Associate Director, Planning, Reporting and Operations

Job Title: Associate Director, Planning, Reporting and Operations

Department: Global Advocacy

Center Background: The Center for Reproductive Rights (the Center) is a global human rights organization working to ensure that reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights around the world. With offices in New York City, New York; Nairobi, Kenya; Bogota, Colombia; Geneva, Switzerland; and Washington, D.C., the Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization changing law and policy throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the United States. Our 230+ diverse professionals are committed to advancing the Center’s human rights mission through game-changing litigation, legal policy, and advocacy work. This has powered the Center’s exceptional growth to an operating budget of over $50 million and won the respect of law firms in countries around the world, with an additional $29 million annually of donated legal services, representing the work of countless lawyers from more than 46 countries.

The Center’s Strategic Plan sets a high mark for impact: By 2030, half of the world’s population will be living under stronger protections for reproductive rights than they are today. The Center has a track record of success to back up this ambitious goal. Since our founding in 1992, the Center has transformed how reproductive rights are understood and applied by courts, governments, and human rights bodies worldwide on issues including maternal health, abortion, assisted reproduction, and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). We have won groundbreaking cases before national courts, U.N. Committees, and regional human rights bodies. Additionally, the Center has led the development of historic, proactive legislation advancing robust protections for reproductive rights and has built the legal capacity of women’s rights advocates in more than 65 countries and counting.

The Role: Reporting to the Vice President for Global Advocacy, the Associate Director, Planning, Reporting and Operations will have significant management, operations and MEL experience, a passion for human rights work and be capable of thoroughly understanding and successfully overseeing program planning, operations, monitoring, evaluation and donor reporting for the Global Advocacy dept. The Associate Director will support a growing portfolio in Global Advocacy dept with integrated program management, finance, and operations and will support the development of new advocacy program opportunities, and drive performance and results in the dept. This job holder serves as the lead administrator of the Global Advocacy dept, responsible for managing the full range of processes required for effective delivery of projects. Additionally, the role is key to supporting the Center’s global funding strategy and will work closely across the Global Advocacy, Regional Programs and Development teams to set strategies, develop proposals, and oversee the eventual implementation of grants. S/he is expected to be an outstanding communicator and team leader.

SCOPE: The job holder will support the Vice President, Global Advocacy in overseeing the Center’s engagement and programming at the global level and will engage with INGOs, donor representatives and relevant stakeholders, to position the Center on regional initiatives and to further the Center’s strategic goals.

The Associate Director will be an ambassador for organizational priorities and goals in the Global Advocacy dept and support the team to implement the Center’s FY22-26 Strategic Plan. Exercising the delegated authority of the Vice President, the Associate Director will navigate the internal organizational process and policy discussions on behalf of the Global Advocacy dept. A significant portion of the Associate Director’s time will be spent on business development activities, representational activities, Strategic Plan monitoring, and staff mentoring. The Associate Director will also be actively engaged in business development opportunities, especially around multi-year, high value projects. The Associate Director will directly supervise two operations roles in the team and work closely with the other Associate Directors in the Global Advocacy dept to ensure all projects are effectively planned, implemented, monitored and reported.

The role will be based in the Center’s New York office, in a hybrid model of 3 days in office, 2 days working from home. Covid-19 Vaccination is required for all U.S.-based Center employees.

Primary Responsibilities:

Strategy:

• Work closely with the Vice President, Global Advocacy (VP, GA) to ensure that the Center’s global strategy is understood and guides decision-making throughout the dept;
• Work closely with the VP, GA to capitalize on emerging opportunities and experiences to further strengthen and develop the Center’s programming at the global level;
• Integrate and link program management components with ongoing implementation, including strategy and planning, budgets, grants and contracts, and business development;
• Coordinate Global Advocacy (GA) contributions to division and institutional strategic planning processes and support VP to monitor the uptake and implementation of the strategic plan including workforce planning and strengthening GA’s operating model;
• Work with SEAL team to support development and implementation of new organizational systems for evaluation and learning with and for the GA dept; and
• Contribute to increasing the profile of the Center as a leading SRHR organization at the global level.

