NDI-Nepal is seeking candidates for a Senior/Program Officer position to support the program country team in the planning, design and implementation of the Democratic Processes Project, a five year program funded by USAID that works to strengthen civil society to engage political actors more effectively, and to support Nepal’s E-governance Commission to facilitate policy reforms. This position is contingent on donor funding and based in Kathmandu.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Contributes to the design, oversight and implementation of the program;
• Assists in designing and organizing workshops, trainings and activities; when necessary conducts sessions for partners;
• Serves as point of contact and primary liaison for NDI’s key stakeholders, such as civil society, political parties, members of parliament and other stakeholders; build and maintain collaborative and strong working relationships with key partners/focal persons; maintain frequent contact with these partners and briefs them about NDI activities; represents NDI at appropriate events;
• Maintains a collaborative working relationship and team atmosphere within the program team as well as with the rest of NDI’s team in Kathmandu;
• Assists and coordinates with Administrative/Finance team in monitoring budgets and expenditures and review monthly reconciliations;
• Prepares a draft weekly report for NDI-DC, including political and programmatic updates in country;
• Travels as necessary around the program targeted districts to implement, supervise and monitor program activities.
• Assists and coordinates with the M&E staff to provide lists and data regularly, measure impact of programs;
• Participates in and contributes to regular meetings with program partners to gather input for program needs;
• Drafts briefing memos, reports and concept notes with some editing; drafts portions of quarterly reports and the work plans; reviews and edit reports submitted by partner organizations;
• Willing to work longer hours if required;
• Closely follows and analyzes political developments in Nepal; develops draft program concepts for proposals based on those developments;
• Collaborates with stakeholders, monitoring and evaluation, and administrative teams and managers in the development of NDI-Nepal annual work plan and performance monitoring plan;
• Maintains strict neutrality in dealings with the Institute's program related activities;
• Sets up high level meetings with senior political party leaders for the Lead Country Representative and Program Manager;
• Willing to work across NDI's team and programs when required; and
• Performs other assignments as and when necessary assigned by Program Manager and/or Lead Country Representative.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in International Relations, Political Science or a related subject; graduate degree preferred;
• A minimum of four (4) years relevant work experience with an international organization, community organizing, political activism, organizational development or legislative affairs;
• Additional years of relevant work experience may be substituted for educational requirements on a one-for-one basis.

• A Master’s/graduate degree;
• A minimum of six (6) years of relevant work experience is required;
• Experience in program design and how to strategize is necessary.
• Previous experience with international grants administration or NDI experience preferred.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Excellent ability to multitask and produce quality work in a tight deadline
• Very organized
• Excellent interpersonal skills to effectively interact with all levels of staff, international personnel and political partners and party representatives;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills to effectively present information, respond to questions and prepare draft written reports in a professional manner;
• Capacity to work both independently and as a member of a team;
• Ability to think critically; define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions;
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Office Programs; and Microsoft excel
• Experience with Google Apps (Gmail, Calendar, Google Drive, G+, etc.) strongly desired;
• Good knowledge of budget and accounting procedures;
• Ability and willingness to travel to regional locations, which are often remote and difficult to reach;
• Deep knowledge of national political environment, civil society organizations; parties and political leaders;
• Able to perform advanced political analysis on political and programmatic developments;
• Good English writing, speaking and translating skills;
• Ability to effectively articulate NDI mission statements and program/project initiatives;
• Excellent attention to detail and ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously and meet deadlines;
• Ability to apply discretion and maintain confidential information.