Resident Program Manager for Civic Organizing: Belarus
The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) seeks a Resident Program Manager (PM) to manage programs to strengthen civil society organizations and civic initiatives in Belarus. NDI’s Belarus office is based in Vilnius, Lithuania. From this office, the new PM will contribute technical expertise to, and manage day-to-day implementation of NDI civic engagement programs. S/he will also contribute to grants management, reporting, and other administrative, financial and compliance issues. If s/he has applicable expertise the PM will also contribute to programs to promote women’s political participation.
The ideal candidate has: 1) progressively responsible experience in organizing, advocacy and management roles at civil society organizations in developed democracies, particularly: 2) experience in training and advising local civil society partners in closed political environments or developing democracies, and 3) written and oral language fluency in English and Russian or Belarusian.
The position is available immediately.
Responsibilities:
- Contribute to program design and manage day-to-day implementation of programming focused on development of strong membership- or constituency-based civic organizations, as well as grassroots organizing and advocacy at local and national levels;
- In collaboration with the Resident Director and HQ colleagues, oversee programmatic and financial components of subgrant agreements with local partners;
- Coordinate program partnership with international and local partners to ensure streamlined, effective programming;
- In collaboration with Resident Director, liaise with donors, including USAID to ensure compliance with operational and reporting requirements and achievement of programmatic goals;
- In collaboration with the Resident Director, provide technical expertise to in-country staff as well as local and international partners to advance programmatic goals;
- Manage systems to ensure adherence to NDI Washington, D.C. policies and procedures, as well as to funder/donor regulations, ensuring the integrity of all financial transactions;
- Report on program activities and political developments that may affect program outcomes to the Washington, D.C.-based staff on a regular basis;
- In collaboration facilitate regular monitoring and evaluation of NDI program activities and results; data collection, analysis and application; and integration of lessons learned over the life of the program; work with local partners to engage in continual reflection, learning, and adaptation of their own civic initiatives;
- Manage in-country staff contributions toward the development, review and timely submission of program-related materials, including project workplans and regular reports that measure and evaluate program results;
- Help local staff and program participants to deepen their understanding of the variety of tools and strategies that can be employed to build citizen movements and influence decision making. This should include employing both traditional advocacy methodologies, as well as innovative approaches that incorporate technology and leverage social and broadcast media;
Qualifications:
Required:
- Undergraduate degree in a field of study related to political science, international relations, public policy, international development or a related field preferred; Additional years of relevant work experience may be substituted for educational requirement on a one-for-one basis
- A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience as a practitioner with civil society organizations, including, illustratively as a grassroots organizer, advocacy manager or organizational manager/executive.
- Strong practitioner command of effective tools and approaches for fostering organizational capacity development of civil society groups
- Experience mentoring emerging civic initiatives and leaders, and experience with movement building and political activism.
- In depth knowledge and experience planning and managing digital outreach and social media
- Experience working in developing democracies without traditions of responsive government or civic activism. Eurasia region preferred.
- Familiarity with adult education practices and incentives; ability to develop formal curricula and training materials
- Proven experience forming strong relationships with civil society organizations, political leaders and members of the donor/diplomatic community
- Previous experience as a trainer, advisor and/or consultant able to help partners integrate and manage individual and organizational change
- Proven interpersonal and managerial skills and cultural sensitivity to manage large in-country teams
- Experience in creating and managing multi-faceted systems to maximize financial and programmatic integrity
- Strong political analysis skills
- Strong written and oral communication skills in English.
Desirable:
- Written and oral communication skills in Russian or Belarusian languages strongly preferred.
- Experience with women’s organizations or managing gender equity-related assistance programs.
- Experience with U.S. government-funded programming.
Comments:
NDI is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). As such, NDI makes employment decisions and provides equal employment opportunity without regard to an applicant’s or employee’s race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state and local laws. If you need a reasonable accommodation in the application or hiring process, please notify NDI’s Human Resources department.
This is a field-based position based in the NDI office in Vilnius, Lithuania. Public health conditions in that country at the time of hire may necessitate a remote start prior to in-country deployment.