US Institute of Peace
Who We Are
Peace is our commitment. The United States Institute of Peace represents the American people’s shared values and commitment to peace around the world. We know that Peace is Security – it advances both U.S. and international security by preventing, managing and mitigating violent conflict.
We are an independent, non-partisan institution and are actively engaged with peacebuilding efforts around the world. Together we tackle the toughest problems and hold fast to the possibility of a more peaceful world. (To learn more about USIP programs and job openings, go to https://www.usip.org/about/careers.
If you have a passion for making the world a better place and want to have a front row seat to the world stage, USIP is the place for you.
JOB BRIEF
The Program Specialist will support USIP’s work on China and Northeast Asia. The program focuses on China’s role with respect to peace and conflict dynamics in countries and regions around the world. The Program Specialist assists the director with substantive research and writing, helps manage program activities and budget, provides day-to-day administrative and logistical support for the program, and takes on special projects as needed. The Program Specialist position is full-time and based in Washington, DC and will report to Director for East and Southeast Asia Programs.
TARGET SALARY RANGE
Grade 10 – $68,000 – $70,000
The Institute uses the General Schedule salary tables for administering compensation. Offers of employment are determined based upon candidate qualifications, related experience, internal equity and amount budgeted for the position.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Research Support:
• Assists the director with substantive research, writing, and project development.
• Works with director of the program to define research priorities and identify partners.
• Peer reviews and edits products written by USIP or external authors.
• Builds and maintains substantive expertise on a range of issues related to China.
• Writes and/or assists in writing articles for USIP website and other USIP and external publications.
• Provides research and writing support to the North Korea program as needed.
Program Planning Support:
• Assists the director in identifying new programming and managing existing program activities.
• Assists in the development of concept notes and proposals for new areas of research and programming.
• Coordinates the implementation of the day-to-day operations of the program.
• Coordinates with key external stakeholders regarding the day-to-day planning and coordination of the program in order to support program goals and objectives.
• Develops, updates, and edits various program documents and website material.
• Coordinates with key external stakeholders to support program goals and objectives.
• Provides support to the North Korea program as needed.
Events:
• Supports all aspects of event management, including generating new ideas for events, contacting speakers, and helping to shape the content of the event.
• Drafts event text, agendas, panelist bios, etc. and develops promotional and informative descriptions of events for internal USIP staff members and external audiences.
• Liaises with panelists and/or co-sponsoring organizations.
• Creates web content for events on USIP website and Exact Target.
• Serves on USIP Events Duty Roster.
Budget and Contract Management:
• Assists in preparing initial project budgets to be reviewed and approved by the director and tracks program spending throughout the fiscal year.
• With the director, analyzes the program budget (e.g., monitors expenditures, schedules payments, and reviews budget reports) in order to develop recommendations on budget-related matters.
• Manages the financial data from software systems to provide program leadership with the status of the program financials or other items. Develops recommendations on any actions that may be required to ensure the program has the resources necessary to meet its goals and objectives.
• Interacts with senior external personnel on significant matters requiring coordination between organizations.
• Assists program staff with budget and contract management support, including requisitions, invoice and expense processing, cash requests, and payment monitoring of contract services.
• Serves as COTR as needed and appropriate.
• Manages vendor contracts, including writing statements of work for a variety of contracts with external organizations to support special events or program activities, tracking deliverable due dates and payments, and communicating with vendors about contract payments.
• Provides budget and contract management support to the North Korea program as needed.
Performs other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS
• Bachelor’s degree (Masters preferred) in international relations or related field required.
• Four (4) or more years of relevant work experience, preferably related to China, required.
• China experience and/or Chinese language strongly preferred.
• Excellent writing skills.
• Competence in program administration and financial management.
• Strategic thinking and communication skills.
• Strong time management skills with the ability to prioritize work and meet deadlines.
• Strong skills in the Microsoft Office Suite, particularly MS Word, MS Outlook, and MS Excel is required. Strong computer skills in database usage is preferred.
• Experience organizing conferences, meetings, and events preferred.
All USIP contract and employee positions are contingent upon the favorable completion of a suitability background investigation.
Compensation is commensurate with qualifications and experience.
HOW TO APPLY
To be considered for this position, please submit a complete application package consisting of:
• Completed employment application including titles, dates of hire and salary requirements.
• Cover letter
• Resume
For questions about this position please email [email protected]. Do not send resumes or attachments to this email address.
Only those applicants that are selected for further discussions will be contacted.
No Phone Calls. Interviews will be scheduled by appointment only.
USIP is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy and practice of USIP to offer equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, age, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, HIV/AIDS status, political affiliations or belief, pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by law.
How to apply
To apply for this position, please use the following URL: https://ars2.equest.com/?response_id=e4c7eae76d0b5c9ba98286f2367e9aad