Legislative Strengthening Program Officer

Every employee of IRI is responsible for carrying out the Mission of IRI and demonstrating the core values in their day-to-day operations. The Core Values, which are IRI’s foundational building blocks include:

Excellence-We believe in quality results delivered by investing in people. Freedom-We believe in exploration and experimentation to be agile and responsive. Respect-We believe in trust, empathy and empowering people. Teamwork-We believe in diversity, inclusion, and the power of global collaboration. Transparency-We believe in open communication and clear decision-making. Accountability-We believe in personal responsibility as the foundation of success.

The Legislative Strengthening Program Officer serves as part of the Center for Global Impact, serving a multi-faceted role as program developer, implementer and relationship builder. S/he develops program ideas and drafts proposals on a range of governance themes, subsequently supporting program implementation through a range of activities. S/he consults with regional program teams based in Washington D.C. and in field offices on legislative strengthening program. S/he provides support to the legislative strengthening portfolio and works closely with the Legislative Strengthening Program Manager. Additionally, the Legislative Strengthening Program Officer works closely with the External Affairs division to build and sustain relationships with lawmakers and senior staff on Capitol Hill.

Position Requirements

· Undergraduate degree in political science, international relations or related field. **

· Three to five years professional experience in democratic governance and politics, preferably working directly with legislatures, legislators, legislative advocacy/lobbying OR with political parties, civil society organizations/NGOs or equivalent combination. Capitol Hill or Capitol Hill-adjacent experienced preferred.

• Familiarity with legislative processes required.

· Demonstrated ability to work with VIPs and principals. **

• Experience with planning high-level events with demonstrated exceptional organizational and detail-oriented skills.
• Demonstrated strong interpersonal, research, and written/oral communications skills.

· Some experience working with US Government funded projects and familiarity with USG regulations and processes preferred. **

· Experience with program management and demonstrated financial literacy. **

· Ability to work independently and as a member of a team to coordinate and lead the efforts of other professionals to effectively meet program goals. **

· Familiarity with parliamentary systems preferred.**

• Demonstrated ability to operate under strict deadlines and ability to easily shift priorities.
• Willingness and ability to travel to challenging environments, up to 30% of the time.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities

• Supports the implementation of specific governance grant(s), including the House Democracy Partnership and the Institute for Representative Government.

o Leads the drafting of high quality quarterly, semi-annual, final and other relevant reports for funders.

o Monitors, analyzes, and reports on political and related developments in specific countries to provide regional and country analysis and information.

o Identifies and coordinates delegations of foreign government and U.S. Government officials participating under the auspices of the grant.

o Assists in arranging program logistics including, but not limited to, international and domestic flights, ground transportation, hotel accommodations, room rentals, and cultural events.

o Oversees and participates in all monitoring and evaluation efforts for grants assigned.

o Leads efforts to evaluate and uses information related to the approved grant work plan.

o Understands assigned grant’s substantive, financial and compliance requirements.

o Oversees updates to budget tracker and leads regular team budget analysis discussions.

o Supports efforts to ensure that grants are in compliance with grant agreements and completed on time.

o Maintains an understanding of funder and IRI policies and procedures related to grant compliance and oversight.

o Monitors and ensures proper tracking of budgets and program expenditures to ensure that IRI projects remain within budget allocations and leads regular team budget analysis discussions.

o Implements programs under the grant(s) domestically and abroad.

• Travels as needed for program oversight and implementation.

· Establishes, maintains, and develops strong working relationships with relevant stakeholders in DC and abroad.

• Communicates and collaborates routinely with internal and external stakeholders to develop and implement programs, promote the program and develop strategic long-term program plans.

· Anticipates potential problems and trouble shoots project problems and offers solutions and actively takes part to lead resolution of them with creative and immediate solutions.

· Actively supports IRI’s communication strategy including IRI’s branding and outreach plans, including drafts and updates to program summaries and other outreach materials, drafts web stories, tweets, and develops promotional material for external audiences.

· Assists with assessing new funding opportunities and serves as proposal manager (as assigned) for new bid opportunities.

· Supervises team’s program associates as needed, participating in hiring processes setting specific goals and providing ongoing performance feedback.

· Participates in cross functional teams and initiatives.

· Actively foster a workplace that enables work-life balance and embraces diverse identities, backgrounds, and experiences; and engages with colleagues and partners in a respectful, welcoming manner and demonstrate integrity by modeling IRI’s values.

· Represents IRI at external events.

· Performs other duties as assigned.