Location: Kyiv, Ukraine

Group/Practice/Unit: Communities and Governance

Who We Are

At IREX we strive for a more just, prosperous, and inclusive world—where individuals reach 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 Director of Programs will be responsible for the overall management of the assigned programs in Ukraine, including monitoring workplan implementation and cooperative agreement deadlines; overseeing finance and grants management; managing relationships with donors, local partners, and the government; supervising and mentoring assigned program staff; providing technical support to assigned programs; representing the assigned programs for internal and external audiences; facilitating issues/questions and resolutions related to Grants/Contracts/ Compliance and Field Operations/HR; and carrying out additional duties and tasks to meet the needs of the organization, team, or as assigned by supervisor. As needed, the Director of Programs will also work with the Strategy and Development Group on the preparation of proposals for new business development opportunities, cost extensions for the current programs and other relevant business opportunities.

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

• Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred) in education, international affairs, communications, journalism, public policy, sociology, political science, anthropology, social work, economics, law, business administration, non-profit management or another relevant discipline
• Successful track record (8 years with a master’s and 10 years with a bachelor’s degree) of designing, implementing and leading complex donor-funded technical assistance projects
• 5 years of US Government-funded project management experience
• Recognized technical expertise and leadership focused on positive youth development, including leadership and workforce development; and/or improving social cohesion, strengthening civic engagement, media/civil society development and/or good governance more broadly
• Ability to establish and nurture strong working relationships with senior-level national and sub-national government officials; community leaders, local officials, media, civil society, private sector leaders; international donors; and other key stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to track and manage large budgets and plan both strategically and creatively to meet project objectives
• Ability to cultivate relationships with potential funders
• Proficient and comfortable with contemporary digital platforms for collaboration and communication
• Strong understanding of Ukraine and/or Eastern European context preferred
• Proven leadership qualities and excellent management and teambuilding skills
• Strong representational and diplomatic skills
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Fluency in Ukrainian or Russian

Your Daily Tasks

• Lead overall implementation and provide oversight to select projects, in coordination with IREX HQ, for current project portfolio, including America House, Veterans Reintegration, Cohesion Through Youth-Led Action and Voices in Action
• Supervise the drafting of annual implementation plans; monitoring, evaluation and learning plans; communication strategies and other project deliverables and documents
• Assure program quality in all project deliverables to achieve expected results as well as meet or exceed donor expectations
• Monitor workplan implementation and cooperative agreement deadline
• Participate or lead in design and execution of monitoring, evaluation and learning plans
• Advise local partners and serve as a technical resource
• Negotiate, manage and monitor subaward performance with international, regional and national partners and ensure all subaward management practices comply with IREX policies and procedures as well as donor rules and regulations
• Accountable for ensuring that assigned programs obtain value-added tax (VAT) or other applicable tax waiver from the US embassy or local authorities as needed
• Other programmatic, technical, and administrative duties as needed
• Engage with program beneficiaries and stakeholders, ensuring that all relationships are managed effectively
• Lead weekly donor calls, liaise with donor on key priorities, and identify additional opportunities for IREX
• Coordinate with donors and partners, typically serving as primary point of contact for the assigned projects
• Represent the assigned programs for internal and external audiences, including participating in domestic and international conferences
• Safeguard IREX’s institutional interests and minimize exposure to risk across the relevant programs that operate in or are supported by IREX staff in Ukraine
• Identify high-level external audiences or stakeholders (media, public officials, donors, and key influencers) for the assigned projects, design an influence strategy, and effectively engage with them to disseminate key messages and nurture direct relationships between them and IREX
• Supervise subcontractors and consultants
• In coordination with Chief of Party of UNITY, IREX’s largest program in Ukraine, serve as a regular liaison and representative with key government officials at the county, national and potentially regional level, other donors and implementers, private sector and civil society partners
• Support promotion of IREX brand in country and region
• Draft external publications such as op-eds, articles, or essays
• Provide technical support for IREX strategic initiatives or other projects as needed
• Accountable for procurement and payment of different IREX costs on programs they supervise
• Facilitate issues/questions and resolutions related to Grants/Contracts/Compliance and Field Operations/HR as needed.
• Provide in-depth grant reviews and advising, review, input, and design work into grant documents.
• Reviews and approves selected internal financial reporting (programs that they supervise and other office costs), including bank and cash reconciliations
• Approve and sign relevant documents, contracts and agreements on behalf of IREX (programs that they supervise)
• Accountable for IREX reports for submission to local authorities and ensure that local accounting procedures comply with local regulations (programs that they supervise)
• Monitor and stay informed of country developments through news sources and in-country networks
• Support the drafting of security policies, procedures and practices and coordinating with project leads in their enforcement
• In collaboration with Director of Operations and Finance, ensure that IREX’s safety and security policies and procedures are applied to all project and staff operations, monitor and maintain situational awareness of country developments through news sources and in-country networks
• In collaboration with Director of Operations and Finance, accountable for compliance of office Human Resources policies and procedures to local labor law
• Hire, supervise, mentor and support locally-hired staff, including proactively identifying and recommending opportunities that make use of IREX’s professional development benefits
• Oversee compliance with IREX policy for prevention of sexual abuse and exploitation (PSEA) of children and vulnerable adults, including mandatory staff training and effective reporting mechanisms
• Accountable for progressively increasing levels of diversity, equity and inclusion in the project teams
• Promote a culture of collaboration, learning and adaptation (CLA) across the programs

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

We conduct background checks on all successful candidates.

This position is eligible for Telework.

This position is not eligible for Immigration Sponsorship.

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE

EOE – Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity.

All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply. AA/EOE/M/F/Vet/Disabled

Deadline for applications: January 04, 2021