Program Manager

Background

The Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) is a research and advocacy organization that seeks to improve the lives and protect the rights of women, children, and youth displaced by conflict and crises. We research their needs, identify solutions, and advocate for programs and policies to strengthen their resilience and drive change in humanitarian practice. The Women’s Refugee Commission is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

Research to Action

WRC is a credible source of evidence-based research for advocacy and is growing as a leader in the humanitarian sector in participatory research approaches. WRC’s research has historically helped to shape the humanitarian agenda—specifically in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, disabilities, adolescent programming, and livelihoods/cash. WRC is dedicated to the enhancement and support of interdisciplinary, high-quality qualitative and quantitative research to continue to inform its advocacy. The focus of WRC’s program assessment, monitoring, and evaluation is to support practical improvements in advocacy, policy, and programming for crisis-affected populations.

Scope of Work

As part of WRC’s Gender Equality & Inclusion (GE&I) Team, the program manager (PM) will serve a critical support function and contribute to the administrative, contract coordination, and grants management tasks for a wide variety of research and program implementation efforts. The GE&I Team comprises two research advisors, two senior technical advisors, and an associate director, research, all under the leadership of the senior director for strategy. The PM will report directly to the associate director, research, to support the effective administration of GE&I research and program portfolio throughout the grant life cycle. This position is remote/home based until January 4, 2022 (thereafter, WRC will implement a hybrid work model), and the candidate must be based in either New York City or Washington, DC.

Responsibilities

In collaboration with GE&I Team members, the PM will provide:Project Management and Administrative Support (70%):
Support research activities, including assessments and monitoring & evaluation initiatives, with tasks such as scanning literature, creating reference lists, data cleaning and management.

Support developing and finalizing knowledge products (reports, toolkits, policy papers, advocacy briefs, study one-pagers) in coordination with GE&I and Communications Teams.

Support planning of advocacy events, including launch events for dissemination of research findings, coordinating across WRC’s External Relations and Administration Teams and external vendors (including virtual platforms, translation services, etc.).

Coordinate with GE&I Team in drafting of board reports and other internal reports.

Participate in Program and GE&I Team biweekly meetings.

Participate in other project meetings as requested by research advisors, provide support such as note-taking, arranging interpretations/translation needs, etc.

Handle all GE&I Team travel arrangements, including coordinating with office administrator for booking flights and hotels, arranging security protocols, filing travel expense reports and reimbursement requests.

Grants Management Support (30%):
Support management of multiple GE&I grant budgets and expenses through ongoing financial monitoring in coordination with GE&I Team members and Finance Team, including tracking spending against project activities, managing subcontract and consultant spending, and providing financial analysis to project teams.

Process and manage subcontracts, including processing invoices and tracking payments, in coordination with WRC’s Legal, Finance/Administration, and Development Teams.

Support GE&I Team members on subcontract, subaward partnerships and consultant selections, terms of reference/scope of work finalization, solicitation, monitoring, compliance, reporting, and close-outs.

Support the submission of external/donor narrative and financial reports across grants in coordination with the GE&I, Development, and Finance Teams.

Maintain grant management records (narrative and financial reports, subcontract-related documentation, donor communication, etc.).

Facilitate GE&I Team and coordinate with Finance/Administration and Legal Teams in auditing processes, including communicating with partners for compliance spot checks.

Requirements

Education and skills

Bachelor’s degree – International Relations or related field.

1–3 years’ work experience in low-resourced environments; in humanitarian settings preferred.

Experience in one or more WRC program areas, such as adolescent programming, disabilities, gender-based violence, livelihoods/cash, or sexual and reproductive health.

Experience in managing donor budgets and reviewing grant funding regulations and compliance issues.

Experience in writing reports and policy papers for varied audiences.

Excellent written and oral communication skills, including grant writing.

Solid diplomatic skills: the ability to effectively liaise with a variety of internal and external professional contacts.

Ability to work independently.

Ability to multitask and meet deadlines while paying attention to detail.

Ability to work across multiple programs.

Solid organizational skills with excellent attention to detail.

Good computer skills: facility with MS Word, Excel, email/internet software, and remote meeting platforms, such as Zoom.

Languages: preferred working knowledge of French, Arabic, or Spanish.

Reports to: Associate Director, Research, Women’s Refugee Commission

Position: Full-time contract for 12 months, renewable pending successful further fundraising efforts

Salary: Band 7, Professional – Program Manager; Salary range: $50,078 – $75,726

Location: New York, NY, or Washington, DC (temporarily remote due to COVID)

Deadline to Apply: November 12, 2021

How to Apply

Interested candidates must submit a cover letter and resume .

The Women’s Refugee Commission is an equal opportunity employer. It is our policy to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, gender identify, sexual orientation, age, religion, marital status, veteran status, or disability. Qualified applicants from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. The Women’s Refugee Commission is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.