Search for Common Ground
In a world often divided, Search for Common Ground stands for the power of bringing diverse people together to find solutions. By meeting this moment with Search, you join a powerful global peace movement that believes in the profound impact of courageous multipartiality - that all voices should be heard and respected in shaping a better, more connected world and collaborative vision is essential for lasting peace.
Search for Common Ground takes a dynamic approach by building solutions that are based on the needs of communities. We engage with leaders and elected officials to advance dialogue and collaboration. We are community leaders. We are youth activists. We are women. We are Peacebuilders. We have been doing this work for over 40 years, we have developed our understanding of what peace looks like, being able to quantify our impact and design more effective programming. Peace moves at the speed of trust, so we invest for the long haul. When we’re no longer needed, we leave, leaving behind people and institutions with the ability to manage future conflicts.
Position Summary
The Cross-Regional Programs team at Search for Common Ground (Search) is seeking a full-time Officer to support the implementation of the program Women’s Inclusion in New Security (WINS), a global project focused on women, peace and security (WPS), implemented across eight countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Central Asia, Guatemala, Lebanon and Yemen) - and including a global Rapid Response Fund (RRF) mechanism. The project provides specific funding and technical assistance to local women-led groups to grow and sustain local capacities for peacebuilding.
The Programs team has oversight on the management of restricted grants to drive impact and ensure compliance. The Programs team supports in-country Directors and Managers to effectively follow Search and donor policies and procedures regarding grant implementation. This function commences with the signing of a grant and completes with the final close-out. This involves monitoring, reporting, and where appropriate, engagement with donors. It involves oversight on both program quality and compliance, working in close collaboration with other departments, including Finance, the Institutional Learning Team, Strategy Alignment, Program Quality, Communications, and Human Resources. The Programs team aims to build and strengthen the capacity of program implementation at Search and with partner staff in-country.
We are seeking an experienced and dynamic Senior Officer, Programs to provide significant grants management and programmatic support specifically to country implementation, as well as effective networking and representation of the Search WINS program in Washington DC, alongside other critical tasks pertaining to the project. The key responsibilities of this position are outlined below.
Key Responsibilities
Policy, Learning and Communication support (20%)
- Lead in the collection, drafting and review of communications products.
- Lead in the collection, drafting and review of programmatic success stories.
- Lead in the internal coordination on WPS programmatic cross-learning, coordination and communication.
- Lead coordination with Kroc IPJ on policy products and targeted outreach.
- Lead on proposed programming adaptations that result from learning and reflection exercises.
- Contribute, along with the Program Manager, Program Director and policy team, in the development of policy documents and policy outreach.
- Lead in the successful positioning of Search and the WINS program in D.C. policy circles as key referent on WPS and equitable funding mechanisms.
- Contribute to the successful positioning of Search and the WINS program internationally as key referent on WPS and equitable funding mechanisms.
- Represent the Search WINS program at events, conferences and networking opportunities.
Contributions
- Collaborates with country program managers and partners in the preparation of timely and quality project reports for donors in compliance with donor and internal Search requirements.
- Ensures and supports the effective tracking and forecasting of project expenditures by the project team through budget versus actuals (BVA) meetings, in line with the approved budget and work plan for both Search and partners.
- Ensures that costed work plans are regularly updated and utilized. Proactively supports needs for no-cost extensions, budget realignments, or other budgetary changes.
- Facilitates or supports grants start up, reviews, and closure meetings and follows up on action points.
- Participates in reflection sessions and discussions on adaptation. Facilitates support for technical assistance where appropriate. Ensures lessons learnt are well documented and disseminated for better program implementation in future, in line with best practice in reflective practice and adaptive management.
- Conducts regular partner visits to track grant progress and ultimately supports Search to meet project deliverables for major and high risk projects.
- Coordinates the Programs team as well as country communication teams in highlighting and documenting success stories.
- When necessary, travels internationally to support complex and/or high risk project start ups and close out processes.
- Participates in design calls and provides proposal review and budget review for strategic proposals when called upon.
- Ensures project budgets are adequately coded and uploaded to the accounting system. Disseminates information on the coded budgets to other program staff.
- Develops subaward contracts and ensures all required documents and processes are completed to facilitate final sign off.
- Supports the Programs Manager in capacity assessment of country offices and collaborates with the Programs Manager and other managers in capacity development by tailoring appropriate training for various country offices.
- Conducts on-boarding of new program staff and familiarizes them with the donor and internal rules as regulations on grants management.
- Other duties that are broadly in line with the above key contributions as assigned.
Competency Behavior Indicators (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)
- Initiates brainstorming or problem-solving meetings. With time in job, develops skills for analyzing and communicating program successes and failures; reports lessons learned to the team and other members.
- Represents Search at local and international events and meetings for professional organizations, vendors, partners, and funders. Develops skills to independently initiate and maintain relations with vendors, partners, and funders. Articulates Search program/project goals and objectives within Search and to external audiences.
- Demonstrates appreciation for diversity of thought. Builds cross-functional relationships with other functional departments.
- Demonstrates ability to be adaptable and willing to confront and change own ideas and preconceptions with the resiliency and flexibility to make changes based on hearing a diversity of thoughts.
- Drafts team documents, briefing materials, and presentations. Articulates program/project objectives and how they fit into a team’s goals and/or Search’s mission and adapts to the communications setting.
- Applies standards, identifies areas for standardization, and coordinates across functions from a multicultural perspective that reflects consideration of other cultures, other viewpoints, and other ways of doing things.
- Takes into account the environmental landscape, assesses one's own and others' viewpoints in their environment, and proposes solutions from an ethical perspective.
- Recognizes the options available for solving problems, conducts analyses and calculates metrics and other technical tools to support informed decision-making.
- Conducts Quality Control of team documents, briefing materials, presentations, and systems data. Carefully reviews and checks the accuracy of information in work reports, management information systems, or with other individuals and groups. Checks the accuracy of one’s own and others’ work. Proactively informs management of potential risks and concerns; suggests resolutions.
- Independently prioritizes time to reach deadlines and reaches end results of assignments with ability to accomplish multiple steps with limited to no supervision.
- Remain alert and responsive to any safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills that will enable you to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the safeguarding policy and procedures, and conduct yourself in a manner consistent with the Safeguarding Policy.
Desired Qualifications
- A completed BA/MA degree in International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, Gender Studies, Political Science, or a related field.
- At least 3 years experience in WPS programming and/or WPS policy.
- At least 7 years experience in grants management in an international context, across geographies.
- Fluency in English and at least French or Spanish written and spoken, is essential, and proficiency in additional languages is beneficial (Arabic, Russian).
Type and Nature of Contacts
Interacts with others and handles problem situations with tact. Periodic external engagement as requested.
Education and Experience
Typically BS/BA with minimum 7 years’ experience.
Working Conditions and Physical Requirements
Usual office environment in Washington D.C. Ability to travel internationally at least 20%.
Supervisory and Budget Responsibility
May supervise one or more employees including interns, fractional staff members; has authority over activity budgets and analysis of wider budget exercises.
Application process
The deadline for applications is December 2nd, 2024. Please submit your CV and motivation letter through our online application portal Lever. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and Search reserves the right to identify a suitable candidate ahead of this deadline.
Only applicants invited for an interview will be contacted.
Please note that we are unfortunately only able to consider applicants that currently hold the right to work in the USA.
