Job Description
Job Title: [ Contractor] Senior Program Officer, South Asia Career Stream: Professional Career Level: Professional 4 Department: Global Programs Job Family: Program Support Job Sub-Family: Program Oversight & Support Location: India Workplace Designation: Fully Remote Term: 12 months Funding: 100% Direct Status: Contractor Project Lead: Senior Program Officer, South Asia Important Notice: This document describes a consulting engagement. The individual engaged under this Scope of Work is an independent contractor, not an employee. Nothing herein creates or implies an employment relationship. The Consultant retains control over the means and methods by which deliverables are completed. GENERAL FUNCTIONS The Senior Program Officer is engaged on a consultant basis to provide strategic programmatic support and oversight across a variety of contract deliverables including donor reporting, donor and local partner relations, and communications. The Consultant will deliver contracted services in coordination with the Media Investment and Social Impact Project Manager and will liaise with relevant internal stakeholders as necessary to fulfill the scope of work described in the scope. SCOPE OF SERVICES & DELIVERABLES · Project implementation: o Provide strategic programmatic support and contribute to project strategy for at least one South Asia project, including analysis of project progress against contracted deliverables. o Develop tracking systems and monitor the project’s contracts and funding pools for local partners, including budget/agreement negotiation with partners, development and monitoring of budgets, processing payment requests, and review of programmatic reports. o Conduct research in support of ongoing projects and new initiatives. o Liaise with relevant internal stakeholders as necessary to ensure effective delivery of contracted project services. o Coordinate work activities with a Program Associate as needed to fulfill contracted deliverables. No supervisory, disciplinary, or performance management authority is included in this agreement. · Professional expertise: o Deliver direct technical assistance to local media partners on development or refinement of media business strategies. o Cultivate and strengthen relationships with local media partners and ensure that implementation is responsive to partners’ needs. o Attend and participate in conferences and events, with funders and with policy experts. · Impact and learning: o Coordinate with Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) and other personnel on tracking progress towards program deliverables and assessing impact, including adherence to data collection protocols and technical review of performance data. o Prepare periodic writeups for donor or internal reports covering monitoring results, trends, training progress, risk analysis, and adaptations. BACKGROUND & QUALIFICATIONS Required Competencies Understanding of the human rights environment and network of stakeholders in South Asia. Strong problem-solving and risk-identification skills. Ability to organize events, including agenda design, travel arrangements, vendor negotiations, event logistics, etc. Excellent interpersonal skills; demonstrated diplomacy, tact, and ability to negotiate. Strong time management and organizational skills; ability to effectively manage a dynamic workload and shifting priorities. Proven ability to operate in a multicultural and remote work environment. Ability to periodically travel domestically and internationally for meetings with colleagues, local partners, and donors. Qualifications Minimum 7 years of relevant programmatic experience, preferably with donor programs and projects in the media development sector. Experience implementing revenue generation or audience growth strategies within a media organization, or significant expertise in developing and testing media business strategies. Experience implementing programs in diverse information environments; experience developing and implementing security protocols, including use of technologies to foster secure practices. Ability to coordinate effectively across geographies and time zones. Strong English fluency and writing skills. Desired Qualifications Prior experience managing and/or mentoring staff remotely. Experience delivering training and building capacity of colleagues and local partners. Familiarity with and experience in implementing projects to strengthen orgnizational capacity and inclusion of marginalized communities. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS · Effective and timely completion of project activities, within budget. · Demonstrable impact of skills-building activities among local partners. · High-quality data collection and analysis that supports informed decision-making. · Timely, accurate, and high-quality preparation of technical reports and programmatic deliverables. PHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORK ENVIRONMENT The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met or may be encountered by an employee performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision for use of computer terminal and reading printed and electronic materials