OPEN SYSTEMS PROGRAM OFFICER

FHI 360 designs and implements academic, professional, cultural, and youth exchange programs for students and emerging leaders around the world. The Online Professional English Network (OPEN) Program, funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs (OELP) offers virtual exchange components such as online courses, webinars, and a Community of Practice (CoP) to English as a foreign language educators and other learners that build mutual understanding. We are looking to complement our team’s expertise with a self-directed Program Officer with design thinking experience that can be applied to improving our online systems for educational content delivery and program processes. We are especially interested in candidates with strong project management skills who can collaborate creatively and effectively while balancing, funder, project, and organizational needs and policies when evaluating systems design and making recommendations.

Job Summary:

The Program Officer’s primary responsibility is to understand how various stakeholders use OPEN’s participant information database, user account management system, learning management systems, CoP, digital badging platform, and program website, while also working closely with the vendors who maintain them to ensure complex, multifaceted activities are completed. The selected applicant is not expected to be a “coder,” but should be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of concepts related to systems integrations such as SSO and API, and how data points can be mapped between systems. This role will embrace the challenges and opportunities of crafting new workflows to optimize the use of systems and their integrations. The Program Officer manages OPEN system user accounts, develops and maintains user guides and training materials, and coordinates responses to reporting requests. The Program Officer will maintain our website and own a project to evaluate options for replacing it, including planning and executing a transition.

ACCOUNTABILITIES

Programmatic Management

Supports project management team by coordinating resources, planning timelines, and leading meetings to assess options for maintaining or replacing the program’s website. Possesses advanced knowledge of systems required to deliver online educational content, promoting and facilitating communication between internal and external stakeholders to visualize the unique experience of different stakeholders and how they can be optimized. Ensures compliance with funder requirements such as protection of personally identifiable information and organizational policies and procedures related to the EU’s GDPR, OFAC and Section 889 compliance. Serves as the project’s data privacy officer. Oversees statistical reporting processes in collaboration with project teams to ensure client requirements are met; aggregates reporting in response to internal and external taskers. Serves as project point of contact with systems service providers. Monitors project risk, specifically related to systems implementation, and informs project leadership of issues.

Programmatic Administration

Supports project knowledge management initiatives by documenting processes and developing materials to facilitate best practices for systems use. Conducts new hire onboarding for systems and related administrative processes. Assists project leadership with management of SharePoint and Teams sites. Maintains program website, updating content as new information needs to be shared.

Business Development and Proposal Management Support

Assists with developing the technical portions of proposals and project design related to systems for educational content delivery. Collects data for proposals and assists with research. Assists with selection of partners or service providers for systems components. Drafts service agreements, when appropriate.

Finance Support

Monitors spending rates for systems service providers. Contributes to the development of budgets for systems components. Reviews expense reports and invoices for approval.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or its International Equivalent in Communication and Social Marketing, Economic Development, Education, Technology, or Related Field.

• Typically requires a minimum of 6+ years of relevant experience with project management principles and practices, including:

  • Prior work experience in a non-governmental organization (NGO), government agency, or private company.

  • Demonstrable experience with the management and integration of technical systems including but not limited to learning management systems and databases.

  • Understanding of data privacy principles and practices.

  • Experience with website design and development for professional purposes.

  • Experience specifically with learning management systems, digital badging platforms, user management systems (i.e. Microsoft Azure) and Drupal or another website development tool preferred.

  • Experience with Costpoint, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint, and Google products preferred.

  • UX design experience a plus.

Candidate must be articulate and professional and able to communicate in a clear, positive fashion with a variety of audiences verbally and in writing and able to read, write and speak fluent English. Candidate must demonstrate strong problem-solving skills for troubleshooting systems issues. Strong data analysis and interpretation skills are also required to support data reporting requirements.

Job Summary:

Implements projects of higher complexity. Ensures project activities are on track with work plans and with technical expertise informing project implementation. Gathers information to assist the project with multifaceted and complicated activities. Ensures compliance with internal and external regulations. Monitors expenditures against budget and may have access to confidential project information (i.e., salary information). Ensures completion of project while adhering to budget, scope, and schedule requirements. Develops/reviews work plans, prepares presentations, and supports other related project objectives and deliverables. The Program Officer role varies according to organizational location. Program Officers based within Business Units primarily support global awards, business development, and administrative aspects of technical inputs and resources. Program Officers within Regional Offices provide the primary management support role for country-managed projects. Program Officers embedded in projects are responsible for direct project implementation and delivery.

Program Officers (Level I – III) provide a range of project management, communications, and administrative services at increasing levels of complexity to support project implementation and proposal development. Individuals within these positions are expected to demonstrate an increasing level of proficiency with best practices in project management.

Accountabilities:

Programmatic Management:

• Supports management team through coordination of project resources (people), planning for deliverables, and leading meetings.

• Possesses advanced knowledge in a technical area and understands integration with project management.

• Ensure compliance with donor requirements and organizational policies and procedures.

• Provides initial review and comments on programmatic reports and annual work plans.

• Oversees reporting process to ensure client requirements are met; may aggregate reporting for oversight of a project.

• Represents project at client/funder meetings and participates in external events.

• Liaises with client regarding the overall project and communicates planning and task completion.

• Serves as project point of contact with sub awardees/partners.

• Promote and facilitate communication between assigned projects and other relevant internal and external stakeholders, including various units within the country or headquarters (HQ).

• Monitors sub-awardee/partner deliverables and acts as required.

• Monitors project risks and informs senior managers of issues.

Programmatic Administration:

• Support projects knowledge management initiatives in documenting approaches and achievements.

• Provides context and framing in project reporting.

