connections with departments and colleagues to achieve optimal support for the country and regional programs and teams.
Program Development (30-40%)
Program Development: Provide hands-on contributions and leadership where assigned in coordination with the Emergency Response and Program Development Department for management of country desk and country office-led development efforts (e.g. expressions of interest, concept notes, full proposals); contributing effectively to Emergency Response and Program Development Department-led efforts, including strategies; management of donor relations; contributing to strategic decisions about development for assigned countries and region; providing substantive inputs on proposal project and budget designs; contributing to capacity statements for assigned countries and region; and organizing and preparing proposal issues letter responses for submissions led from the country desk team.
QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS:
This position demands a dynamic individual with a good foundation of skills in basic management and development who is ready to provide substantive contributions and explore advancing their leadership capacity for achieving results in a demanding and fast paced environment.
- Bachelors or Masters Degree in International Development, Middle East Studies, or related field in alignment with the relief and development sectors.
- 5 years of relevant international positions (internships not applicable), with some experience evident at both the field and headquarters levels. Strong preference will be given to candidates with emergency response field experience which demonstrates an ability to move quickly, think creatively, and exercise flexibility in critical thinking to solve difficult problems that can rapidly evolve. Previous experience with Health, WASH, shelter, protection, refugees, IDPs and/or livelihoods programming a plus.
- Excellent foundational skills and a strong interest in sound Project Cycle Management. Ability to adapt project management practice to emergency response programming.
- Foundational skills and experiences in program development producing proposals, development and management of donor relations; experience must be inclusive of some direct experience in contributing substantively or as a leader on proposal writing, proposal budget design, and some history in managing donor outreach and relations. Preference given to candidates with success at winning awards from multiple sources, including USAID and European, British, United Nations and/or private foundations. MUST have program development experience to apply.
- Evidence of foundational skills and experience in applying capacities in budgeting and financial forecasting, including possession of basic skill sets for in preparing budget designs, providing budget analysis, and expense management. MUST have foundational budgeting and financial experience to apply.
- Proven high level of computer literacy and high facility for using the Microsoft Office Suite (with emphasis on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook).
- Foundational experience with independent and collaborative narrative writing and research skills; writing samples may be requested.
- Familiarity with grants management fundamentals and USAID, European, British and/or United Nations regulations and grants administration.
- Experience in Monitoring and Evaluation and Impact Measurement and Analysis a plus.
- Experience with mentoring and team building a plus.
- Demonstrated capacity to coordinate complex activities, meet deadlines and manage deliverables on varying timetables and priority levels, and to exercise sound judgment.
- Willingness to take part in program related domestic and international travel routinely and as needed (estimated 50% basis).
- Willingness to accept and absorb direct critique to improve work quality and results.
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of a team and independently.
- An exceptional interest and shared commitment to the values and mission of RI.
- Arabic language skills a plus.
How to apply:
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