Leadership & Coordination:

• Supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting performance objectives, providing regular and timely performance feedback, and leading documented semi-annual performance reviews;
• Provide leadership to increase dept coordination, collaboration, communication, and harmonization of programming with the GER and Programs divisions, as well as the Development dept;
• Drive seamless coordination between programming and operations and outcomes, with the objective of improving the quality of Center’s advocacy impact;
• Oversee tracking of project implementation and facilitate coordination within the dept and across other depts/Divisions;
• Facilitate close and efficient coordination of Global Advocacy dept to support partners engagement with other departments on common programming, operational and funding issues;
• Participate in key cross-departmental and cross-functional teams as representative of the Global Advocacy dept, as needed;
• In close collaboration with the VP, GA and other Associate Directors, maintain oversight of the Global Advocacy dept’s portfolio;
• Support development of increased and strengthened internal channels of communication from and through departments and regional offices;
• Provide sign off to interim and final grants reports;
• Role modelling and supporting the development of an organizational culture that reflects the Center’s values and promotes excellence and accountability; and
• Oversee operations for the Global Advocacy dept, including all aspects of internal processes and systems and ensuring smooth operations.

Portfolio Management & Program Quality:

• Work closely with the Global Operations team and GER operations staff to strengthen program management across the dept/Division, including building increased program and project management capacities in the GA dept and disseminating learning and best practices;
• Oversee the grant portfolio, ensuring all programs are delivered in line with donor standards and aligned to the Center’s principles, values and strategy;
• Support collaboration across all sub-units within the Global Advocacy dept to optimize advocacy impact at the global level;
• Facilitate sharing and learning across the GA dept and with other Divisions/dept at the Center to incorporate learning into project design and operations management;
• Ensure that projects are designed and implemented in support of Center’s vision of cost-effective, outcomes-driven, and evidence-based interventions that are responsive to the global context;
• Ensure implementation of, and adherence to the Center’s and donor policies relevant to the Global Advocacy dept in coordination with the Compliance Unit and Office of the General Counsel; and
• Drive/Establish/strengthen processes, develop structures and provide technical guidance on project cycle / grant management for GA, including sub-grant management and partnership.

Business Development & Partnerships:

• Play key role in new efforts to secure funding for the Global Advocacy dept and to integrate related systems and processes into the dept’s operations;
• Oversee and support proposal development and writing processes and ensure timely submission of competitive, responsive, and high-quality proposals that align with Center priorities;
• With VP,GA oversee a rolling program of process and systems changes as required to support the Center’s ability to secure, manage, and sustain funding (WOW1);
• Any other relevant function related work that may be determined as work evolves.

Qualifications:

• 12+ years of professional experience with at least 5 of these being in an international NGO at a senior program management level.
• Master’s degree in relevant field, required.
• 5+ years’ experience directly managing staff, required.
• Significant program and project management experience with ability to work proactively and independently while facilitating teams to develop collaborative processes.
• A diverse background in program management, with strong understanding of Design, Monitoring & Evaluation, strong analytical skills, and experience leading strategic planning processes;
• Experience in dealing with large, restricted grants, required; experience managing govt grants strongly preferred;
• Ability to draft and effectively copy edit written communication such as memos, talking points, presentations, and emails and have an ability to translate technical information for donor audiences;
• Excellent computer skills and comfort working with database programs, CRMs, using Microsoft packages;
• Demonstrated expertise in representation and negotiations, resulting in securing significant new opportunities for the organization;
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation, and coaching. Must be able to give direction for a variety of roles;
• Demonstrated ability to work independently with limited supervision;
• Strong commitment to the Center’s mission, purpose, and values;
• Individual and team leadership with demonstrable dependability and diplomacy skills;
• Strategic global perspective with ability to see and understand the big picture and translate it into strategic processes;
• Demonstrated excellent writing and verbal communications skills;
• Planning, organizing and work management skills;
• Creativity and innovation to meet learning outcomes in projects;
• Work structuring skills with ability to manage multifaceted projects;
• Analytical/reasoning skills with solutions-oriented approach to work; and
• Time management and ability to work under tight deadlines.
• English fluency required, French proficiency preferred.

