Pacific Islands Regional Program Director

Job Summary

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 Resident Program Director (RPD) is based in Fiji and is responsible for all programmatic, personnel, outreach and accounting matters for their designated program. In consultation with IRI/Washington, the RPD designs and implements a long-range strategy for IRI programs in the region, manages budgets and is responsible for compliance with local laws and /regulations governing current funding.

Position Requirements

• Master’s degree in Political Science, International Development, Public Administration or related field preferred.
• At least ten years of professional experience in democratic governance and politics, preferably working directly with political parties, civil society organizations/NGOs and/or legislative bodies and officials in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, or any of the following countries: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, or Vanuatu.
• At least five years of experience with USG, Australian, or New Zealand-funded programs and familiarity with State Department and/or USAID objectives, approaches and operations.
• Experience or working knowledge of the politics, economics, history and culture of the Pacific Islands region.
• Strong written and oral communication and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated management experience including ability to motivate and manage staff.
• Demonstrated financial management experience in developing and administering program budgets.
• Ability to prepare, present and negotiate complex and sensitive agreements and/or project proposals with bilateral/multi-lateral agencies and other donor communities.
• Ability to communicate skills and experience to others as a trainer, advisor or technical consultant; sensitivity to working in advisory role with local organizations.
• 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.
• Ability to work in high-stress, remote and developing environments.
• Willingness to travel regularly to and from the United States and around the Pacific Islands region up to 30% of the time.
• Willingness and ability to live and work in Suva, Fiji.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities

Manages and oversees all operations related to the IRI field team, including logistical, security, access, human resources, and compliance tasks, comply with relevant labor laws, IRI policies and donor regulations.

• Serves as the official senior IRI representative for the program, developing credibility with and maintaining good relationships with all relevant stakeholders, including U.S. and foreign diplomats and donor agencies, government representatives or their equivalents, and program partners.
• Leads business development efforts, including identifying and seeking out potential new or additional sources of funding with real-time costs estimates for proposal budgets, and/or the development of new program ideas, coordinating with DC staff.
• Leads the substantive design of new programs and new program ideas.
• Drives IRI’s communication strategy for the program including IRI’s branding and outreach plans, including drafts and updates program summaries and other outreach materials, drafts web stories, tweets, etc. Oversees the program’s #IRIinthePIs social media presence.
• Oversees the implementation of all program activities ensuring consistency with grant work plans, budget, and objectives.
• Establishes, maintains, and develops productive working relationships with relevant stakeholders, consultants, field and DC staff.
• Oversees all operations related to the IRI field presence and program operations and ensures IRI complies with local laws regarding IRI’s legal status in the country of operation and employment of local staff.
• Supervises local field team, including participating in the hiring, professional development, and evaluation process for these staff. Sets specific goals and provides ongoing performance feedback.
• Mentors local staff in program development, finance, work plan development and presentation, reporting, monitoring and evaluation, business development and knowledge management in their country of assignment**.**
• Maintains an understanding of donor and IRI policies and procedures related to grant compliance and oversight.
• Understands a grant’s substantive, financial and compliance requirements.
• Oversees the implementation of all program activities, ensuring consistency with grant work plans and objectives. The RPD delivers a weekly written report to division leadership in DC.
• Monitors and approves field office budgets and expenses, in collaboration with DC program staff and local and regional accounting staff, to ensure that expenditures remain within budget allocations.
• Ensures adherence to monitoring and evaluation plans, including the monitoring of programs and evaluation/analysis of program results.
• Monitors, analyzes and reports on political and related developments in the Pacific Islands to provide country and regional analysis.
• Provides information and contributes to sections of quarterly, semi-annual, final and other relevant reports for funders.
• Anticipates potential problems and troubleshoots project problems and offers solutions and actively takes part to lead resolution of them with creative and immediate solutions.
• Monitors, analyzes and reports on security-related developments in the Pacific Islands region to provide insight and advice to IRI’s Director of Security to support the evolution and maintenance of the Country Strategy and Field Office Security Plan.
• Performs other duties as assigned.