Senior Program Officer (Policy & Advocacy) At SEED Foundation

About SEED Foundation: SEED Foundation is a locally registered NGO in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. SEED’s mission is to protect, empower, and support the recovery of survivors of violence and others at risk. SEED is committed to delivering quality and holistic approaches, combining international expertise and local know-how to achieve results for the people of Iraq and Kurdistan. SEED’s programming focuses on three key objectives: 1) the delivery of transformational, comprehensive services including case management, mental health, and legal services, as well as psychosocial support activities; 2) strengthening the capacity of service providers through education, training, and capacity-development programs; and 3) ​promoting policy and social change to strengthen rights and protections for vulnerable groups and individuals through public awareness, technical assistance, and advocacy.

Role of the Senior Program Officer:

The Senior Program Officer (SPO) is a member of the Policy and Advocacy Unit and supports efforts to achieve policy, institutional, regulatory, practice, and social change across SEED’s thematic portfolio. The SPO will provide key administrative support on all aspects of the team’s work, including design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, with a core focus on promoting effective coordination across the Policy and Advocacy Unit – as well as with other relevant departments and teams – to ensure continued progress toward desired objectives. The Senior Program Officer reports to SEED’s Policy and Advocacy Manager and is based in SEED’s headquarter office in Erbil, with regular travel across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Specific Tasks:

Administrative Support (60%)

• Deliver holistic support to the Policy and Advocacy Unit with communication, coordination, organization, and documentation to facilitate optimal team function.
• Organize and maintain the Policy and Advocacy Unit’s folder system in Google Drive, uploading and storing all relevant files, resources, and documentation; ensuring correct ownership and location; and retrieving and circulating information as needed.
• Regularly review and revise unit work plans, in collaboration with program managers and key staff, and ensure all tasks are assigned, updated, and appropriately managed through Asana, SEED’s project management software.
• Assist with planning and logistics for advocacy events and activities, including creating and sharing materials, confirming participation, and liaising across teams and departments as needed to ensure smooth and successful implementation.
• Regularly monitor key contextual developments across the Policy and Advocacy Unit’s portfolio to support the delivery of timely, relevant interventions and track changes achieved.
• Support the development and dissemination of policy and advocacy products, in collaboration with the Communications Unit and program teams.
• Organize internal learning opportunities for the Policy and Advocacy team, such as “Lunch-and-Learns,” planning workshops, and reflection sessions, in collaboration with the Policy and Advocacy Manager.
• Prepare any required paperwork for compliance and record-keeping, such as purchase requests, advance requests, and payment requests, and log approved expenditures against available budget lines.
• Assist with onboarding processes for new staff and management of handover plans to ensure that the Policy and Advocacy Unit remains appropriately resourced.
• Develop documents, trackers, and tools for the Policy and Advocacy Unit, as needed, and facilitate the roll-out and integration of these products across the unit.

Coordination (30%)

• Support management of all internal Policy and Advocacy meetings, coordinating across calendars to schedule or reschedule as needed, preparing agendas, taking minutes, and circulating agreed action items.
• Attend external meetings with executive leadership or other Policy and Advocacy staff to take minutes and provide a readout to the team, as needed.
• Regularly circulate and maintain unit trackers to monitor progress toward targets, capture important engagements, and assess the status of products in development, following up with team members as necessary to clarify inputs or collect additional information.
• Identify monitorable activities each month, in collaboration with the Policy and Advocacy Manager and program teams, and facilitate monitor attendance at these activities as needed.
• Manage administrative communications, requests for information, and follow-up.

Reporting (10%)

• Lead on the provision of Policy and Advocacy content for quarterly program reports, following up with relevant implementers to collect inputs and ensure that data is accurate.
• Support the Policy and Advocacy Manager in collecting, analyzing, and presenting achievements for annual unit and organizational reporting.

Perform any other duties as necessary and assigned by the supervisor.

Essential Criteria:

• Bachelor’s Degree in political science, law, international development, conflict studies, human rights, social work, or another related field; Master’s Degree is a plus.
• At least three years of experience in a similar role.
• Strong belief in human rights and gender equality.
• Strong computer skills.
• High level of organization, with exceptional attention to detail.
• High standard of spoken and written English, with Arabic and/or Kurdish a plus.
• Experience in the Middle East and contextual familiarity with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region is highly desirable.
• Ability to work in a stressful setting and adapt quickly to changing environments.