Don’t meet every single requirement? At the Center, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about this role but your past experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Leadership Competencies:

• Leading the Work (Strategy & Implementation): Generates new ideas, develops long-term objectives and strategies that align with institutional priorities, and translates them into actionable plans.
• Leading Others: Inspires commitment; develops and empowers staff; identifies and mentors the next generation of organization leaders; establishes results-oriented culture in teams.
• Leading by Personal Example: Models organizational values; takes action and is courageous; projects confidence and steadiness; learns from experience and is self-aware.
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Attracts, develops and retains a diverse team; recognizes the many dimensions of diversity and the particular harms of anti-Black racism and colonialism; considers equity in decisions and processes internally and externally; demonstrates inclusive leadership behaviors.

Compensation: This position’s annual salary is $152,000. This salary is reflective of a position based in [location]. This salary will be subject to a locality adjustment, if an authorization is granted to work outside of the location listed in this posting. Note that most of the salaries listed on our job postings reflect New York, NY salaries, where our National offices are headquartered.

Benefits:

• Health: The Center pays up to 95%* of the premium for a comprehensive health insurance plan with no in-network deductible and best-in-class reproductive healthcare coverage, including infertility. The Center also offers Dental and Vision coverage. (* % may differ in various countries)
• Flexibility: The Center currently operates in a hybrid model, allowing staff to work 3 days in the office and work 2 days from home
• Well-being: The Center offers resources to help prevent and recover from burnout through different programs that enable mental, physical and community well-being. The Center offers generous leave including paid parental leave, personal days, vacation, and sick leave. We are also closed the last week of December to allow staff to spend time with their loved ones.
• Growth: You will be working with and learning from some of the top legal and operational minds, all passionate about the mission of advancing reproductive rights around the world. You will also be eligible for a stipend to use towards professional growth.
• Global: You will get a front-row seat to update on the fight for reproductive rights in the global space. You will also have access to Employee Resource Groups to connect to colleagues that share similar interests/backgrounds/views.
• Investment: After the first year of employment, the Center will contribute 7.5%* of your annual salary to a 401(k) (* only applicable in US and Kenya)

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Center is committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in our work and staff. We strongly encourage people from all communities to apply. If you are excited about this role and unsure about whether your past experience aligns with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles.

Our hiring processes and our work culture offer support and flexibility for staff with a variety of needs. Should you face an accessibility barrier in the application and interview process please let us know by contacting [email protected]. We will work with you to provide the accommodation that works best for you.

To learn more about the Center’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), please visit Diversity, Equity and Inclusion | Center for Reproductive Rights

Learn more about the Center for Reproductive Rights, go to www.reproductiverights.org

FLSA Exempt Status: This is an exempt position.

Union Status: This position is not covered by the Center’s Collective Bargaining Unit.

How to Apply: Please complete the application below to apply. A cover letter and resume must be included in your application. Please include these application materials as attachments.

Please note that all genuine Center openings must be applied through the Center website. The Center does not charge a fee at any stage in the recruitment process (application, interviews, or selection). Nor does it request any medical examinations or bank account information as part of this process. If someone contacts, you on behalf of the Center requesting payment for your application please notify [email protected] before taking any further action.

Our hiring processes and our work culture offer support and flexibility for staff with a variety of needs. Should you face an accessibility barrier in the application and interview process please let us know by contacting [email protected]. We will work with you to provide the accommodation that works best for you.

Deadline for applications: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Center policy on visa sponsorship for US based positions: Applicants for employment in the US must have valid work authorization that does not now and/or will not in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the US by The Center for Reproductive Rights.