Program Officer, Catholic Sisters, Africa

International hotelier Conrad N. Hilton established the grantmaking foundation that bears his name in 1944 to help people living in poverty and experiencing disadvantage worldwide. Today, the work continues, concentrating on efforts to ensure healthy early childhood development and sustainable livelihoods for youth, support young people transitioning out of foster care, improve access to housing and support services for people experiencing homelessness, identify solutions to safe water access, and lift the work of Catholic sisters. Additionally, following selection by an independent, international jury, the Foundation annually awards the $2.5 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to an organization doing extraordinary work to reduce human suffering. The Foundation is one of the world's largest, with approximately $8.5 billion in assets. It has awarded grants to date totaling more than $2.4 billion, $339 million worldwide in 2021. Please visit http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/">www.hiltonfoundation.org for more information.

**Cover letter required for consideration**

Job Summary

The Program Officer (PO) is an essential member of the Catholic Sisters team, supports the Foundation's Strategic grant-making, and serves as a key thought partner. The primary responsibilities will be managing the Catholic Sisters strategic initiative's grant portfolio. This role will work closely with the Senior Program Officer (SPO) to design, implement, and monitor a portfolio of grants related to the Catholic Sisters Strategic initiative. The Program Officer will also help identify potential grantees, assist with proposal development, provide grantee technical support, and monitor grant progress.

The ideal candidate possesses experience working with Catholic Sisters and international and human development issues, particularly in Africa. Is a proactive team player with outstanding multi-tasking skills. The individual must have excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to understand, interpret, and translate qualitative and quantitative data or have knowledge about Catholic Social Teaching (CST).

The PO is expected to resolve time-sensitive issues with high precision and exhibit exceptional organizational, written, and verbal communication skills. Attention to detail and the ability to anticipate needs are a must. This role will report to the Senior Program Officer.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Portfolio Management

• Participates in the identification of potential grantees and projects
• Reviews proposals and works with the SPO to determine which ones will be further developed and recommended for funding
• Presents recommended proposals for funding at board meetings, as needed
• Provides counsel to organizations invited to develop proposals
• Reviews and refines grant-write-ups and assists in writing, preparing other materials for the quarterly board of directors' meetings
• Monitors portfolio of grants for the Catholic Sisters Initiative and other projects as assigned
• Monitors and evaluates grants and grantee performance, including timely completion of all progress reports, and shares feedback to the SPO
• Acts as a thought partner to recommend financial inclusion models for grants
• Recommends deviations from approved plans and budgets, and ensures that such changes are documented
• Conducts site visits, as needed.

Strategic Support and Communications

• Acts as thought partner and provides support to SPO in planning, development and implementation process, as needed
• Supports in various aspects of grantees research, maintenances of information and project implementation in the USA and Africa
• Support programmatic planning in view of financial sustainability for partners
• Works with SPO and Monitor Evaluation and Learner (MEL) external partners on convening planning and attends strategy convenings
• Works with SPO to identify the need for consultants within the program area; plans scope of work for contracts and develops terms of contract and monitor progress
• Support the Program Associate (PA) to complete tasks and activities on projects in a systemic, coordinated and sequential manner
• Supports SPO's work with communications team to develop communication strategy for the Catholic Sisters initiative
• Writes blog/articles for the website and supervises web-site content and updates.

Monitoring, Documenting and Reporting

• Collaborates with Catholic Sisters team members to ensure the timely submission of grantee reports
• Documents good practices and synthesis of lessons learned to ensure that they are incorporated into the grantmaking process
• Supports the Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Officer and grantees in obtaining and documenting success stories, news articles, contributes to the website, newsletter, etc.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in international development, business administration, social sciences, theological sciences, or related field
• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant work experience in global program development particularly in Africa
• Knowledge and experience working with Catholic sisters, international development, and policy issues and the funding landscape
• Experience and understanding of the local context in African countries
• Ability to assess the leadership, track record, fiscal health, and capacity of a nonprofit organization to lead a proposed program or project
• Demonstrated ability to think critically about program design and implementation
• Understands quantitative and qualitative data; ability to ask key questions; experience with data analytics and evaluation
• Creative, flexible, and collaborative with an ability to work in a team-oriented environment; demonstrates a high degree of initiative; results-oriented
• Ability to continually seek information and look for new approaches to processes and practices
• Welcomes feedback as a means to personal and professional growth. Growth mindset
• Excellent written and oral communication, presentation skills and the ability to clearly articulate ideas
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally.

Desired:

• Graduate degree international development, business administration, social sciences, theological sciences, finance, or related field
• A Catholic background and understanding of Catholic sisters and Catholic Social Teachings (CST) principles or faith based grantmaking, international development, and non-profit sector.

• Accra, Ghana
• Nairobi, Kenya
• Kampala, Uganda
• Lusaka, Zambia

About our Benefits

We value the health and well-being of our employees, some of the benefits we offer include:

• Comprehensive and generous health and life insurance options
• Relocation Pay
• Fitness benefits
• Paid holidays, time off, and parental leave
• Flexible work schedules and technology benefits
• Foundation funded retirement savings plan
• Professional learning and development and educational assistance
• Employee matching gifts to qualified non-profit organizations

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