Resident Program Director – Iraq At International Republican Institute

Job Summary

Every employee of IRI is responsible for carrying out the Mission of IRI and demonstrating the Core Values in their day to day operations. The Core Values, which are IRI’s foundational building blocks include:

Excellence– We believe in quality results delivered by investing in people. Freedom– We believe in exploration and experimentation to be agile and responsive. Respect- We believe in trust, empathy and empowering people. Teamwork- We believe in diversity, inclusion and the power of global collaboration. Transparency– We believe in open communication and clear decision-making. Accountability- We believe in personal responsibility as the foundation of success.

The Resident Program Director (RPD) will be based in Baghdad or Erbil and is responsible for all programmatic, personnel, representational and finance/accounting matters in Iraq. In consultation with IRI/Washington, the RPD designs and implements a long-range strategy engagement in Iraq, manages a complex suite of diverse programs and multi-million budget, and is responsible for compliance with local laws and regulations governing current funding.

Position Requirements:

• Undergraduate degree in political science, international relations or related field.
• Eight[PK1] [CK2] years professional experience in democratic governance and politics, preferably working directly with political parties, civil society organizations/NGOs and/or legislative bodies and officials.
• Campaign and political party experience strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of the politics, economics, history and culture of Iraq specifically and the Middle East and North Africa generally. Field experience in Iraq a plus.
• Strong written and oral communication and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated management experience, including the ability to motivate and manage a large field-based team.
• Demonstrated experience working with USG funded projects and familiarity with USG regulations and processes.
• Demonstrated financial management experience in developing and administering program budgets.
• Ability to prepare, present and negotiate complex and sensitive agreements and/or project proposals with bilateral/multi-lateral agencies and other donor communities.
• Ability to communicate skills and experience to others as a trainer, advisor or technical consultant; sensitivity to working in advisory role with Iraqi organizations.
• Ability to work independently and as a member of a team to coordinate and lead the efforts of other professionals to effectively meet program goals.
• Willingness to travel within Iraq, and especially between Erbil and Baghdad, a significant amount throughout the year.
• Willingness to live and work in a challenging environment.
• Fluency in Arabic a plus.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities

• Monitors, analyzes and reports on political, and socio-economic developments in Iraq to provide regional and country analysis.
• Serves as the official senior IRI representative in Iraq, developing credibility and maintaining good relationships with all relevant stakeholders, including U.S. and foreign diplomats and donor agencies, host-country government representatives, and program partners.
• Participates in the substantive design of new programs and contributes to the development of new program ideas.
• Oversees the implementation of all program activities ensuring consistency with grant work plans and objectives.
• Establishes, maintains, and develops productive working relationship with relevant stakeholders, consultants, field and DC staff.
• Oversees all operations related to the IRI field presence and ensures IRI compliant with Iraqi and Kurdistan Region laws regarding IRI’s legal status in the country and employment of national staff.
• Supervises national field staff, including participating in the hiring, professional development and evaluation process for these staff. Sets specific goals and provides ongoing performance feedback.
• Mentors national staff in program development, finance, work plan development and presentation, reporting, monitoring and evaluation, business development and knowledge management in Iraq**.**
• Maintains an understanding of donor and IRI policies and procedures related to grant compliance and oversight.
• Understands a grant’s substantive, financial and compliance requirements.
• Oversees the implementation of all program activities in Iraq ensuring consistency with grant work plans and objectives, reporting weekly to DC.
• Monitors and approves field office budgets and expenses, in collaboration with DC program staff and the relevant regional staff, to ensure that expenditures remain within budget allocations.
• Monitors, analyzes and reports to DC staff on political and economic developments, and media responses.
• Ensures adherence to monitoring and evaluation plans, including the monitoring of programs and evaluation/analysis of program results.
• Contributes to quarterly, semi-annual, final and other relevant reports for funders.
• Anticipates potential problems and trouble shoots project problems and offers solutions and actively takes part to lead resolution of them with creative and immediate solutions.
• Leads business development efforts, including identifying and seeking out potential new or additional sources of funding with real-time costs estimates for proposal budgets, and/or the development of new program ideas, coordinating with DC staff.
• Actively supports IRI’s communication strategy including IRI’s branding and outreach plans on projects assigned, including drafts and updates program summaries and other outreach materials, drafts web stories, tweets, etc.
• Performs other duties as assigned.