• Ensures document management site is used appropriately by project team.

• Provides operations support, e.g., writes position descriptions, participates on staff interview panels, and serves as hiring manager as needed.

• Conducts new hire onboarding on department procedures and administrative processes.

• May liaise with Corporate on matters concerning data integrity associated with HR systems, team finance system, etc. and other administrative matters delegated by senior project staff.

Business Development and Proposal Management Support:

• Help to identify funding opportunities and participate with Business Development and Diversification (BDD) efforts, including capture work and development and/or review of proposal narratives and budgets.

• Leads aspects of business development and project design efforts such as drafting management section in a proposal.

• May lead design activities, sub-components of a larger project or overall design of some smaller awards.

• Leads project design tasks and approach to project tasks and may lead project-level tasks in multiple task areas.

• Participates in capture management, selects partners, and drafts team agreements, and leads aspects of proposal design.

• Support the subaward design and is responsible for subaward monitoring.

Finance Support:

• Support assigned projects in areas including start-up, work planning, budget development, project reporting, and general problem-solving.

• Provide on-going programmatic and financial oversight to assigned projects, including monitoring of spending rates, sub-awards, deliverables, reports, etc.

• Reviews or approves purchase orders in the finance system of record (headquarters’ (HQ) only)

• Contributes to the development of the project’s budget process.

• Reads and interprets budget to understand tracking.

• Reviews or approves expense reports.

• Reviews or approves invoices.

Applied Knowledge & Skills:

• Advanced knowledge of project management concepts and practices.

• May have or be in the process of developing content knowledge in a functional area.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

• Excellent and demonstrated project management skills.

• Ability to influence and collaborate with others.

• Ability to analyze and interpret data, identify errors, and prepare reports.

Competencies:

There are 31 FHI 360 development competencies. Of greatest focus for this job are:

• Project Management (Planning and Time Management) – Accurately scopes out length and difficulty of tasks (sets objectives/goals/measures). Breaks down work into steps, schedules, task/people assignments. Marshal’s people, time, and resource efficiently. Arranges information in a useful manner and orchestrates multiple activities at once.

• People Management (Making Others Great) – Facilitate professional development of staff by providing challenging, learning assignments and opportunities. Shares and solicits feedback monthly at the very least. Helps establish compelling development plans. Assigns responsibility and accountability for tasks/decisions. Monitor’s process, progress, and results. Creates a climate in which people want to do their best.

• Creating and Managing Systems and Processes – Recognizes the need for standardization and balances client and organization need in systems design. Anticipates the effects of process change on people while optimizing task efficiency and simplicity.

• Employees are expected to possess or have high potential for the development of these three fundamental competencies.

Problem Solving & Impact:

• Works on problems of complex scope that require evaluation of variable factors.

• Demonstrates good judgment in selecting methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for obtaining solutions.

• Networks with key internal and external personnel.

• Decisions may cause delays or failure to achieve results that impact departmental goals.

Supervision Given/Received:

• Serves as a team lead and mentors lower-level personnel.

• Determines methods and procedures on new assignments and may coordinate activities of other personnel.

• May serve as a mentor and provide guidance to junior staff.

• Typically reports to a Manager/ Associate Director/ Director.

Education: *

• Bachelor’s Degree or its International Equivalent • Civil Society, Communication and Social Marketing, Economic Development, Education, the Environment, Gender, Health, Nutrition, Research, Technology and Youth or a Related Fields.

• Project Management (PM) Certification preferred.

Experience: *

• Typically requires a minimum of 6+ years of relevant experience with projects management principles and practices.

• Prior work experience in a non-governmental organization (NGO), government agency, or private organization.

• International or Domestic (US) Program Development or Program management preferred.

Typical Physical Demands:

• Typical office environment.

• Ability to spend long hours looking at computer screen and doing repetitive work on a keyboard.

• Ability to sit/stand for extended periods of time.

• Ability to lift/move up to 5 lbs.

Technology to be Used:

• Personal Computer/Laptop, Microsoft applications (i.e., Office 365, SharePoint, Skype/Zoom/Teams), cell phone/mobile technology, and standard office equipment.

Travel Requirements:

• 10% – 25%

Pay Equity and Benefits:

The expected hiring salary range for this role is listed below. FHI 360 pay ranges represent national averages that vary by geographic location. When determining an offer amount, FHI 360 factors in multiple considerations, including but not limited to: relevant years of experience and education possessed by the applicant, internal equity, business sector, and budget.

Base salary is only one component of our offer. FHI 360 contributes 12% of monthly base pay to a money purchase pension plan account. Additionally, all US based staff working full-time, which is calculated at 40 hours/week, receive 18 days of paid vacation per year, 12 sick days per year, and 11 holidays per year. Paid time off is reduced pro rata for employees working less than a full-time schedule.

Hiring Salary Range: $70,000 – $90,000

Date Revised: 9/13/2021

This job posting summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. This document should not be construed in any way to represent a contract of employment. Management reserves the right to review and revise this document at any time.

FHI 360 is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer whereby we do not engage in practices that discriminate against any person employed or seeking employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.

FHI 360 will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws.

FHI 360 fosters the strength and health of its workforce through a competitive benefits package, professional development and policies and programs that support a healthy work/life balance. Join our global workforce to make a positive difference for others — and yourself.

FHI 360 staff working in the United States are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, regardless of the type of project or client they serve, or of their employment status (full/part-time, remote, telework, or in-office), unless an accommodation applies. FHI 360 complies with federal, state, and local laws with regard to accommodations related to this policy. Full vaccination is currently defined as two weeks after the second dose in a two-dose series, such as the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine. Booster doses are not required at this time.

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