Role Title

Geographic Program Manager

Team Name

Programs

Role Purpose

Supporting the MENA geographic lead in the development and implementation of advocacy, analysis and programming for the region. Managing regional grants outside of opportunities. Coordination of the regional policy group.

Key Responsibilities

Reporting to the Geographic Lead for MENA (either Director or Managing Director Programs), the Geographic Program Manager’s key responsibilities are as follows:

• Support the Geographic Lead to ensure that our work in the MENA region is overseen closer to the places we work in, grounded in local knowledge, and is cognizant of the differing contexts and political spaces in which we work.
• Monitor all work in the region for program coherence and contextual relevance for all work being undertaken in that country or region
• Build a strong understanding of the region and partnerships and liaise and advise the development and design of all work in the region.
• Build relationships with partners on the ground,
• Work collaboratively in assessing, and revising program strategies
• Work with leadership to maintain grant-making practice aligned with OSF's approach to grant-making and in compliance with organizational and external standards and regulations
• Process and oversee progress of consultant contracts
• Monitor progress implementation, project risks, and other relevant status updates and communicate to MENA Geographic Lead regularly
• Support the MENA Geographic Policy Lead to ensure coherence of OSF policies and approaches in specific geographies, and across OSF programming in the region
• Support the Geographic Policy Lead with guiding, supporting, and executing the purpose of Geographic Policy Groups and coordinating with internal colleagues and external partners and actors
• Ensure the contextual updates, policy needs, challenges, and opportunities are identified and prioritized to ensure the policy group engages appropriately
• Adding grant making capacity for non-opportunity specific grants in region (and where needed for additional capacity)
• Support the geographic lead in preparing updates and advocacy briefings for OSF leadership

People Responsibilities (Total Team/DRs

No

Key metrics

N/A

Key internal relationships

Director, Programs; Managing Director Programs; Associate Directors, Programs; Core Partners, Special Advisors, Grants Management

Key external relationships

External Partners

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential:

• Educated to a degree-level (or equivalent)

Desirable:

• Post-graduate education with specialization in the MENA region or significant experience across region in academia, diplomacy, journalism, or analysis

Experience

Essential:

• Multiple years’ experience (in one or multiple organisations) working in the Middle East and North Africa;
• Excellent knowledge of politics and geopolitics across the MENA region
• Prior working experience of working with diplomatic community (for example multi-lateral, NGO, foundation or diplomatic working environments)
• Strong writing and analytical skills in English

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

• Conceives, designs and manages cross-department, cross-program or similarly complex projects; expected to effectively manage time, budget and stakeholders and network-wide or similarly complex coordination.
• Able to generate, capture and organize information and knowledge to deliver prescribed outcomes
• Ability to conduct research to drive decision making by management
• Skilled in drawing out patterns and providing analysis on current events
• Experience in budgeting, strategic analysis and planning
• Working well with a variety of public, private and NGO stakeholders
• Building and maintaining networks of stakeholders
• Promote strategic cooperation with governmental and other sectors

Personal Competencies:

• Ability to work independently and being self-motivated
• Demonstrates commitment to OSF’s core values of humility, commitment, collaboration, respect, inclusivity and integrity
• Able to build consensus with diverse audiences/stakeholders
• Possesses cultural sensitivity to work respectfully and effectively in different settings
• Proven experience in collaborating with multi-country stakeholders
• Willingness to adjust working hours to include calls and discussions with colleagues and vendors located in various geographic regions
• Commitment to continuous learning and growth in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, antiracism and social justice

Languages:

• Fluency in Arabic and English
• Knowledge of other regional languages and French would be an asset