Beyond Conflict is searching for an entrepreneurial, innovative, and ambitious team player to lead its program team. The Chief Program Officer will oversee all program and research activities and bear primary responsibility for programmatic strategic planning and growth. The Chief Program Officer will also build and manage the organization’s emerging Science-Informed Design consulting practice.
The successful candidate for this role should have extensive experience facilitating strategic mission-driven planning processes, overseeing a diverse portfolio of projects, coaching and mentoring staff, generating revenue for nonprofit organizations, and enabling evidence-based learning. The Chief Program Officer will work with the Director of Development to construct a revenue generation strategy. Together with program staff, they will help secure grants, contracts, and major gifts that further Beyond Conflict’s work.
Responsibilities
Responsibilities will include but are not limited to the following:
Strategy Development and Thought Leadership
● Provide strategic direction, leadership, and vision for Beyond Conflict’s research and programs, including evaluating potential new programs and new applications for existing programs
● Build and lead an emerging consulting practice that will deliver services to clients using Beyond Conflict’s Science-Informed Design methodology and generate earned revenue for the organization
● Identify and recommend research consultants, institutions, and resource centers with which Beyond Conflict can partner or collaborate
● Assist with the design of research projects, including randomized control studies
● Oversee the strategic release and dissemination of research reports and publications; communicate key research findings to external audiences through briefings, reports, webinar and/or conference presentations, op-eds, articles, white papers, and other materials
● Establish and serve as the primary point of contact with a Scientific Advisory Board; identify and recruit well-respected thought leaders to inform, lend credibility, and enhance the visibility of Beyond Conflict’s research
Business Development and Fundraising
● Work closely with the Director of Development and Program Directors to secure a multi-million-dollar diverse funding stream to support Beyond Conflict’s work, including private grants and government grants and contracts
● Develop and maintain relationships with key donors and implementing partners
● Collaborate with the communications staff to convey Beyond Conflict’s impact to a broader audience
Management and Staff Supervision
● Manage staff, consultants, and researchers, including providing guidance on strategic planning and fundraising; develop opportunities for capacity building and personal development of staff
● Create a department budget and regularly monitor expenses to ensure alignment with the approved annual spending plan
● Develop, implement and regularly review and update relevant policies and procedures
● Support other organizational priorities, given the flexibility required of all staff in a small and fast-paced organization
Experience
Beyond Conflict is open to a variety of backgrounds but top candidates will typically have the following:
● Advanced degree in a field of relevance to existing program areas (Ph.D. is preferred but not required)
● At least ten years of senior management experience in the non-profit sector, with strong preference for experience in international development or peacebuilding fields
● Specific experience leading programmatic work that intersects with at least one of Beyond Conflict’s program areas of trauma, countering dehumanization and violence in conflict, racism and exclusion, and polarization
● Demonstrated successful track record in the development and implementation of innovative, responsive, and fundable programs
● Experience developing and expanding multi-faceted programs including a demonstrated ability to develop strategy, secure resources, and manage multiple complex projects in various global locations with a multidisciplinary team, in both remote and local locations
● Proven track record of fundraising, including securing six and seven figure contributions and grants, and ability to initiate and steward investments from philanthropic leaders, foundations, government, and corporate sources
● Thorough understanding of federal regulatory requirements and compliance related to programs and services is preferred
● Experience overseeing and supporting program staff in meeting their objectives and creating a collegial work environment.
Skills
● Willingness and ability to leverage a personal network of relevant contacts and be able to strategically enhance it for the advancement of Beyond Conflict’s objectives and goals
● Proven ability to set strategies and drive these to completion against a predefined set of goals
● Ability to manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously with an attention to detail
● Ability to work well in a fast paced, entrepreneurial and dynamic environment
● Ability to work collaboratively as part of a management team, lead a team of dedicated individuals, present to a board of directors, and maintain collegial working relationships with staff members at all levels
● Strong executive presence, maturity and self-awareness
● A commitment to respecting and increasing diversity through inclusive practices
● Superior written communication skills to effectively educate and influence diverse audiences
● A confident public speaker as well as a strong and dynamic communicator who can represent Beyond Conflict effectively to stakeholders across global communities, including an ability to explain observations and findings to diverse stakeholder audiences
To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to jobs@beyondconflictint.org. Please put Chief Program Officer in the subject line. Your cover letter should express your interest in working for Beyond Conflict and your qualifications for the role.
For nearly 30 years, Beyond Conflict has created powerful and innovative frameworks to open pathways for progress in peace talks, transitions to democracy, and national reconciliation in the aftermath of division and violence in over 75 countries. Building on this body of experience, we have partnered with cognitive and behavioral scientists to bring forward a new framework at the intersection of behavioral science and real-world experience. Beyond Conflict’s goal is to apply behavioral science to program design and promote new tools that address the causes and consequences of division and violence in the United States and abroad.
Beyond Conflict is based in Boston, Massachusetts. Its staff works remotely.