Senior Program Officer for Turkmenistan and Central Eurasia
Central Eurasia Project
March 2008
The Open Society Institute works to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. To achieve its mission, OSI seeks to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to advance justice, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, OSI builds alliances across borders and continents on issues such as corruption and freedom of information. OSI places a high priority on protecting and improving the lives of marginalized people and communities.
Investor and philanthropist George Soros in 1993 created OSI as a private operating and grantmaking foundation to support his foundations in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Those foundations were established, starting in 1984, to help countries make the transition from communism. OSI has expanded the activities of the Soros foundations network to encompass the United States and more than 60 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Each Soros foundation relies on the expertise of boards composed of eminent citizens who determine individual agendas based on local priorities.
OSIs Central Eurasia Project (CEP) seeks a full-time Senior Program Officer for Turkmenistan and Central Eurasia to be based in New York, starting immediately. Working under the supervision of OSIs Director of the CEP and Middle East Initiatives, the Senior Program Officer will have the following responsibilities:
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Monitor grants through extended site visits, review of narrative and financial reports and other communication with grantees;
Work with applicants to develop and finalize grant proposals;
Liaise with area specialists to identify opportunities for new projects or prospective grantees;
Represent OSI in meetings with relevant officials in Washington D.C., Brussels, and elsewhere;
Liaise with associated Foundations and non-governmental organizations in developing complementary strategies and approaches;
Perform site visits of prospective and current grantees;
Recommend Central Eurasia grantmaking strategies, priorities, and guidelines;
Crafting and implementing international advocacy on Turkmenistan and other Central Eurasia Project activities
Collaborating with international advocacy coalitions to promote information-sharing and joint policy goals.
Managing a grants program, including soliciting and evaluating grant proposals in the context of broader policy efforts, and overseeing due diligence on grants implementation, and supervising 1-2 staff members.
Communicating with grantees and maintaining and growing a network of grantees in Caucasus and Central Asia and on the regional and international level.
Soliciting policy-related research and coordinating OSI publications on relevant regional topics.
Outreach to journalists to promote informed media coverage.
Extensive collaboration and internal communication with other divisions of the Open Society Institute, other donors, and advocacy partners.
Regular travel to Washington, D.C. and to Europe and Caucasus and Central Asia.
REQUIREMENTS:
Masters Degree or higher
Excellent organizational, communication, and analytical skills;
Capacity to work independently and in a team;
Extensive regional knowledge;
Strong verbal and writing skills in English;
Fluency in Russian strongly desirable; knowledge of Turkmen, Uzbek or other Turkic languages a plus;
Advocacy experience and strong familiarity with international human rights norms a plus;
10 years experience working in human rights, journalism and with civil society;
Knowledge of governance issues within the energy sector a plus;
Personal discretion in handling issues of human security and security of information.
COMPENSATION: Commensurate with experience. Excellent benefit package.
START DATE: Immediately
TO APPLY: E-mail resume, cover letter and references, by April 4, 2008, to humanresources@sorosny.org Include job code in subject line: SPO/TURK/CEA
OR
Open Society Institute
Human Resources – Code SPO/TURK/CEA
400 West 59th Street
New York, New York 10019
No phone calls, please. The Open Society Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
