Officer, Program Development, Common Ground USA

Search for Common Ground, the world’s oldest and largest peacebuilding dedicated organization has recently launched Common Ground-USA, a bold new initiative focused on preventing political, hate-based, and extremist violence in America and fostering the conditions for a more inclusive, equitable, and peaceful society.

In this current context, the U.S. suffers from division and distrust so profound that it threatens the stability of the country. The roots of this condition lie in stark political and demographic divisions that have been widening for decades, grievances about persistent social injustice, and a polarized and partisan media landscape that deepens animosity between Americans and erodes faith in our institutions. As the U.S. faces these challenges, we at Search for Common Ground see a context ripe for change and a limited window of opportunity to make the most of that context. Having partnered with governments and civil society organizations to prevent violence and reconcile populations in more than 30 countries, we recognize in the U.S. today the symptoms and patterns that can lead to protracted violence. And yet we also see many ingredients that can be leveraged to reverse course.

As such we are recruiting for a dynamic, motivated, and diverse team of individuals aimed to work across divides to generate locally-rooted, responsive, and sustainable win-win solutions to some of the nation’s most seemingly intractable issues. The Program Officer will play an integral role in the business development and program management processes of CG-USA.

Responsibility

• Prepare reports to donors as per the funding agreements
• Coordinate and support organization of events with Development, Marketing and Communication staff
• Conduct research on defined subjects and prepare reports with needed background data
• Supports the capture process by following up with partners and preparing capture plans
• Supports the development of bids, drafts sections of proposals or concepts.
• Supports the team’s knowledge management.
• Provide administrative support to the Common Ground USA team, including travel, preparing legal documents, preparing and administering the operating budget, and liaise with other functions to support recruitment, scheduling meetings, and ensuring contributions to organizational performance processes.

Contributions

• Strategy development: Carries out background research, record-keeping. Supports strategy processes
• Business intelligence: Researches and monitors donors. Analyzes funding opportunities. Ensures internal record-keeping.
• Positioning and donor relations: Represents Search in line with positioning efforts. Produces marketing materials.
• Partnerships: Supports partnership discussions. Conducts partner analysis. Ensures knowledge management.
• Go/No-Go decisions: Conducts background research, including competitor analysis.
• Capture planning: Conducts desk reviews. Assembles pre-proposal material. Supports delivery of capture strategy.
• Program design: Provides input and support. Develops background material.
• Proposal development: Drafts specific sections of proposals or concepts. Lead-writes supporting material development.
• Proposal reviews: Participates on review teams.
• Knowledge management and training: Ensures proper record-keeping, including in the Grants Management System. Tracks key program development data and prepares reports as requested.
• Administration: Coordinates the administrative functions related to travel, meetings, and compliance to administrative policies and procedures
• Other duties that are broadly in line with the above key contributions as assigned.

Competency Behavior Indicators (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

• Engages and communicates effectively across functions and across teams.
• Participates in external meetings.
• Builds relationships and engages effectively with collaborators.
• Uses resiliency and exhibits flexibility and adaptability to changing tasks and team priorities.
• With oversight by the supervisor, writes technical sections for team documents, briefing materials, and presentations.
• Works across functions from a multicultural perspective that reflects consideration of other cultures, other viewpoints, and other ways of doing things.
• Sensitively recognizes ethical situations.
• Focuses on the key objectives of a task or project.
• Creates accurate, organized, and timely work.
• Is resourceful with time management and technology to prioritize tasks with limited supervision.

Type and Nature of Contacts

• Interacts with others and handles problem situations with tact. Periodic external engagement as requested.

Education and Experience

• BS/BA with minimum 6 years’ related experience.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

• Usual office environment conditions

Supervisory and Budget Responsibility

• None