Senior Program Associate At International Republican Institute

Job Details

Description

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 International Republican Institute (IRI) is currently recruiting a Senior Program Associate for its Sri Lanka program. The Senior Program Associate will monitor and support all sub-granting, training, networking and coordination activity among IRI’s civil society partners. The Senior Program Associate will help establish new and innovative approaches to civic and voter education as well as civic engagement among youth, women, and other underrepresented communities at local levels outside Colombo. S/he will work alongside program staff to ensure smooth running of civil society and other training activities. IRI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization advancing democracy worldwide. In Sri Lanka, IRI partners with a diverse range of stakeholders – government, political parties, civil society, and many others – to support the inclusion of youth, women, and other underrepresented groups in civic and political life.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Monitor, analyze and report on civil society related developments in the country.
• Maintain an understanding of funder and IRI policies and procedures related to grant compliance and oversight of IRI’s civil society sub-awards.
• Support efforts to ensure that IRI’s civil society subawards are in compliance with grant agreements and workplans.
• Support monitoring and evaluation (M&E) efforts of IRI’s civil society sub-awards. Support IRI team on all other M&E data collection, research and reporting as required.
• Support development and implementation of civil society capacity development activities and/or training related to civic and voter education.
• Maintain a strong understanding of civic and voter education work in Sri Lanka.
• Maintain strong understanding of political and social inclusion and support IRI’s efforts to implement inclusive and demand-driven programs.
• Network with civil society community and other stakeholders to promote IRI’s civic and voter education work.
• Facilitate networking and information sharing among IRI’s civil society partners, political stakeholders, private sector, and numerous other institutions to promote cross-sector coordination on civic and voter education.
• Actively support IRI’s communication strategy and civil society outreach efforts.
• Support facilitation of meetings and briefings with national and local civil society leaders, political party members and other stakeholders as required.
• Assist IRI’s capacity building and research activities, stakeholder mapping exercises, focus group discussions, dialogue forums, etc.
• Represent IRI at external events as needed.
• Travel as needed for program oversight and implementation.
• Perform other duties as assigned by management.

Qualifications:

Educational Requirements:

• Undergraduate degree in Political Science, International Relations, Public Policy, Law or related field.

Minimum Requirements:

• Excellent written and verbal communications skills in English.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills in either Sinhala and/or Tamil.
• Strong organizational skills with ability to work with multiple partner organizations.
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in relevant field. Experience in digital Communication would be an added advantage.
• Knowledge of Sri Lanka’s civil society space.
• Ability to work well with others, meet deadlines and respond to changes in priorities.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse groups of people from different backgrounds.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills required.
• Ability to work independently, take initiative, set priorities and see projects through completion.
• Commitment to the political and social inclusion of all groups.
• Drive to learn new skills and expand IRI programming in new and innovative ways.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with grassroots and/or national civic and voter education, civic engagement, policy campaign, or other advocacy campaigns.
• Strong digital communications and content creation skills.
• Experience developing and leading training sessions.
• Experience working with grassroots organizations focused on youth, women, and other underrepresented groups.