Program Director, Ethiopia

Program Director, Ethiopia

Freedom House

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

POSITION SUMMARY:

Freedom House's Program Director (PD) oversees and ensures impactful implementation of a two year program to support civil society and human rights activists in Ethiopia to effectively conduct outreach and advocacy to deepen political reforms. The PD is responsible for leading program strategy and activity design and implementation, ensuring sound financial management, hiring and supervising staff, organizing and managing Freedom House’s office in Ethiopia, managing and expanding donor and program partner relationships, communications, monitoring and evaluation of program activities, and reporting. This position is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and reports to Freedom House's Washington, DC-based Director for Africa Programs. Funding for this position is secured.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Management (40%):

• Lead and oversee all operational aspects of the program, guide strategic direction to make the program adaptive and impactful given the evolving political context;
• Manage a three person team of Addis Ababa-based staff to successfully execute the program;
• Oversee financial management and program budget, ensuring cost effectiveness in activities, timeliness of performance of all work performed under the program, and compliance with donor regulations.

Program Design and Implementation (40%):

• Build and manage successful working relationships with local civil society partners, donor representatives, and other relevant stakeholders throughout Ethiopia;
• In collaboration with Freedom House HQ staff, lead work planning and scenario planning to continually adapt to the changing political realities in order to deliver impact and meet stated program objectives;
• Develop and implement program activities that build local civil society capacity to conduct effective advocacy for human rights in Ethiopia;
• Manage monitoring, evaluation, and learning processes;
• Draft donor reports and other programmatic updates for Freedom House staff and external audiences;
• Coach and mentor staff and partners on technical and programmatic areas.

Other (20%):

• Serve as the spokesperson for the program and execute a communications strategy as it relates to program activities;
• Network and liaise with broad range of stakeholders including government representatives, civil society organizations, international and regional bodies, and others as appropriate;
• Travel extensively to regions within Ethiopia and occasionally within the region and the U.S.; and
• Other related duties as assigned.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

• Master’s degree in international development, law, public policy, political science, public administration, human rights, or other relevant field.

Experience:

• Experience working with civil society on advocacy initiatives and trainings;
• At least 7 years of senior-level experience in the design, implementation, and management of donor-funded programs of similar size, complexity, and setting;
• Experience managing USG grants strongly preferred; and
• Experience in challenging environments and in modifying programming to fit evolving contexts.

Skills:

• Fluency in English, both oral and written, are required;
• Working-level fluency in spoken and written Amharic with ability to represent the program in meetings with government and/or local partners conducted in Amharic. Proficiency in additional Ethiopian languages is a plus;
• Demonstrated experience working on youth and gender programming preferred;
• Demonstrated leadership skills and experience in building and maintaining productive working relationships with a wide network of institutional partners and stakeholders, including host governments, civil society partners, program partners, and donors;
• Experience in challenging environments and flexibility to apply lessons learned from other contexts;
• Demonstrated financial management experience including preparing and managing budgets, contracts, and negotiations, and subgrant management;
• Demonstrated ability to effectively manage a diverse team of employees; and
• Ability to use productivity software such as MS Word, Outlook, PowerPoint; and Microsoft Excel.

Attributes and Characteristics:

• Eagerness to learn and willingness to embrace change and adapt;
• Exhibit strong and sustained commitment to the mission of Freedom House;
• Show good stewardship in the use of Freedom House resources;
• Respond promptly to stakeholder needs, and solicit stakeholder feedback to improve service quality;
• Exhibit excellent interpersonal and management skills, pleasant demeanor, and ethical conduct;
• Consistently use good judgment when dealing with all contacts and constituents;
• Exhibit high work standards, adherence to policies and procedures, and responsibility for assigned tasks;
• Demonstrate strong desire for excellence, and desire to inspire others to attain professional excellence;
• Assess own strengths and weaknesses, pursue training and development opportunities, and strive to continuously build knowledge and skills;
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and collaboratively as part of a team; and
• Flexible with a good sense of humor and positive attitude.

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Africa     Africa - East     Ethiopia     Communication/Public Relations     Development Aid     Human Rights and Democracy     NGO     Freedom House