Senior Program Officer II, Community College Initiative Program

IREX is a global solutions provider that partners with communities and institutions in the United States and around the world to cultivate leaders, expand access to education, and create economic opportunity. With deep expertise, a forward-looking vision, and world-class practices in AI for Education, Future-Ready Workforce, Higher Education Solutions, Leadership Development, and Online Safety, IREX delivers innovative and proven solutions that help people, institutions, and communities thrive in a rapidly changing world.

IREX seeks a Senior Program Officer II to support the U.S. Department of State’s Community College Initiative (CCI) Program.

The Senior Program Officer II plays a leadership role in designing and delivering high-quality, mission-driven programs within IREX’s Global Impact Hub. In this role, you will oversee complex program workstreams and deliverables; manage budgets, compliance, and partner relationships; guide and develop team members; and translate strategy into well-coordinated implementation. The position will support the Community College Initiative (CCI) Program focused on workforce innovation, community college-industry partnerships, advanced manufacturing, super intelligence, energy and critical minerals, and supply chain and logistics. The successful candidate will combine strong program management judgment with collaborative leadership, clear communication, and a commitment to measurable results.

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• Program Operations & Administration: Oversee major workstreams from planning through closeout, ensuring quality, impact, and timely delivery. Develop and execute work plans, timelines, reports, presentations, events, exchanges, travel, and other program products. Anticipate implementation risks, resolve problems, and keep leadership informed of progress and issues with significant implications. Lead the design and delivery of participant-centered programming, regional exchanges, site visits, workshops, and follow-on activities, as applicable.
• Participant, Partner & Stakeholder Engagement: Build and manage productive relationships with donors, participants, alumni, U.S. and international educational institutions, private sector partners, workforce organizations, government counterparts, and other stakeholders. Represent IREX in meetings and presentations, facilitate clear and consistent communications, and coordinate high-quality partner engagement. Lead recruitment, nomination, selection, orientation, participant monitoring, and alumni engagement processes. For assigned initiatives, cultivate partnerships among community colleges, industry, workforce systems, and international institutions.
• Finance, Procurement & Grant Support: Oversee management of budgets and financial processes, monitor expenditures and forecasts, and ensure the financial integrity and cost-effectiveness of program activities. Coordinate procurement, vendor and consultant management, subawards or partner agreements, participant support, and required documentation. Ensure compliance with IREX, donor, and applicable U.S. Government requirements, including program, financial, safeguarding, records, branding, and reporting obligations. Review work products and supporting documentation for accuracy, completeness, and compliance before submission or approval.
• Team Collaboration & Continuous Improvement: Direct and guide the work of team members, delegate responsibilities with clear and measurable expectations, and provide timely coaching, feedback, and learning opportunities. Partner across IREX to solve problems, strengthen workflows, share knowledge, and align program work with practice and organizational goals. Use data, participant and partner feedback, and lessons learned to improve program quality and decision-making. Foster a collaborative, respectful, accountable, and results-driven team culture.
• Growth & New Business Support: Identify opportunities to deepen partnerships, expand existing work, and contribute to new program development. Lead or support proposal strategy, technical design, writing, budgeting, partner outreach, and review processes as assigned. Gather and share relevant market and technical intelligence, including developments in workforce innovation, education-industry partnerships, advanced manufacturing, AI, digital skills, and private sector engagement. Contribute expertise and high-quality materials that strengthen IREX positioning and program growth.

At IREX, our culture is built on our people and how we work together to create meaningful impact every day. We look for colleagues who bring a strong sense of purpose, intellectual curiosity, collaborative problem-solving, and a results-driven bias for action to help strengthen communities and advance our mission. Successful candidates build trust across differences, move ideas into action, seek new perspectives, embrace change, and represent IREX with authenticity and professionalism. We value people who bring strong expertise and a generous team spirit to work that advances our mission.

• At least 8 years of progressive experience supporting or managing complex programs, projects, or initiatives, including implementation planning, deliverables, budgets, compliance, reporting, and stakeholder engagement.
• Demonstrated ability to oversee multiple workstreams, establish priorities and deadlines, resolve implementation challenges, and deliver high-quality results with appropriate independence and judgment.
• Experience directing or supervising the work of others, delegating responsibilities, providing clear guidance and feedback, and supporting staff development and accountability.
• Proven ability to develop and maintain effective relationships with donors, participants, partners, government counterparts, educational institutions, private sector organizations, and other stakeholders.
• Strong financial management skills, including budget development or oversight, forecasting, expenditure monitoring, procurement, and compliance with organizational and donor requirements.
• Experience designing and delivering convenings, exchanges, trainings, workshops, site visits, or other participant-centered programming.
• Experience building partnerships between colleges/TVET institutions and employers and translating industry and workforce needs into responsive program and training design.
• Demonstrated ability to use data, feedback, and learning to monitor progress, improve program quality, and support evidence-informed decisions.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing strategic recruitment and outreach campaigns to achieve program objectives.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including experience preparing and reviewing reports, work plans, briefing materials, presentations, and external correspondence and representing an organization with professional audiences.
• Experience supporting institutional change within community colleges, TVET institutions, workforce development organizations, or employer partnerships, preferred.
• Strong cross-cultural communication, facilitation, collaboration, organization, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work effectively across teams and time zones.
• Experience with U.S. Government-funded grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts, including applicable compliance and reporting requirements, preferred.
• Experience in workforce readiness and/or private sector engagement strongly preferred, including community college-industry partnerships, vocational or technical education, employer engagement, and labor market alignment.
• Experience supporting business development, including technical design, proposal writing, budgeting, partner engagement, or proposal review, preferred.
• Ability to travel domestically as needed.

• Bachelor's degree
• At least 8 years progressive experience supporting or managing complex programs, projects, or initiatives, including implementation planning, deliverables, budgets, compliance, reporting, and stakeholder engagement.
• You must have unrestricted authorization to work in the United States.

Salary Range: $75,600 - $94,500

Please note: While we aim to offer competitive compensation, not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range.

This position is based at IREX headquarters in Washington, DC and requires in-person work consistent with IREX’s Flexible Work Policy, currently at least two days (16 hours) per week in-office with one of those days being Wednesday.

What We Offer

At IREX, you’ll work alongside committed, passionate, and collaborative colleagues who are united by a shared mission—making it a truly rewarding place to work. We offer learning, development, and growth opportunities, along with a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your overall well-being.

If you are excited by IREX’s mission and see yourself contributing to this work, we encourage you to apply—even if your experience does not align with every preferred qualification. We value a range of backgrounds and experiences and are especially interested in candidates who bring curiosity, initiative, strong collaboration skills, and a commitment to meaningful global impact.

Disability Specifications

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

Equal Opportunity Employer

IREX seeks to attract the best-qualified candidates who support IREX’s mission and who respect and promote excellence through diversity. IREX is committed to equal opportunity and follows recruitment and selection practices that comply with all applicable employment laws. To this end, IREX recruits, hires, trains, and promotes individuals based on merit and experience.

We conduct background checks on all successful candidates.

This position is not eligible for Immigration Sponsorship. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE