ACBAR

OSA Background:

Open Society Afghanistan is a donor organization and part of the global Open Society Foundations (OSF). OSA works to build a vibrant and tolerant society whose government is accountable and open to the participation of all people. We seek to strengthen rule of law and increase respect for human rights, minorities’ rights, and diversity of opinions. We support democratically elected governments and a civil society that keeps the government’s power in check. We help to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and

economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights. We implement initiatives to advance justice, education, human rights, constitutionalism, and independent media. We build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as corruption and freedom of information. Working in every part of the world, the Open Society Foundations place a high priority on protecting and improving the lives of marginalized people.

Today many groups in Afghanistan advance agendas of intolerance and attack civic space by undermining human rights. These anti-democratic forces promote a narrative that discourages tolerance and pluralism in the Afghan society that is fundamentally diverse in every imaginable dimension. The continuation and growth of this trend will lead to increased self-censorship, reduced interest in democratic political processes, and marginalization of artistic or intellectual dissent if remained unchecked and unchallenged.

Position:

Open Society Afghanistan is looking for a full-time program officer to join its Kabul office. The officer will report to the Program Manager and the Country Director and assist them in implementing OSA’s current strategy on countering intolerance. S/he will primarily engage in grant-making in this sector by evaluating OSA’s current grantees and mapping potential partners.

General Responsibilities:

•The officer will be responsible to assist and revise as necessary OSA’s strategy related to her work in coordination with the Program Manager and Country Director through a portfolio review process.

•She will assist other program officers on her portfolio related questions and capacity development of their grantees and for their projects,

•Expand and maintain OSA’s network and relationships with government agencies, good governance organizations, and organizations working on public policy, peace, government accountability and public institution building.

•Map the NGO landscape in Afghanistan and develop strategies to support civil society organization to promote a culture of tolerance;

•Carry out any other tasks as assigned by the Program Manager and the Country Director.

Implementation and Coordination Responsibilities:

•Create, maintain, and support working groups on good governance and public policy, by serving as the main coordinator and facilitator.

•Maintain active membership and participation in other civil society alliances and networks working on specific advocacy goals that are related to OSA’s strategic priorities.

•Research and produce reports on issues related to tolerance as requested by other Open Society initiatives or foundations or the Program Manager as required.

•Grant making Responsibilities:

•Under supervision of the Country Director and Program Manager, the program officer will develop and review projects proposals and recommend projects to give grant;

•She will develop field analysis, perform portfolio review, and develop her annual budget;

•Review and assess letters of inquiry and make funding recommendations;

•Maintain and process grant data in an online database;

•Evaluate organizations applying for grants by investigating their governance, leadership, financial health, impact, and reputation (Eligibility Assessment);

•Evaluate narrative and financial reports of grantees to ensure administrative and legal compliance;

•Monitor and evaluate projects, including site-visits of prospective and current grantees;

•Liaise with area specialists and donors to identify opportunities for new projects or prospective grantees;

•Ensure that grantees submit narrative and financial reports as required under the terms of contract;

•Write and edit program materials and guidelines.

Qualifications:

•Minimum 5 years of experience working in the peace building, good governance, public policy, or similar field with an organization working in Afghanistan.

•Grant making experience a strong advantage;

•Excellent communication skills in Dari or Pashto and English required.

•Strong analysis and research skills required.

•Demonstrated advocacy experience required.

•Experience in monitoring and evaluation and capacity building highly desired.

•The candidate should be able to work independently and as member of team;

•And must be willing and able to travel extensively.

Submission Guideline:

•Cover letters should be no more than 1 page. CVs should be no more than 2 pages.

•Please include three references, at least one of which must have been a direct supervisor in previous or current employment. The second and third must have been a colleague at a similar level of employment, or an employee supervised by the candidate.

•Please closely review the required qualifications; DO NOT APPLY, if you cannot meet them.

•Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews.

•No phone calls, please. The Open Society Foundations is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

•All applications should emailed to:

The subject line of the email should be: OSA-Tolerance

amina.alkozai@opensocietyfoundations.org, Yameenullah.yameen@opensocietyfoundations.org