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Senior Program Officer

Elizabeth

  • Organization: IRC - International Rescue Committee
  • Location: Elizabeth
  • Grade: Mid level - Mid level
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Project and Programme Management
  • Closing Date:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

Job Overview:

The Senior Program Officer (SPO) leads the NJOR Programs team, overseeing sub-award management and technical support across the three technical sectors of Economic Empowerment, Education, and Health. The SPO leads the development of the NJOR’s technical support strategy, working with the Deputy Director and Program Managers to set relevant goals and define work plans. To implement the strategy, the SPO leads partnership development with key stakeholders in local and state government, academic institutions, and others, as well as the execution of all service contracts and consultancies. The SPO ensures the NJOR portfolio of programs is best in class by overseeing sub-award management, leading the office’s technical support initiatives, and all reporting and communications. The SPO leads the development of all program design resources and materials and the subsequent monitoring of partner performance on these programs. The SPO also leads office-wide reports to donors, as well as the design and implementation of other primary communication tools. The SPO supervises two Program Managers, and all consultants and service contractors hired to implement technical support, reporting, and communications initiatives.

Major Responsibilities:

Sub-Award Management

  • Lead the development and review of all guidelines and procedure documents for sub-award agencies, including scopes of work, work plans, and reporting templates, on all NJOR-related grant streams, including Refugee Cash Assistance, Refugee Support Services, and Refugee Support Services Set-Asides, including Refugee Health Promotion, Refugee Mental Health Initiative Refugee School Impact, Refugee Youth Mentoring, and Services for Older Refugees. 
  • Lead sub-award management initiatives for all grant streams, including pre-award assessments, program review meetings, monitoring, and program opening and closing processes
  • Oversee all grant-related report content development and submission.
  • Coordinate developing and implementing monitoring and evaluation tools and systems for all sub-awards.
  • Coordinate with the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer to develop data analysis and communication resources for all relevant programs. 

Technical Support

  • Lead the development of an office-wide technical support strategy.
  • Lead the coordination of internal IRC partnerships on technical support initiatives with other departments like PQI, RAL, and Switchboard.
  • Lead all office-wide research initiatives, including needs assessments, program—and/or client-focused research projects, and evaluation studies. 
  • Lead Development of training resources and materials compliance training for education and Set-Aside programs.
  • Coordinate and facilitate training for sub-award partners.

Staff Management

  • Supervise two Program Managers.
  • Lead the development of relevant terms of references for, and the subsequent management of, all consultants and service contracts for technical support-related initiatives. 

Reports and Communication

  • Lead office-wide report development and submission to donors.
  • Support the Deputy Director in the development and submission of the Annual State Plan.
  • Lead the design and production of other major communication tools, including blog posts, web posts, and summaries of research initiatives.

Job Requirements:

  • Related Bachelor’s degree in economics, Education, Health, and Social Services required; Master’s degree a plus.
  • 3-6 years of related experience required; grant-making, research, and training facilitation experience a plus.
  • Prior staff supervision experience required.
  • Prior experience working in refugee/immigrant-related services is strongly preferred.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
  • Excellent analytical skills: experience with data systems development and analysis strongly preferred.
  • Entrepreneurial spirit, with the ability to self-start and work in a fluid context.
  • Excellent diplomatic and cross-cultural skills, with the ability to work together with a variety of stakeholders across multiple teams.

Working Environment: 

  • This position is based in the NJOR office in Elizabeth, New Jersey, which currently operates in a hybrid model, combining work from home with regular in person meetings. Standard work environment. Expectation to regularly participate in in person meetings, outreach events, and meet face to face with community organizations throughout the state.

Compensation: Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget.  Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure, medical insurance starting at $143 per month, dental starting at $6.50 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.
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Standard of Professional Conduct:The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.

Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion:
The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.
We do our best to provide you the most accurate info, but closing dates may be wrong on our site. Please check on the recruiting organization's page for the exact info. Candidates are responsible for complying with deadlines and are encouraged to submit applications well ahead.
Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify.
Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.