Program Manager -Strengthening Civic Engagement Activity (Kazakhstan)

Position Title: Program Manager

Position Status: Full-Time

Vacancies: 1 – Hiring for this position is contingent on funding.

Location: This position can be based in Almaty or Astana, Kazakhstan and will require frequent travel throughout the region.

Salary: Commensurate with experience. PartnersGlobal offers a competitive salary and benefits package.

This position is not covered under a Collective Bargaining Agreement between PartnersGlobal and the Office and Professional Employees International Union, Local 2, AFL-CIO.

ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND

PartnersGlobal (previously Partners for Democratic Change), established in 1989, is an international, non-governmental organization committed to building sustainable capacity to advance democratic institutions, civil society, and a culture of peaceful change and conflict management worldwide. PartnersGlobal specializes in organizational development and social entrepreneurship, having provided the seed capital and technical assistance to establish 21 independent, local Centers around the world.

PartnersGlobal adheres to the values of participatory decision-making, collaboration, and consensus-building as the fundamentals of an inclusive, democratic society; and we promote the application of these skills in all aspects of our work. The PartnersGlobal team includes process and technical experts, facilitators, and trainers who apply those collaborative skills to achieve concrete results in technical areas such as rule of law development, women’s empowerment, security sector reform, and natural resource management. Our network of local Centers is renowned for undertaking cutting edge work and applying our process expertise to convene disparate parties to jointly tackle some of the most complex development challenges.

POSITION OVERVIEW

PartnersGlobal seeks a Program Manager to provide overall management and direction for the technical components for the anticipated five-year USAID- funded Strengthening Civic Engagement activity in Kazakhstan. The objective of the activity is to cultivate an independent and effective civil society to expand the rights of Kazakhstani citizens and is structured around three core objectives:

• Strengthen Public Engagement: Foster collective action to advance Kazakhstan’s reform priorities.
• Support Innovative Solutions: Empower civil society to apply innovative approaches to help people claim their fundamental rights.
• Enhance Regulatory Environment: Improve the regulatory framework to enable civil society to maximize their contributions to society.

The Program Manager will provide program leadership and management throughout the entire program lifecycle, including start-up, ensuring successful implementation and integration of project activities.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage and oversee the technical components of the program, ensuring activities are implemented effectively and meet project goals.
• Supervise project staff, providing direction and support to achieve high performance.
• Develop and maintain organizational systems to track program activities and outcomes.
• Foster communication and build consensus among diverse groups and individuals involved in the project.
• Integrate inclusive perspectives, such as gender and youth considerations, into program activities.
• Monitor and evaluate project outcomes, ensuring compliance with donor requirements.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for stakeholders, facilitating effective communication and collaboration.

This job posting summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. PartnersGlobal reserves the right to review and revise duties and responsibilities at any time to ensure project success.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in social sciences, international development, social work, law, public policy/administration or related field. Master’s degree is preferred but not required and 5 years of relevant work experience managing complex, large-scale donor-funded program, including at least 3 years of experience in a supervisory role.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated skills in conflict management and negotiation, with the ability to build consensus among diverse groups.
• Knowledge of integrating inclusive perspectives in program activities.
• Experience in monitoring and evaluating activity outcomes.
• Expertise in cultivating partnerships and fostering collaboration diverse stakeholders, in line with PartnersGlobal’s mission of promoting authentic partnership and accompaniment in building resilient civic spaces.
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and deliver quality outputs under pressure.
• Ability to lead and manage project team and operations remotely and ability to adapt management approaches.
• Must have professional-level English and Kazakh proficiency, both written and oral.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ability to exercise sound and timely judgment and maintain the confidentiality of sensitive information.
• Critical thinker with a can-do approach to problem-solving, disaggregating larger/complex problems to identify underlying drivers and critical nuances.
• Ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks.
• High degree of professionalism and ability to deal sensitively with confidential information.
• Strong interpersonal (verbal and written) communication skills.
• Russian language skills preferred.
• Kazakhstan citizenship or residency with work authorization strongly preferred.

PartnersGlobal is an EEO Employer

At PartnersGlobal, we have a clear vision: to be the place where a diverse mix of talented people want to come, to stay and do their best work. Diversity is more than a commitment at PartnersGlobal—it is the foundation of what we do. We are fully focused on equality and believe deeply in diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin and all the other fascinating characteristics that make us different. As an equal opportunity employer, PartnersGlobal recruits, employs, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, HIV/AIDS status, political affiliations or belief, pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please contact our Director of Human Resources & Talent Management, Edith Kardouni, at [email protected] for assistance. We welcome the opportunity to discuss accommodation of your disability and ensure fairness in our hiring process.