Officer, Programs

Search for Common Ground (Search) is a non-governmental organization working to transform the way societies deal with conflicts. We have over 40 years of experience in peacebuilding and are based in 53 local offices worldwide. We strive to build sustainable peace for generations to come by working with all sides of a conflict, providing the tools needed to work together, and finding constructive solutions. While conflict is inevitable, violence is not. Our mission is to transform the way the world deals with conflict, away from adversarial approaches and toward cooperative solutions. Instead of tearing down an existing world, we focus on constructing a new one. We shift the everyday interactions between hostile groups of people so they can work together to build up their community, choosing joint problem-solving over violent means. We rely on local staff as well as local partner organizations in order to ensure our work is culturally sensitive, sustainable and well-grounded in the context.

For more information, visit www.sfcg.org

Search Jerusalem:

Since its establishment in 2000, Search for Common Ground (Search) has maintained a presence in Jerusalem, where we have implemented projects across various thematic areas including inclusive governance, women, peace and security, media and inter-religious dialogue among others. Over the past two decades, we have developed extensive expertise in managing large-scale and diverse projects. Our collaboration extends to diverse local partners, ranging from grassroots organizations and activists to women’s groups, all sharing a vision to overcome fragmentation and promote inclusive narratives. Our diverse team possess significant experience in managing multi-sectorial programs, comprises experts in conflict transformation, peace-building, capacity building, media, and program management. They bring to the table a deeper, lived experience of the conflict, coupled with a nuanced understanding of its various social, political, and religious dimensions. Conflict sensitivity is ingrained in our everyday interactions and is a fundamental aspect of the design and implementation of our programs.

Team Summary:

The Programs team has oversight on the management of restricted grants to drive impact and ensure compliance. The Programs team supports in-country Directors and Managers to effectively follow Search and donor policies and procedures regarding grant implementation. This function commences with the signing of a grant and completes with the final close-out. This involves monitoring, reporting, and where appropriate, engagement with donors. It involves oversight on both program quality and compliance, working in close collaboration with other departments, including Finance, the Institutional Learning Team, Strategy Alignment, Program Quality, Communications, and Human Resources. The Programs team aims to build and strengthen the capacity of program implementation at Search and with partner staff in-country.

Responsibilities:

• Coordinates grants start up, grants close out and documents lessons learned in the course of implementation.
• Coordinates report development and review.
• Facilitates program implementation review, spending review, and forecasting.
• Supports partner management.

Contributions:

• Collaborates with country program managers and partners in the preparation of timely and quality project reports for donors in compliance with donor and internal Search requirements.
• Ensures and supports the effective tracking and forecasting of project expenditures by the project team through budget versus actuals (BVA) meetings, in line with the approved budget and work plan for both Search and partners.
• Ensures that costed work plans are regularly updated and utilized. Proactively supports needs for no-cost extensions, budget realignments, or other budgetary changes.
• Facilitates or supports grants start up, reviews, and closure meetings and follows up on action points.
• Participates in reflection sessions and discussions on adaptation. Facilitates support for technical assistance where appropriate. Ensures lessons learnt are well documented and disseminated for better program implementation in future, in line with best practice in reflective practice and adaptive management.
• Conducts regular partner visits to track grant progress and ultimately supports Search to meet project deliverables for major and high risk projects.
• Coordinates the Programs team as well as country communication teams in highlighting and documenting success stories.
• When necessary, travels internationally to support complex and/or high risk project start ups and close out processes.
• Participates in design calls and provides proposal review and budget review for strategic proposals when called upon.
• Ensures project budgets are adequately coded and uploaded to the accounting system. Disseminates information on the coded budgets to other program staff.
• Develops subaward contracts and ensures all required documents and processes are completed to facilitate final sign off.
• Supports the Programs Manager in capacity assessment of country offices and collaborates with the Programs Manager and other managers in capacity development by tailoring appropriate training for various country offices.
• Conducts on-boarding of new program staff and familiarizes them with the donor and internal rules as regulations on grants management.
• Other duties that are broadly in line with the above key contributions as assigned.

Competency Behavior Indicators (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities):

• Initiates brainstorming or problem-solving meetings. With time in job, develops skills for analyzing and communicating program successes and failures; reports lessons learned to the team and other members.
• Represents Search at local and international events and meetings for professional organizations, vendors, partners, and funders. Develops skills to independently initiate and maintain relations with vendors, partners, and funders. Articulates Search program/project goals and objectives within Search and to external audiences.
• Demonstrates appreciation for diversity of thought. Builds cross-functional relationships with other functional departments.
• Demonstrates ability to be adaptable and willing to confront and change own ideas and preconceptions with the resiliency and flexibility to make changes based on hearing a diversity of thoughts.
• Drafts team documents, briefing materials, and presentations. Articulates program/project objectives and how they fit into a team’s goals and/or Search’s mission and adapts to the communications setting.
• Applies standards, identifies areas for standardization, and coordinates across functions from a multicultural perspective that reflects consideration of other cultures, other viewpoints, and other ways of doing things.
• Takes into account the environmental landscape, assesses one’s own and others’ viewpoints in their environment, and proposes solutions from an ethical perspective.
• Recognizes the options available for solving problems, conducts analyses, and calculates metrics and other technical tools to support informed decision making.
• Conducts Quality Control of team documents, briefing materials, presentations, and systems data. Carefully reviews and checks the accuracy of information in work reports, management information systems, or with other individuals and groups. Checks the accuracy of one’s own and others’ work. Proactively informs management of potential risks and concerns; suggests resolutions.
• Independently prioritizes time to reach deadlines and reaches end results of assignments with ability to accomplish multiple steps with limited to no supervision.

Type and Nature of Contacts:

• Routinely coordinates with colleagues and consultants on-site and in the field and resolves problem situations with tact.
• Represents, as assigned, selected programs or projects and other organizations, including donors, vendors, and international and local partners.
• Interacts with country office and regional staff.
• Part time: 50%

Education and Experience:

• Typically BS/BA with minimum 5 years’ experience.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:

• Usual office environment conditions; ability to travel internationally at least 20%.

Supervisory and Budget Responsibility:

• Reports to: Chief of Party
• May supervise one or more staff interns.