Project Director, IREX’s C&G Practice

About IREX:

IREX is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to building a more just, prosperous, and inclusive world by empowering youth, cultivating leaders, strengthening institutions, and extending access to quality education and information. Founded in 1968, IREX has an annual portfolio of over $100 million, work in more than 100 countries worldwide with offices in 20 countries, and a global staff of 600.

Summary of Position:

IREX seeks qualified Project Director candidates to support an anticipated two-year U.S. Department of State Global Engagement Center-funded Ukraine Civil Society Information Resiliency Program (UCSIRP) along with other projects within IREX’s C&G practice. The Project Director will report to the Director of C&G Practice, will work very closely with the Programs’ technical teams overseas as well as IREX HQ in Washington, D.C., and will regularly communicate and collaborate with relevant operations and finance colleagues at IREX HQ in D.C. The Project Director will provide oversight to select program operations and provide technical assistance to country office-based programs and to Washington D.C. led initiatives intended to strengthen practice learning, materials/product development, and to improve outreach to the international development community. The Project Director will coordinate closely with IREX’s HQ-based grants and contracts office and be supported by a HQ-based Senior Program Officer, Program Officer, M&E Specialist, and Program Coordinator. The Project Director will also contribute to new business development and support the professional development of program staff.

This position is contingent on funding.

Summary of Responsibilities:

• Provide management, backstopping support and oversight of the UCSIRP project along with other projects within IREX’s C&G practice;
• Serve as the primary point of contact with GEC and facilitate collaboration with relevant U.S. Government agencies, including but not limited to relevant U.S. Embassies and Missions;
• Manage and monitor and adjust projects to ensure high quality program deliverables and results are being met;
• Ensure that all fiscal and performance activities are compliant with IREX policies and procedures and donor regulations;
• Make decisions and provide solutions to implementation obstacles both in country offices and in headquarters;
• Provide supervision, mentoring, and guidance to staff on program teams, both in country offices and in headquarters;
• Contributes technically to the creation of program deliverables such as annual workplans, implementation plans and M&E plans, as needed;
• Draft complex documents, including periodic program progress reports and evaluation designs/statements of work;
• Negotiate, manage, and monitor subgrants with international and national partners;
• Maintain effective relations and coordination with program donors, partners and technical experts;
• Provide updates to the practice on new reports, studies and/or trends in international development that are in line with C&G interests/activities;
• Conceptualize technical design of programs with a solid tactical and strategic understanding of programs;
• Develop, review and provide quality control of practice technical products (e.g. manuals, papers, toolkits);
• Conduct and/or source training and technical assistance for programs and for the practice;
• Provide technical review and resource development for new and/or cross-cutting technical areas, including political-economic analysis, gender equality and social inclusion, and conflict sensitivity;
• Identify and deploy technical support for effective program implementation, including recruitment of consultants, as necessary;
• Contribute to new business development efforts, including assessments, technical design and proposal writing;
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Master’s degree preferred, however minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in international affairs or a related field required.
• At least ten (10) years of demonstrated experience in management of governance and civil society and information resiliency strengthening projects.
• Experience with safeguarding, staff security and security assessments, and project management from start up to close out.
• Experience with subgrant and grant management desirable.
• Experience on USG-funded governance, civil society, and information resiliency projects preferred.
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills and a proven track record of working effectively with civil society and government partners.
• Excellent interpersonal, relationship building and diplomatic skills.
• Excellent speaking, writing and presentation skills in English.
• Familiarity with the Eurasia region and professional proficiency in Eurasian languages are a plus.