Senior Program Officer

The Senior Program Officer is a key member of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Institutes team. In this role, you’ll provide leadership and hands-on support to educational institutions who host cohorts of Fellows for 6-week Institutes in one of three thematic tracks (Business & Trade, Emerging Technologies, and Governance & Security). You will manage and strengthen critical Fellowship processes, including subaward management, Institute Partner communications, Fellow placement, programmatic guidance, and support for Fellow medical and conduct issues. You will help maintain accurate program systems and data and will guide junior staff members to ensure high-quality, timely deliverables. This role is ideal for a professional who brings strong relationship-building skills, strong judgement for addressing routine and nuanced partner and participant issues, and the ability to translate funder asks into program success.

We're looking for our next team member—could it be you?

What You’ll Do

• Program Operations & Administration: Manage day-to-day and cycle-based Institute tasks and projects, ensuring timely and accurate completion of deliverables. Manage or support processes related to Institute Partner selection, Institute Partner templates/guidance materials, program planning and implementation, and Institute Partner and Fellow support.
• Participant, Partner & Stakeholder Engagement: Serve as the primary point of contact for an assigned portfolio of ~10-12 educational institutions. Manage regular communications and planning/implementation touchpoints, including in-person and virtual presentations, planning and debrief calls, site visits, and a shared inbox.
• Finance, Procurement & Grant Support: Execute and manage subawards (including budget review/approval, payments, and closeout) for assigned portfolio in compliance with U.S. Government and IREX regulations. Support procurement and vendor management processes, including for events and disability accommodations, as needed.
• Team Collaboration & Continuous Improvement: Guide and coach junior staff, including delegating work and ensuring the quality of their deliverables. Support the Institutes Manager in identifying areas for workflow improvements that increase team and Institute Partner efficiency. Support cross-team efforts related to Fellow support. Share knowledge across the Institutes and Fellowship team and other Global Impact Hub program teams.
• Growth & New Business Support: Contribute to proposal development and partner engagement as needed, including maintaining relationships with external stakeholders and partner institutions, gathering data/supporting materials, and drafting and/or reviewing text.

Our Culture is Our People

At IREX, our culture is built on our people—and on how we work together to create meaningful impact every day. We look for colleagues who bring purpose, intellectual curiosity, collaborative problem solving, and a results driven, bias for action to help strengthen communities and advance our mission.

Successful candidates build trust across differences, move ideas into action, seek new perspectives, embrace change , and represent IREX with authenticity and professionalism. We value people who bring strong expertise and a generous team spirit to work that advances our mission.

Skills & Experience

• Demonstrated experience with program and participant support, including curricular design, logistics, policy compliance, and participant issue management.
• Knowledge of sub-award management and procurement procedures; familiarity with U.S. Department of State grants and regulations preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to plan strategically and creatively to meet specified objectives with strong ability to anticipate challenges and generate solutions.
• High-level written communication skills, including the ability to produce near-final draft correspondence, documents, and reports.
• Professionalism in oral communications and presentations, including engagement with senior-level donors and partner relations.
• Proven organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail, including the ability to prioritize competing needs.
• Demonstrated capability to work independently and as a team member to consistently take initiative, meet deadlines within strict time constraints, and maintain positivity and flexibility.
• Excellent computer skills, including Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Office 365 products (SharePoint, Teams, OneNote).
• Data management and analysis skills, including experience with Salesforce, Alchemer, Canvas, or comparable systems/platforms.