Senior Program Officer, Mandela Washington Fellowship

Who We Are

At IREX we strive for a more just, prosperous, and inclusive world—where individuals research their full potential, governments serve their people and communities thrive.

But around the globe, persistent poverty, repression, and injustice prevent too many people form achieving their full potential. To address these problems, we focus on people, not on vaccines, roads, or wells. We support individuals and institutions to create change in their own communities—and to create person to person bridges between nations.

IREX works with partners in more than 100 countries in four areas essential to progress: cultivating leaders, empowering youth, strengthening institutions, and increasing access to quality education and information.

The Senior Program Officer will join the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), to support the project’s Alumni Leadership Institutes. The Senior Program Officer will provide vision and leadership for programmatic and curricular development and implementation, budgetary and sub-award oversight, participant emergency management, and staff management, including oversight of specific program components and supervision of junior staff.

We are doers. Our decades of on-the-ground experience help us create greater impact, practical recommendations, and lasting partnerships.

Are you the next member of our team?

Your Background & Skills

• A Bachelor’s degree related to international development
• 5+ years of professional experience in relevant sectors, including previous experience with professional training/development programs, higher education institutions, and/or fellowship programs
• Experience working with domestic and global partners or stakeholders
• Experience in mentoring, coaching, or other relevant leadership development work with young professionals
• Demonstrated experience managing others toward shared goals
• Proven ability to develop and maintain fruitful relationships with program participants, partners, and other project stakeholders
• Excellent interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills including problem solving, conflict resolution, and a demonstrated ability to hold self and assigned staff accountable for quality outputs and results
• Demonstrated experience to proactively offer creative solutions and plan strategically to meet specified objectives with strong ability to anticipate challenges and generate solutions
• Ability to communicate professionally, clearly, and succinctly and independently contribute outstanding verbal and written communications
• Outstanding cross-cultural skills and understanding of DEI concepts and how they are applied in both the workplace and in programming
• Demonstrated understanding of community engagement, civil society strengthening, global development issues, regional knowledge, or international work or study experience
• Experience with procurement procedures and grant management preferred
• Experience working with Department of State and/ or USG grants preferred
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to adhere to strict deadlines
• Excellent computer and data management skills, including Microsoft Office Suite
• Skills in or interest in developing capacity for project systems including Salesforce, Alchemer, Canvas, Submittable, or similar
• Professionalism in written correspondence and strong oral communication skills; able to produce final draft quality communication and documents in a timely manner
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Skilled at handling multiple complex tasks
• English fluency required

Your Daily Tasks

• Manage relationships and outreach with partner institutions and stakeholders, including academic, government partners, and vendors
• Provide partner institutions with program and participant support including curricular design, logistical guidance, policy compliance, and emergency management
• Support financial oversight and management of the program, including reviewing and managing partner subaward budgets and agreements, ensuring compliance with all IREX and donor policies
• Oversee and contribute to the production of program deliverables including program agendas, participant materials, resources for program partners, and program reports
• Manage a wide range of participant information and data, maintaining accuracy and completeness
• Lead internal learning, reflection and knowledge sharing around project components and/or best practices
• Measure progress, learn from doing, and use that learning to improve programming going forward
• Manage at least one junior staff person toward a shared vision, and provide guidance, coaching, and professional development support
• Manage recruitment and selection of HEIs to serve as implementation partners
• Support administrative aspects of the program including Alumni participant application, review, selection, and placement processes
• Ensure timely, accurate, and thoughtful completion of deliverables within assigned program responsibilities.
• Create a positive team environment adhering to IREX’s organizational values and management principles.
• Proactively support IREX’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts.
• Represent IREX and Leadership Practice interests both within and outside of IREX
• Other duties as assigned.

IREX will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008.

Successful candidates are subject to background screenings

This position is eligible for occasional Telework.

This position is ineligible for Immigration Sponsorship