Senior Resident Director

The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) seeks a Senior Resident Director with strong leadership ability, democratic development experience, political savvy and excellent program and staff management skills to oversee the implementation of NDI’s Iraq programs across the country. Responsibilities include overall programmatic and operational management, financial and human resource oversight, donor and partner relations, strategic development and adaptive management of programs.

The Senior Resident Director will supervise NDI Iraq staff and a range of programming with political partners and civic organizations. Additionally, the Senior Resident Director is charged with conducting regular political analysis, supervising overall security management and operations, managing multiple program budgets, and maintaining relationships with international partners and organizations including Republic of Iraq, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), senior U.S. government and multilateral agency officials; political parties; elected representatives; non-governmental entities; the diplomatic community; and other donor agencies.

The Senior Resident Director will work in close coordination with Washington, D.C.-based staff to manage the programmatic, administrative, financial, and logistical aspects of NDI’s operations. The Senior Resident Director reports to the DC-based Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa. The position is based in Baghdad with regular visits to NDI’s satellite office in Erbil, Iraq and occasional travel to other areas of the country. This is an unaccompanied post and successful engagement is dependent on donor approval.

Responsibilities:

• Direct, implement, and provide overall leadership and vision for NDI's Iraq programs with the support of Iraq-based national and international staff, short-term consultants and experts, and in coordination with NDI staff in Washington, DC.
• Build and maintain collaborative working relationships with and serve as a resource for government officials, legislators, political party and movement representatives, women political leaders, civil society leaders, and other relevant political actors across the political spectrum and at all levels of seniority.
• Adapt programmatic activities based on changing political and security dynamics and in response to needs articulated by local partners and program stakeholders, and in consultation with donors; monitor programs to determine that programmatic goals are achieved and that operational and reporting requirements are adhered to.
• Serve as principal liaison between NDI and Iraqi and KRG government representatives, donor government officials, the diplomatic community and media as needed.
• Liaise with international organizations on the implementation of complementary programming and participate in coordination meetings and related forums.
• Work closely with NDI Washington’s Security and Operations and Risk Management personnel to assess and coordinate appropriate security and risk management measures for the Institute’s program operations, including physical security, cybersecurity, and related risk management.
• Oversee the proper accounting, management, and planning of multiple program budget funds, in coordination with NDI’s Finance and Administration team, including the submission of a monthly financial reconciliation to the Washington DC office.
• Build the capacity of NDI staff as appropriate to play a substantive role in program development and implementation.
• Provide regular updates on relevant political developments in Iraq and the region that may affect program outcomes to Washington, DC-based staff.
• Manage the development, review, and timely submission of program-related materials, including proposals, regular activity reports and monitoring and evaluation data that measure and evaluate program progress.
• Assist in identifying and securing additional funding for NDI programs.

Qualifications:

• Masters degree, preferably in Political Science, Public Administration, International Relations, or a related subject
• Minimum eighteen (18) years substantive professional experience in a political or civic engagement field, with experience bolstering citizen involvement in political process and/or political transitions, preferably in both domestic and international settings
• Substantive senior-level experience as a political practitioner, with a political party, parliament or civic group.
• Program management experience, including development of proposals and work plans, strategic planning, office operations, and the management of fiscal and human resources.
• Knowledge of program design, monitoring, and evaluation tools and best practices.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with senior political and civil society leaders as well as members of the donor and diplomatic community.
• Exceptional interpersonal and managerial skills and cultural sensitivity to effectively interact with all levels of staff, U.S. and foreign government personnel, members of donor organizations, funders, and policy-makers.
• Proven capacity to meet program goals while managing financial, administrative, and security responsibilities.
• Sound political and negotiation skills and extensive experience in working on complex programs and political issues.
• Experience in local and international fundraising efforts.
• Experience living and working in a country other than home of record.
• Exceptional analytical skills for interpreting complex program and political issues.
• Ability to adjust programmatic activities based on changing political circumstances and in response to needs articulated by local partners and program stakeholders.

Desired:

• Demonstrated intimate knowledge of and/or working experience in Iraq’s political environment or similar regional or politically complex contexts
• Experience working in politically fraught and/or active conflict contexts
• Fluency in spoken and written Arabic
• Experience with Google Apps (Gmail, Calendar, Google Drive, G+, etc.) and Excel.

Comments

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