Vice President for Global Programs

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At IREX we strive for a more just, prosperous, and inclusive world—where individuals reach their full potential, governments serve their people and communities thrive.

But around the globe, persistent poverty, repression, and injustice prevent too many people form achieving their full potential.

To address these problems, we focus on people, not on vaccines, roads, or wells.

We support individuals and institutions to create change in their own communities—and to create person to person bridges between nations.

IREX works with partners in more than 100 countries in four areas essential to progress: cultivating leaders, empowering youth, strengthening institutions, and increasing access to quality education and information.

The Vice President for Global Programs provides executive-level vision, leadership, and organizational direction for IREX programs worldwide and is personally accountable for their successful execution.

In so doing, the Vice President for Global Programs ensures that the implementation of IREX’s programs achieve the greatest possible impact for program beneficiaries.

They advance our IREX 2025 strategic objectives and our mission to promote more just, prosperous and inclusive societies around the world.

The Vice President for Global Programs is responsible for overseeing effective, efficient, and compliant program delivery that meets or exceeds industry standards and best practices.

They will ensure compliance, superior financial management, and care for human well-being and safety in all IREX programs.

They will carry out additional duties and tasks to meet the needs of the organization, team, or as assigned by supervisor

Supported by a talented Global Programs team, they develop, manage, and/or improve organizational systems to hold programs and program teams to high performance standards.

They ensure IREX programs deliver impact, achieve high standards of excellence, full compliance with all applicable regulations and IREX principles, and high levels of stakeholder satisfaction.

They embrace evidence-driven program improvement and advance a rigorous monitoring, evaluation, and learning agenda to improve development outcomes.

As a member of IREX’s executive team, and reporting directly to the President & CEO, the VP of Global Programs will lead more than 400 professionals globally to ensure the innovative development programs translate to meaningful change.

As an executive leader, this person will be instrumental in strengthening the organizational culture, in particular IREX’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

They will have a strong focus on cultivating and empowering globally distributed talent.

The Vice President for Global Programs will be a collaborative leader, able to work across organizational units, countries, and cultures in order to solve problems, seize opportunities, and achieve results.

They will forge partnerships with other leaders and staff members across the organization as well as external partners.

A key role over the next few years will be to maintain and enhance the quality of program delivery at a time of rapid growth and expansion, while navigating increasingly complex operating environments.

Our next Vice President will be able to balance busy day-to-day management with a sustained focus on strategic progress.

The Vice President for Global Programs should be a thought leader, both within and outside of IREX.

They will lead a global program team that designs and continually adapts innovative and effective programs to meet global challenges and advance global development objectives.

They will articulate internally and externally how IREX programs adapt and innovate to meet evolving global conditions in cooperation with partners worldwide.

They will be an innovator who see how technology, partnership, evidence, and new approaches can help IREX programs to further enhance impact.

They should have a strong understanding of global trends in international development, such as the need for increased localization.

We are doers.

Our decades of on-the-ground experience help us create greater impact, practical recommendations, and lasting partnerships.

Are you the next member of our team?

• Minimum of 15 years of progressive experience, including substantial leadership experience and experience managing organizational change and growth
• Exceptional leadership, interpersonal communications, and cross-cultural communications skills suited to inspiring and leading a large and diverse global team of professionals
• Demonstrated experience in international development including in areas such as education, youth, leadership, information and media, governance, and/or civil society, coupled with a strong understanding of US foreign policy and geopolitical dynamics
• Demonstrated ability to act in some areas as a subject matter expert on the global stage
• Experience developing and operationalizing organizational strategy; experience with organizational change as it relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion preferred
• Strong knowledge of, and senior level experience interacting with, US government agencies and officials (USAID, State Department, Millennium Challenge Corporation, etc.), broad experience with USG development priorities, granting and contracting practices
• Strong knowledge of and experience with non-US government donors and partners in the foundation, bilateral and multilateral donor, and corporate communities
• Experience directly overseeing complex programs in complex environments including insecure, oppressive, or politically volatile geographic regions
• Experience overseeing security of personnel, participants, and programs in conflict or politically repressive environments; Prior operational experience in developing or transitioning countries
• Understanding of cyber security, information security, and associated risk management as they relate to IREX programs and operations
• Demonstrated experience with measurement and evaluation methodologies in international development as well as organizational learning
• Advanced communication skills (oral and written) and comfort with different audiences and cultures (e.g., high-level briefings, speaking at large public events, or media appearances in a variety of countries)
• Demonstrated experience in developing innovative, high-impact development programs, as well as signature approaches and tools, that attract financial resources
• Demonstrated experience in design and implementation of complex U.S.

