Job Opportunity: Program Officer – Women’s Rights, Peace, and Security in Afghanistan

The International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) is a D.C.-based non-profit organization whose mission is to support civil society activism in promoting women’s rights, peace, and human security (WPS) in countries affected by conflict, transition, and closed political space. ICAN supports women peacebuilders by connecting them to the policy community, elevating the voices and experiences of women activists, building skills, and ensuring the exchange of knowledge and resources. Our vision is a world founded on peace, equality, and respect for pluralism.

ICAN’s Innovative Peace Fund (IPF) is a multi-donor mechanism that provides timely small- and medium-sized grants to support women-led organizations preventing and countering violent extremism, and promoting peace, resilience, equal rights, and pluralism (PREP). To date, the IPF has channeled more than 7 million USD to women-led peacebuilding organizations across 19 countries globally. 

The Position

The Program Officer will provide wide-ranging support, focused on a portfolio of grants, to ensure smooth program delivery, particularly related to women’s rights, peace, and security in Afghanistan. They will report to the Afghanistan Project Director and work closely with the Senior Program Officer for Afghanistan and the IPF Program Manager. This is a full-time temporary position with the possibility of transitioning to a permanent role.

This role thrives on collaboration, requiring a strong skill set in grant management, including analysis and synthesis of peacebuilding projects and their impact, and exceptional written communication. As a vital member of our Afghanistan project team, the Program Officer will work closely with Afghan women-led civil society organizations and emerging activists engaged in implementing community-level protection, conflict mitigation, and human rights monitoring initiatives. The capacity to work harmoniously within a team, actively contribute to your grant portfolio, and execute tasks with a significant degree of autonomy is integral to this role.

Responsibilities

Grantmaking and technical assistance to grantees

• Conduct outreach to potential new partners and prospective grantees.
• Coordinate all stages of grantmaking in Afghanistan including reviewing submitted concept notes and proposals, conducting due diligence, completing risk assessments, and monitoring subgrants.
• Work with prospective grantees to develop project budgets and proposals, including corresponding
  monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) frameworks, which should include systems such as logic models and performance measurement frameworks.
• Draft grant contracts, facilitate payments to grantees, and ensure grants are properly dispersed.
• Communicate with grantees to ensure they have a solid understanding of the contractual obligations, program, and financial requirements.
• Review grantee reports for compliance with contractual obligations, including proper MEL implementation.
• Monitor grantees’ performance and address challenges and/or changes to their projects.
• Conduct and/or support other ICAN staff in conducting site visits with partners to learn from their experience and to provide capacity building support.
• Administer internal grantmaking policies and procedures by using ICAN’s project management applications and relevant databases.
• Contribute to the efforts of all IPF program staff in implementing the ICAN grantmaking strategy and achieving its goals, e.g., by attending and actively participating in IPF staff meetings.

Documentation

• Draft program grant summaries to summarize mission and impact of each project.
• Support grantees in documenting and recording the impact of their work.
• Assist with research and report writing, including the development of case studies.
• Liaise with resource persons and coordinate with partners to facilitate additional documentation initiatives as needed.

Peer-to-peer exchange and networking

• Assist in identifying key topics and complementarity among partners’ expertise and experience.
• Coordinate logistics for peer-to-peer exchanges including scheduling, facilitation, and notetaking.
• Support development of agendas and output documents from exchange sessions.

Advocacy and communication

• Engage in international and U.S.-based advocacy spaces pertaining particularly to Women, Peace, and Security in Afghanistan.
• Assist with development of advocacy and training materials.
• Coordinate the translation of program-related materials, including correspondence with partners.
• Work with ICAN’s communications team in developing and sharing information about the IPF granting model and the work of grantees, including Innovative Peace Stories, and drafting IPF-related communications material.

Desired Qualifications

• Excellent analytical thinking and communication skills, both oral and written.
• Proven self-starter with a curious, proactive, growth mentality, suitable for a dynamic working environment.
• Fluency in English and Farsi/Dari is required.
• Master’s Degree or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum 2-3 years relevant professional experience, specifically in advancing programmatic goals and grantmaking.
• Proven ability to manage subgrants, with clear milestones and outcomes, including reviewing and revising budgets, MEL tools, systems, surveys, and evaluations.
• Proven ability to produce short, concise, and tailored written outputs and reports for diverse audiences, including grantee partners and policymakers.
• Established track record of working on sensitive contexts and issues requiring diplomacy and judgment and effectively managing relationships with internal team members and external partners.
• Ability to work under tight timelines and thrive in a fast-paced environment with competing priorities and to reprioritize tasks as needed.
• Experience working in teams with diverse cultural and professional backgrounds.
• Strong project management skills across a variety of platforms (e.g., Asana, Smartsheet, MS Office).
• Strong facilitation and consensus-building skills.
• Knowledge of gender; Women, Peace, and Security (WPS); and international relations.
• Must be willing to travel abroad.
• U.S.-based applicants must have a work permit. All applicants are welcome—this is a 100% remote position.

Please send a cover letter, CV, and three references to jobs@icanpeacework.org