Programme Officer, Panama

at  International IDEA

CONTEXT

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance – International IDEA – is an Inter-Governmental Organization that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. Its objective is to strengthen democratic institutions and processes. The Institute acts as a catalyst for democracy building by providing global comparative knowledge resources and tools, policy proposals and supporting democratic reforms in response to specific national requests, specifically in electoral processes, constitution building processes, political participation and representation, democracy and climate change, and democracy and digitalization.
On February 1, 2021 the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean was established in Panamá. From there we work with democratic institutions throughout Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region to increase the effectiveness and legitimacy of democracy, its institutions and to support gender equality in politics. Based on a geographic approach, our LAC programme responds to requests of regional, sub-regional and national actors, builds capacity through technical assistance, comparative applied knowledge resources and provides spaces for dialogue. The LAC programme is a significant partner and an agenda setter in many countries where it provides expert technical assistance.
The Programme Officer, under the supervision of the Director, Latin America and the Caribbean Region will coordinate the development and management of Regional Office programme activities and projects, at both regional and national level. The Programme Officer will also ensure that International IDEA´s Strategy, workstreams and cross-cutting issues are properly reflected in all projects and activities. The Programme Officer will coordinate with the Finance and Operations Manager to promote a holistic approach in the development of all projects and activities.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• University degree in public policy, law, political science, sociology, public administration, international relations, Latin American Studies or other related discipline. A qualification in gender studies will be an asset;
• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience working on issues of democracy and governance, including: participation, representation, political parties, rule of law, integrity, anti-corruption practices, gender quality and women empowerment, preferably in different types of organizations (national and international);
• In-depth knowledge and experience in Latin America and the Caribbean is essential;
• Experience with resource mobilization, project design and management and grant compliance procedures is essential;
• Experience in conducting research and producing knowledge products;
• Fluency in written and oral English and Spanish is required; Any other widely spoken language in an International IDEA priority region would be an asset.

• Contributes to the design and implementation of programme activities and projects at both the national and regional level;
• Supports the Regional Programmes’ work on gender equality and inclusion, and political participation and representation;
• Assesses and analyzes political developments in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region, and advises the LAC programme on substantive areas of work to ensure International IDEA continues to be at the forefront of democracy and electoral issues;
• Creates mechanisms and opportunities to enable exchange of information and experiences within the LAC Programme;
• Establishes alliances and identifies synergies with key stakeholders and strategic partners; maintains relationships and leads the implementation of activities of common interest;
• Supports the Director, Latin America and the Caribbean in their representative function; supports the preparation of missions, drafts briefing notes and presentations;
• Promotes dialogue and consensus building among political actors in LAC;
• Coordinates the planning and organization of events including conferences, seminars and roundtables;
• Supports the design and facilitation of workshops and training in accordance with the project’s workplan;
• Supports the Director LAC Region in all fundraising efforts, including, but not limited to
• monitoring of call for proposals and/or new opportunities, communication with possible donors
• and development and negotiation of concept notes and project proposals;
• Conducts substantive research and coordinates the development of knowledge products, resources and publications.