Officer, ConnexUs At Search for Common Ground

Department/Team Summary

The Strategy Alignment Department is composed of a set of global technical teams working to enable all people and teams within Search to directly contribute to the formation and implementation of the organization strategy. It is made up of a set of technical teams: Institutional Learning, Children & Youth, Religious Engagement, Track II, Media and Program Quality. The department oversees strategy development and execution, planning & organizational performance, and capability strengthening. It enables strong program quality, ensures the quality of the evidence Search’s programs generate across the world, promotes best practices in research, learning, and evaluation, and contributes to shaping the broader field. The department is led by the Vice President, Strategy. It is global, dynamic, diverse, and engaged at multiple levels of the organization and with external partners.

ConnexUs

ConnexUs is a global learning and collaboration platform that provides peacebuilding, humanitarian, development, and public health practitioners, academics, researchers, and activists with an interactive space to address local and global challenges. With discussion forums, a resource library, an events page, jobs board, and collaboration map, ConnexUs is a dynamic and comprehensive site for exchanging ideas and creating solutions. Visit ConnexUs at www.cnxus.org.

The ConnexUs Officer – SIDA

The ConnexUs platform is an integral part of a SIDA-funded project across four countries in the Middle East working with women- and youth-led organizations across the region. ConnexUs will be utilized to promote knowledge sharing, connection opportunities, and amplification of practitioners on the local, national, and regional level. The Officer will be responsible for overseeing and delivering on the implementation of program activities that are connected to the ConnexUs platform.

The ConnexUs Officer will also support the development of the long-term strategy for ConnexUs within Search programs in MENA and for the external development and popularization of the platform with civic actors around the world. Candidates proficient in Arabic and English are preferred.

Responsibilities

Manage the pipeline, strategy, and allocation of time & resources for the ConnexUs project in a MENA regional program, in alignment with the wider ConnexUs strategy;
Work with the Regional Program Manager to identify opportunities for the ConnexUs platform.
Collaborate with other ConnexUs staff members to ensure the platform has the necessary features & structures to meet the needs of the project & practitioners in MENA.
Deliver on all program activities tied to the ConnexUs platform.
Manage all internal and external reporting, ensuring all reports disseminated for review and feedback from relevant senior management, technical advisors, and HQ staff are high-quality, well-written, timely and in compliance with donor and Search requirements prior to submitting the final reports.
Ensure skills development is incorporated into staff and personal objectives by proactively identifying paths for growth and opportunities to build technical skills.
Coordinate in a matrixed structure to pursue goals, standards, and best practices with other teams and departments;

Contributions

Strategy Execution & Learning: Play a lead role in sub-strategy development, implementation and review, seeking alignment with the organizational strategy.
Planning: Lead planning for grants and projects within the portfolio, ensuring alignment between resource allocation and deliverables.
Organizational Performance: (1) Lead team guidance and action planning to identify and address bottlenecks to performance (2) Ensure objectives for personnel are aligned with organizational performance measures and that team results are pursued in line with organization and department results.
Evidence & Impact: (1) Manage projects within the portfolio to ensure that they enhance our ability to speak to impact and build evidence for our field in line with Search standards, following expectations for quality; (2) Produce, review, and approve learning products and deliverables that directly contributes evidence in line with the organization’s learning agenda; (3) Engage in program and strategy development, leading and reviewing drafts, with a focus on feeding evidence and lessons learned back into programmatic design.
Technical Positioning: (1) Use priorities and opportunities within the portfolio to provide technical backstopping, resources and training that improve our program quality and impact in line with the goals of the organization; (2) Plan activities and deliverables within projects to directly support objectives for development of technical networks and skills building of staff; (3) Serve as the point of contact for donors and partners within the portfolio, liaise for grants management and compliance, and ensure Search staff are represented in technical networks to position Search as a field leader affecting policy and practice globally; (4) Ensure staff build professional skills within the organization’s learning platform.
New Frontiers: (1) Provide input and review to future scenario analysis to build organizational competencies; (2) Develop and roll-out staff trainings in core competencies relevant to portfolio and key partnerships in future-oriented competencies; (3) Develop partnerships with high quality projects and deliverables that demonstrate field leadership, and organize events and initiatives around future opportunities and trends.

Competency Behavior Indicators (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

Fluency in spoken and written English and Arabic is preferred; Kurdish language proficiency and other language skills are also viewed favorably.
Experience with knowledge management or website management, virtual communities of practice, or facilitating similar learning and collaboration platforms.
Familiarity with Google Analytics, WordPress, and, web design, and Canva is a plus.
Develops and maintains collaborative relationships with vendors, organizations, professional associations, partners, funders, and Search’s network of experts critical to the area of purview.
Articulates Search/function program/project goals and objectives within and external to Search. Develops program objectives that reflect broader Search strategies and approaches.
Provides input for standards across functions globally within Shared Services teams and with a view from a multicultural perspective that reflects consideration of other cultures, other viewpoints, and other ways of doing things.
Modifies a planned course of action in response to new information or new circumstances.
Responds to changing circumstances and expectations readily.
Overcomes obstacles using ethical practices; formulates and evaluates morally and ethically justified solutions.
Checks the accuracy of one’s own and others’ work and sets up systematic checks and balances to support content and data integrity.
Works independently and proactively while also operating as part of a global virtual team
Anticipates the consequences of situations and plans accordingly.
Analyzes the costs, benefits, risks, and chances for success in making a decision.
Assesses risks and opportunities to lead decision-makers to a favorable outcome.

Types and Nature of Contacts

Routinely coordinates with colleagues and consultants on-site and in the field and resolves problem situations with tact.
Represents, as assigned, selected programs or projects and other organizations, including donors, vendors, and international and local partners.
Interacts with the country office and regional staff.