  Government
  – funded international development programs related to organizational portfolio

• Demonstrated experience leading organizational and program innovation
• Ability to leverage technology for greater program impact
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing strategic initiatives and overseeing organizational change
• High level of organization and decision-making skills appropriate for work in complex environments
• Demonstrated ability in cultivating talent and building productive teams.

  Experience doing so during a period of organizational growth preferred.

• Ability to make (difficult) decisions quickly and fairly based on the best available evidence, and to communicate decisions effectively to all relevant parties.
• Demonstrated ability to support employees as professionals and uphold organizational commitment to work-life balance
• Networks within the foundation, bilateral, multilateral, and corporate donor communities working in international development and ability to draw in private funding to support development initiatives aligned with strategic areas of focus
• Impeccable record of integrity
• Ability to travel internationally at least 20% of the time
• You must have unrestricted authorization to work in the United States.

Your Daily Tasks

• Provides strategic vision and guidance to the global programs team
• Ensures timely and successful delivery of projects/programs
• Supports program teams in identifying trends, surfacing innovation, and seizing collaboration opportunities
• Drives alignment across programs, projects and geographies to support efficiencies in staffing, resources and implementation
• Builds, cultivates, and strengthens the systems, process, and tools that enable high-impact programs and approaches to achieve more just, prosperous and inclusive societies worldwide and strategic goals.

  This may include standardizing approaches key to program life-cycle transitions, information management, and strategic staffing

• Works in close cooperation with executives responsible for human resources, global operations, finance, and strategy and development, and all other members of the senior management team, in order to achieve cross-cutting organizational objectives
• Ensures robust measurement and evaluation of programs to critically assess their impact
• Serves as problem solver of last resort
• Publicly reinforces an organizational culture of learning and knowledge sharing with Global Programs, especially across independent practices, with a strong link to achieving greater impact
• Manages and cultivates existing and new relationships with partners and donors through direct interaction, and by supporting staff at all levels to have constructive engagements and relationships of their own
• Publicly represents IREX to a range of external audiences globally in a variety of formats.
• In coordination with the CEO, identifies and communicates relevant trends, evolution, and growth in IREX program portfolio to the Board of Directors
• Participates actively in external discussions, and leads internal discussions, to ensure the organization is actualizing best practices in international development and creating a diverse and inclusive workplace
• In cooperation with the Strategy and Development group, develops and oversees the development of products that share and showcase the organization’s expertise in particular areas of international development
• Supports the Strategy and Development team to ensure that the organization raises the financial resources necessary to achieve its ambitious strategic objectives
• Promotes and models accountability for compliance and sound financial management Monitor for and addresses any significant variations in global program delivery as it affects budget execution or indirect recovery
• Supports practice leaders to resolve instances when impact goals, strategic labor needs, regulatory compliance, and cost implications are in tension
• Recognizes, elevates, and supports the CFO to address any emergent pervasive challenges encountered by program and practice units in their pursuit of financial excellence and compliant implementation
• Coaches teams and individuals, provides oversight and executive guidance to practice leaders and technical and management coaching to program teams as they implement development programs and hold them accountable for results
• Builds teams, cultivates experts, and develops talent to ensure the organization helps its staff perform at their highest potential; builds the technical and management acumen of global staff
• Serves as the main advisor to the President & CEO on how to achieve the greatest possible impact with global programs and build the human, operational, and financial foundation that will best position the organization to achieve this impact
• Guides the Global Programs group to embrace and support change management and strengthen internal communications and learning
• Supervises, guides, and empowers the leaders of the global programs practice areas

IREX will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008.

We conduct background checks on all successful candidates.

This position is eligible for Telework.

This position is not eligible for Immigration Sponsorship.

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE

EOE – Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity.

All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply.

AA/EOE/M/F/Vet/Disabled

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant.

However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

41 CFR 60-1.35(c)