Program Officer, Syria Response

Position: Program Officer, Syria Response

Location: Washington, DC with 30% travel to Middle East

Reports To: Regional Director (Middle East)

Position Summary:The Program Officer, Syria Response will provide country desk management at RI headquarters for likely one or possible several countries in the Middle East where RI is responding to the crisis in Syria and its effects on the region. 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 Sr. Vice President of International Programs The Program Officer 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 Program Officer, Syria Response, 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 Program Officer, with more detail to be provided upon hire. The Program Officer will execute this common set of duties and practices as an 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 Program Officer 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

Program Management (80%)

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.

Project Cycle Management: Provide hands-on contributions and leadership where assigned for the 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.

Country Office-HQ Liaising: Provide hands-on contributions and leadership where assigned for the 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 mobilizations and demobilizations; and organizing linked Country Office-HQ calendars for time management on project cycle deliverables.

Personnel Support & HR Coordination: Provide hands-on contributions and leadership where assigned for the 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: Provide hands-on contributions and leadership where assigned in coordination with the Global Safety and Security Department for country and regional safety and security plans; incident management; and situation monitoring.

Emergency Response: Provide hands-on contributions and leadership in coordination with the Country Office and Emergency Response Department for emergency situation monitoring and response coordination; emergency assessments; and emergency situation reporting.

Grants and Contracts Management: Provide hands-on contributions and leadership where assigned for 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: Provide hands-on contributions and leadership where assigned to the 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: Provide hands-on contributions and leadership where assigned with the Country Office for the 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: Provide hands-on contributions and leadership where assigned for the organization of country and regional material archives at HQ.

Internal & External Representation: Provide hands-on contributions where requested to 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 (20%)

Program Development: Provide hands-on contributions and leadership where assigned in coordination with the 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 Program Development Department-led efforts; 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.

Due to the current emergency nature of the Syria-response programs, the Program Officer will be required to coordinate closely with the Emergency Response Department to develop of regional and cohesive strategy, not only for the current program's ongoing management and expansion, but in actively identifying future programs, funding opportunities, and strategic opportunities.

Qualifications and 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 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 change frequently. Previous experience with Health, WASH, shelter, protection and/or livelihoods programming a plus.
• Foundational and working knowledge and experience with international humanitarian and / or development programming, including awareness of and experience with international standards and best practices, common protocols, and interagency networks and relations. MUST have clear knowledge and awareness in international standards and best practices to apply.
• Excellent foundational skills and a strong interest in sound Project Cycle Management.
• 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 USAID and private foundation/sector awards. 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 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.
• 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.