Program Officer - United States Institute of Peace - Washington, DC

THE ORGANIZATION

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an independent, non-partisan, federally funded organization established and funded by the U.S. Congress to increase the nation’s capacity to manage international conflict without violence. USIP was founded in 1984 to:

Prevent, mitigate and resolve violent international conflict;

Provide analysis on the root causes of conflict;

Increase peacebuilding capacity, education, tools, and intellectual capital among practitioners and the American public.

SUMMARY

The Program Officer will join the core team of the International Network to Promote the Rule of Law (INPROL) (www.inprol.org) at USIP. This position reports to the Senior Program Officer who directs the INROL research network. The PO will act as a Rule of Law Facilitator for INPROL and lead for INPROL deliverables to support Rule of Law in Afghanistan. INPROL is a global, online community of practice, which harnesses the collective knowledge and experience of its approximately 2,900 rule of law members, representing practitioners, policymakers and academics, to imagine and implement effective rule of law reforms in developing and conflict-affected societies. INPROL partners with the Department of State’s INL Afghanistan program to support this broader mission as well as carry out specific deliverables to support rule of law promotion in Afghanistan.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead INPROL’s Afghanistan-Specific Portfolio:
Design, manage and implement in-country programming in Afghanistan, including the development of an Afghanistan online forum on the INPROL website, the drafting of Afghanistan-specific Research Memoranda and the development of Afghanistan-related webinars;

Supervise a Kabul-based staff member;

Design and administer monitoring and evaluation tools to track the impact of INPROL’s Afghanistan programs;

Identify and pursue strategic research opportunities in Afghanistan;

Build relationships, and coordinate with, project stakeholders in Afghanistan; and

Coordinate with USIP Kabul staff and other Afghanistan-based partners to run programming, carry out outreach and INPROL recruitment.

Facilitate INPROL’s Rule of Law Discussion:
Facilitate discussions in the online Rule of Law Forum;

Develop and maintain strategic relationships with individuals and organizations in the rule of law field; and

Respond to member concerns and needs.

Rule of Law Research:
Assist the INPROL director in the development of a research strategy and work plan to position INPROL as the premier hub on understanding the process of rule of law reform and best practices in rule of law programming;

Carry out empirical research and publish INPROL products in line with the research strategy, as needed; and

Coordinate and conduct reactive research in response to Rule of Law Forum and Afghanistan Forum discussions, including publishing Research Memoranda where appropriate.

Enhance INPROL’s Community of Members:
Develop and support INPROL’s members, including facilitating topics in the Rule of Law Forum and Afghanistan Forum as needed; and

Undertake outreach to individuals and organizations to expand INPROL’s membership base, including direct recruitment of INPROL members.

General Support to the INPROL Program:
Design and manage INPROL’s monitoring and evaluations, including creating the project monitoring framework;

Encourage participation in community events, discussions and activities;

Support, train and/or mentor INPROL team members, as needed;

Represent INPROL and USIP at internal and external events; and

Take the role of Acting Director when the Director is absent.

Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:
Applicants must be U.S. citizens or nationals of countries listed in a U.S. Collective Defense Arrangement per the Department of State. To see a list of those countries, go to http://www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/collectivedefense/index.htm.

Five to eight years of experience in the field of International Law, Rule of Law, Access to Justice and/or Human Rights.

Advance Degree required, Law Degree (JD) preferred.

Excellent knowledge in rule of law theory and practice.

Excellent research and writing ability; strong organizational skills; and ability to work independently and yet collegially.

Excellent project design and management skills.

Excellent computer skills.

All USIP contract and employee positions are contingent upon the favorable completion of a suitability background investigation.

Compensation is commensurate with qualifications and experience.

How to Apply

To be considered for this position, please submit a complete application package consisting of:

1. Cover letter

2. Resume

If a link does not appear on your screen to “Complete your Application”, please go to www.usip.org/work-us to submit your cover letter and resume.

If you are having problems submitting your online application, please try another browser (Internet Explorer and Firefox work best). If the “Email your Resume” button does not respond, right click on the button and select ‘copy shortcut’ or ‘copy email address’ and send your resume to the copied email address using your personal email account.

For questions about this position please email recruitment@usip.org. Do not send resumes or attachments to this email address.

Only those applicants that are selected for further discussions will be contacted.

No Phone Calls. Interviews will be scheduled by appointment only.

USIP is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy and practice of USIP to offer equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, age, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, HIV/AIDS status, political affiliations or belief, pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by law.