Program Officer, Levant

Company Overview:

The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) strengthens democracy around the globe through private enterprise and market-oriented reform. CIPE is one of the four core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy and an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Since 1983, CIPE has worked with business leaders, policymakers, and civil society to build the institutions vital to a democratic society. CIPE’s key program areas include enterprise ecosystems, democratic governance, business advocacy, anti-corruption & ethics, and trade.

Position: Program Officer (PO), MENA (Levant) 

Reports to: Program Director, Levant 

Location: Washington, DC 

Scope: CIPE’s Middle East and North Africa team is seeking a Program Officer (PO) to manage the Levant portfolio, covering projects in Jordan, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Territories. This is a full-time, exempt position based in Washington, D.C., reporting to the Levant Program Director (PD), under the ultimate direction of CIPE’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa. In addition to working with the Levant PD and Program Associate, the PO will work in close collaboration with CIPE’s Jordan Program Director and staff, based in Amman. The PO will be expected to travel at regular intervals to the region to work with CIPE colleagues and civil society partners in the field. 

Strategic planning and business development 

• Help develop and implement a country strategy to advance CIPE’s mission to improve democratic governance and advance market reforms in region. 

• Identify new funding and partnership opportunities

• Establish and maintain strong relationships with donor organizations, monitor donor trends and assess new funding opportunities.

• Analyze, research, and be familiar with the region’s political and economic landscape, identifying new needs and potential openings.

• Together with CIPE’s country office staff, identify potential partner organizations in-country and develop project ideas that align with CIPE’s organizational, regional and national strategies. 

• Analyze project proposal requests in the context of the regional environment, CIPE’s strategy, grant criteria and any other relevant factors to determine whether CIPE will submit a proposal.

• Lead concept note and proposal production, developing overall project objectives and activities, coordinating with the different contributors across CIPE, writing substantial sections, and assuring any submitted products are clear, high in quality and aligned with CIPE’s mission and values. 
   

Project implementation 

• Manage the implementation of a portfolio of grants and activities that advance CIPE’s overall goals, in close collaboration with CIPE’s country team and civil society partners.

• Collaborate with partners to refine project calendars and implementation plans, monitoring and evaluation plans, and project budgets. Develop and share further tools as needed to help partners well implement activities and record their impacts. 

• Support the CIPE country team in coordinating different project and activity streams through strategic, operational and tactical discussions and the development of shared tools and trackers as needed. 

• Regularly interact with CIPE’s country team and local civil society partners to review project progress, discuss implementation, and help develop solutions to any challenges identified. 

• Write, or oversee the drafting, of clear and well-structured reports, correspondence with local civil society partners, communications products, official briefs, analyses and other written products, to ensure high accuracy and quality as per NED and other donor requirements. 

• Support the planning and delivery of technical support to build local partner capacity. 

• Oversee financial management and stewardship of funds for the portfolio, including monitoring project spending, projecting future expenses, approving expenditures, and developing accurate budget for new projects. This will include oversight of field office financial management and operations.

• Adhere to appropriate CIPE, National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce policies and procedures. Monitor the performance of grantees, contractors, and consultants to ensure full compliance with objectives, financial and reporting requirements, and evaluation plans. Also ensure project implementation complies with required financial and grant processes and policies, keeping organized records. Evaluate projects through on-site visits, file reviews, and coordination with independent evaluators, where appropriate. 

• Travel regularly to portfolio country or countries to work with the field office, visit civil society partners and meet with key stakeholders.

• Provide relevant country offices with supervision and leadership on all project activities, budgets, and expenditures.

• Identify and leverage synergies across CIPE programs to strengthen ongoing projects and integrate new learning, tools and resources, as well as link regional partners with other CIPE civil society partners worldwide. 

• Monitor current events for any factors that could have an impact on current or planned CIPE projects, and develop strategic and programmatic responses as appropriate.

• Represent CIPE at public and internal events, including meetings and events pertinent to the Levant, partner and donor meetings and other interactions with stakeholders.
   

Team management and coordination 

• Collaborate with multiple CIPE departments to achieve programmatic goals, including Monitoring and Evaluation, Communications, Grants and Finance, Policy and Program Learning, and other regional teams.

• Supervise junior program staff, including Program Associates and Associate Program Officers, and support their learning and professional development.

• Contribute to external communications; help ensure project success stories are communicated to key CIPE audiences and author blogs and other publications to advance CIPE’s thought leadership.

QUALIFICATIONS 
 
Experience and Knowledge 

• Minimum 3-6 years’ professional experience with international assistance programs, working in partnership with civil society organizations, preferably including business membership organizations.

• Demonstrated project management experience, preferably within the context of civil society-related projects. Prior experience working on donor-funded projects preferred, (USAID, Department of State, etc.) useful. 

• Knowledge of business associations and/or chambers of commerce desired.

• Strong interest in private sector advocacy and collective action desired 

• Experience in organizational capacity building helpful 

• Familiarity with topics critical to CIPE’s mission, such as democracy and governance issues, private sector development issues, anti-corruption and business ethics, business association advocacy, entrepreneurship, or others, desired.

Skills and Qualities 

• Fluency in English required, high proficiency in Arabic is beneficial 

• Demonstrated, superior writing skills, critical thinking, and analytical skills.

• Ability to work in a fast-paced team context, as well as work independently with minimum supervision 

• Ability to prioritize and handle multiple tasks. 

• High cultural competence and demonstrated ability to develop, establish, and maintain good relationships with international partners, donors, and colleagues.

• Strong project management skills.

• Ability to manage a team and supervise young professionals and other staff.

• Proficiency in MS-Office, specifically Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

• Must be able and willing to travel for extended and multiple periods.

• Contribute to an organization-wide culture of innovation, integrity, inclusion, and respect. 

Education 

• Bachelor’s degree is required, with a focus in one of the following areas highly desirable: International Relations, International Business, Economic Development, Political Science, or Public Policy.

• Master’s degree, or the equivalent experience in International Relations, International Business, Economic Development, Political Science, or Public Policy is preferred. 

THE SALARY RANGE FOR THIS POSITION IS: $60,000 - $68,000

CIPE is an Equal Opportunity Employer

CIPE is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sexual orientation, religion, sex, age, national origin, genetic information, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity or expression, and marital status or any other legally protected class or characteristic covered by applicable law. CIPE is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals and bases all employment decisions on qualifications, merit, and business need. CIPE believes diversity and inclusion across our organization is critical to our programs, mission, and success as a globally operating business. We strive to recruit, develop, and retain talent from a diverse candidate pool.

Work Environment

Work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The work is performed primarily indoors with occasional exposure to outdoor conditions when required. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Employee’s Responsibility in an Emergency

The employee is expected to respond to emergency situations involving the safety of fellow employees including evacuation of the building.