Programme Officer

Search for Common Ground

In a world often divided, Search for Common Ground stands for the power of bringing diverse people together to find solutions. By meeting this moment with Search, you join a powerful global peace movement that believes in the profound impact of courageous multipartiality - that all voices should be heard and respected in shaping a better, more connected world and collaborative vision is essential for lasting peace.

Search for Common Ground takes a dynamic approach by building solutions that are based on the needs of communities. We engage with leaders and elected officials to advance dialogue and collaboration. We are community leaders. We are youth activists. We are women. We are Peacebuilders. We have been doing this work for over 40 years, we have developed our understanding of what peace looks like, being able to quantify our impact and design more effective programming. Peace moves at the speed of trust, so we invest for the long haul. When we’re no longer needed, we leave, leaving behind people and institutions with the ability to manage future conflicts.

Team Summary

The Program Implementation team has oversight for the implementation of Search’s programs and projects in its country offices, in accordance with Search and donor policies and procedures. The Program Implementation team works on the full life-cycle of the project, from the start-up phase to the full close-out. This involves designing work plans, implementing activities, reporting, financial management, and staffing management The Program Implementation team collaborates with other departments, including Finance, Institutional Learning, Programs, Global Affairs and Partnerships, People & Culture, and Information Technology.

Position Summary

The Programme Officer will coordinate the implementation of two multi-year, multi-country consortia programmes supporting Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB) and Security & Rule of Law (SRoL) in Europe and in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and South Sudan. The Programme Officer will coordinate grant management with the implementing teams and Search’s participation in said consortia. Grants management and coordination across the cross-regional team is the primary function of the role.

The Officer will be joining the programmes at the halfway mark, and will play a leading role in supporting adaptations from learning and evidence as well as in capturing results and success stories. The Officer will coordinate with the organization’s advocacy team to feed these results and learnings into policy recommendations in Europe and in the implementing countries. The optimal candidate is a team worker, a strong communicator and coordinator, with experience of grants management.

The Programme Officer is an integral part of the Cross-Regional Programme team. The position can be based in Search’s Europe headquarters in Brussels or in another country where Search is registered. Time zones will be a factor in selection for the position. The Programme Officer will work closely with relevant country teams, and with the Global Policy and Outreach team in Brussels and the US.

This position can be based in any Search Country Office. Please note that a local salary scale will apply depending on the candidate's location. Unfortunately, we cannot provide Visa Sponsorship for this position.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates program implementation activities and grant close-out, documenting lessons learned.
• Facilitates program implementation review, spending review, and forecasting.
• Ensures report development, coordinating and consolidating inputs from colleagues.
• Serves as primary focal point with consortium leads and partners

Contributions

• Is the primary point of contact related to programme implementation for both consortia.

• Participates in relevant consortium meetings.

Contributions related to grants management

• Ensures the development of the annual international workplan and budget, and coordinates the submission of the country-level workplans and budgets. Ensures the international work plan is implemented, and supports timely implementation of country work plans by country teams.
• Ensures the tracking of international expenses and supports the effective tracking and forecasting of country project expenditures by the project team through budget versus actuals (BVA) meetings, in line with the approved budget; participates in country BvA meetings to foster shared understanding and accountability.
• Collaborates with country programme managers and partners in the preparation of timely and quality project reports for donors in compliance with the donor and internal Search requirements.
• Facilitates global grants reviews, and closure meetings amongst Search staff and follows up on action points.
• Coordinates programme knowledge and information management and sharing. Documents lessons learned in the course of implementation.
• Ensures that reflection sessions and discussions on adaptation take place and participates in these. Facilitates support for technical assistance where appropriate. Ensures lessons learnt are well documented and disseminated for better programme implementation in future, in line with best practice in reflective practice and adaptive management.
• Captures output and outcome level results, working with Strategy Alignment Team and country team colleagues, analyses trends, suggests adaptations to consortium.
• Coordinates with the programmes team as well as country communication teams in highlighting and documenting success stories.
• Conducts on-boarding of relevant new programme staff and familiarizes them with the donor and internal rules as regulations on grants management.

Type 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree preferred, but not required;
• Experience living or working experience in a conflict geography where Search works preferred;
• Familiarity with EU policy making related to Security and Rule of Law and/or Freedom of Religion and Belief;
• Experience of coordinating consortium grants preferred;
• Experience in working on grants funded by the Dutch government preferred.

Contract term: 1 year with possibility of extension

Education and Experience

Typically BS/BA with minimum 5 years’ experience (3 years with MA)

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

Usual office environment conditions; ability to travel internationally at least 20%.

Supervisory and Budget Responsibility

May supervise one or more employees including interns.

This position can be based in any Search office.