Central African Republic: Senior Program Officer (Fluency in written and spoken French)

THE ORGANIZATION

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an independent, non-partisan, federally funded organization established and funded by the U.S. Congress to increase the nation’s capacity to manage international conflict without violence. USIP was founded in 1984 to:

• Prevent, mitigate and resolve violent international conflict;
• Provide analysis on the root causes of conflict;
• Increase peacebuilding capacity, education, tools, and intellectual capital among practitioners and the American public.

SUMMARY

The Senior Program Officer will be based in Bangui to manage USIP’s ten-month project to work with the Central African Republic (CAR) transitional authorities to support the implementation of the Bangui Forum. This position will report to USIP’s Africa Director.

This position is contingent upon funding.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Development, Research, and Planning:

Serve as the overall lead on USIP’s programming in CAR.

• Together with partner organization, coordinate local town hall meetings to disseminate the outcomes of the Bangui Forum and solicit citizen feedback.
• Contribute analysis of the Bangui Forum to USIP’s ongoing research on national dialogues and their implementation.
• Provide weekly written and verbal reports to the Director of the Africa Program and other partners as required.
• Build and maintain relationships for USIP with government officials, local organizations, and international organizations in CAR.
• Represent USIP’s Africa Program at internal and external events and disseminate information about USIP’s programs and research findings.
• Provide expertise CAR and its neighbors through briefings of key officials and other relevant actors, publications, and participation in working groups, conferences and roundtable events.
• With guidance from supervisor, responds to media requests.

Financial Management, Logistics, and Personnel Management:

• Manage the program budget to ensure that the program is operating within its budget limitations in order to meet its goals and objectives.
• Draft and negotiate contracts with project partners in CAR.
• Oversee the selection of shared office space for USIP in CAR.
• Hire and supervise the CAR national program specialist.
• Manage safety and security in the Bangui office in collaboration with USIP’s Africa Director and Director of Overseas Safety and Security.

Performs other duties as assigned. This position is contingent upon funding.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Applicants must be U.S. citizens or nationals of countries listed in a U.S. Collective Defense Arrangement per the Department of State. To see a list of those countries, go to http://www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/collectivedefense/index.htm.
• A Master’s Degree or equivalent is required.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of related experience required.
• A minimum of five (5) years of experience in at least two of the following areas: peacebuilding, conflict prevention conflict resolution, policy analysis and/or countering violent extremism; and peacebuilding, conflict resolution, rule of law trengthening and security sector reform Africa.
• Deep understanding of the dynamics of political transitions and programming to support them, strong research and analytical skills, and a minimum of five years of experience working in and/or on conflict or post-conflict countries in Africa.
• Demonstrated expertise on CAR.
• A minimum of three years of management and supervisory experience, including of field programs, staff and national partners;
• Excellent representation and communication skills (oral and written), including cross-cultural skills, media skills, and the ability to deal with counterparts at all political, social and economic levels;
• Fluency in written and spoken French.
• Ability to be based for nine months in Bangui and one month in Washington, DC.

This position is subject to the availability of funds. The initial term of the position will be determined subject to the availability of secured funding, and is eligible for renewals based on continued funding.

All USIP contract and employee positions are contingent upon the favorable completion of a suitability background investigation.

Compensation is commensurate with qualifications and experience.

How to Apply To be considered for this position, please submit a complete application package consisting of: 1. Cover letter 2. Resume

If a link does not appear on your screen to "Complete your Application", please go to www.usip.org/work-us to submit your cover letter and resume.

If you are having problems submitting your online application, please try another browser (Internet Explorer and Firefox work best). If the “Email your Resume” button does not respond, right click on the button and select 'copy shortcut' or 'copy email address' and send your resume to the copied email address using your personal email account.

For questions about this position, please email Cheryl Saferstein at csaferstein@usip.org .

Only those applicants that are selected for further discussions will be contacted.Interviews will be scheduled by appointment only.

*USIP is an equal opportunity employer.*It is the policy and practice of USIP to offer equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, age, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, HIV/AIDS status, political affiliations or belief, pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Apply Here: http://www.Click2Apply.net/4wvy8bsqc2

PI91651015

Apply Here: http://www.Click2Apply.net/4wvy8bsqc2