Program Officer, Economic Growth

IRD is seeking a Program Officer for our Economic Growth & Development Unit. IRD's Economic Development programs strengthen the capacity of individuals and communities to protect lives, respond to recurring disasters, and strengthen human capital investment. IRD focuses on sustainable agriculture, livelihoods security, micro-enterprise development, and local economic planning. The ideal candidate for this position should be knowledgeable of USAID regulations as they pertain to project implementation, and will ideally possess skills/experience pertinent to IRD's current areas of implementation (Afghanistan, Columbia, Eastern Europe, etc).

Main Responsibilities:

- Program development activities, including field work and proposal writing;
- Handling general backstopping duties, such as project approvals and review of budgets and fund requests;
- Assisting in the drafting of quarterly, semi-annual and annual reports;
- Maintaining daily contact with field staff and communicating key issues to Senior Management;
- Monitoring results of existing programs to assure that they meet established targets;
- Other duties as assigned.

 Required Skills:

- Foreign language skills; French and/or Arabic especially valued
- Strong proposal writing skills

Required Experience:

- Bachelor's degree in a relevant field, such as business administration or economics;
- Master's degree strongly preferred;
- At least five years of experience in economic development in one or more of the following areas in a field and/or home office setting: livelihoods interventions, micro-enterprise development, microfinance, small and medium-scale enterprise development, and local economic development;
- Prior experience with value chain analysis is a plus;
- Experience working in conflict and post-conflict settings is a plus;
- Candidates must be willing to travel up to 25% of the time, sometimes on short notice.