Resident Program Director, Bosnia and Herzegovina

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) will be based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and is responsible for all programmatic, personnel, outreach, and accounting matters in the country. In consultation with IRI/Washington, the RPD designs and implements a long-range strategy for IRI programs in BiH, manages budgets and is responsible for compliance with local laws and regulations governing current funding.

Position Requirements

• Undergraduate degree in political science, international relations, or related field. Master’s degree preferred.
• Eight to ten years of professional experience in democracy and governance, working directly with political parties, legislative institutions, and civil society organizations/non-governmental organizations.
• Experience implementing political party capacity strengthening programming, including improving party structure, organization, platform and policy development, and constituency outreach.
• Experience implementing activities that encourage competitive, representative, inclusive, and transparent political and electoral processes, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution.
• Experience managing and implementing complex political party and governance programs in sectarian environments.
• Strong written and oral communication and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated management experience, including ability to motivate and manage staff.
• Demonstrated experience working with USG-funded projects and familiarity with USG regulations and processes, especially USAID.
• 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, especially USAID.
• Ability and demonstrated experience leading and coordinating a team of other professionals, especially in a consortium and multi-cultural setting, to effectively meet program goals and donor requirements.
• Ability to communicate skills and experience to others as a trainer, advisor, or technical consultant.
• Knowledge of the politics, economics, history, and culture of the Balkans preferred.
• Willingness to travel within Bosnia and Herzegovina a significant amount throughout the year, as well as within Europe occasionally.
• Willingness to live and work in a challenging environment.
• Strong preference for an individual with expatriate professional experience.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities

• Serves as the official senior IRI representative in country, developing credibility and maintaining good relationships with all relevant stakeholders, including U.S. and foreign diplomats, donor agencies, host-country government representatives, and program partners.
• Monitors, analyzes, and reports on political and economic developments and media responses in BiH with concise and cogent analysis that supports business development and reporting requirements.
• Participates in the substantive design of new programs and contributes to the development of new program ideas and business opportunities.
• Oversees the implementation of all program activities, while ensuring consistency with grant work plans and objectives.
• Establishes, maintains, and develops a productive working relationship with relevant stakeholders, consultants, and field and HQ staff.
• Oversees all operations related to the IRI field presence and ensures IRI is in compliance with local laws regarding IRI’s legal status in the country and employment of local staff.
• Supervises local field staff, 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.
• Maintains an understanding of donor and IRI policies and procedures related to grant compliance and oversight.
• Understands the technical, financial, and compliance requirements of grant(s).
• Monitors and approves field office budgets and expenses, in collaboration with DC program staff and the Regional Project Accountant, 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.
• Produces weekly reports for DC program staff.
• Provides information and contributes to sections of quarterly, semi-annual, final, and other relevant reports for funders.
• Anticipates potential problems and raises with HQ staff and offers solutions where appropriate, but otherwise troubleshoots problems and actively resolves them where appropriate with creative solutions.
• Actively supports IRI’s communication strategy, including IRI’s branding and outreach plans on assigned programs, with drafts summaries and program updates and other outreach materials such as web stories, tweets, etc.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Education

Required

Bachelors or better in Political Science or related field.

Preferred

Masters or better in Political Science or related field.

Experience

Required

8-10 years:

Undergraduate degree in political science, international relations, or related field. Master’s degree preferred. Eight to ten years of professional experience in democracy and governance, working directly with political parties, legislative institutions, and civil society organizations/non-governmental organizations.