Job Summary
Every employee of IRI is responsible for carrying out the Mission of IRI and demonstrating the Core Values in their day-to-day operations. The Core Values, which are IRI’s foundational building blocks include:
Excellence– We believe in quality results delivered by investing in people. Freedom– We believe in exploration and experimentation to be agile and responsive. Respect- We believe in trust, empathy, and empowering people. Teamwork- We believe in diversity, inclusion, and the power of global collaboration. Transparency– We believe in open communication and clear decision-making. Accountability- We believe in personal responsibility as the foundation of success.
The Strategic Affairs Advisor provides strategic support for the office and is responsible for assisting the senior management and Resident Country Director to expand IRI’s reputation for thought leadership on democracy and governance issues, engage and expand networks within democracy and governance community, and to oversee and participate in the implementation of strategic and thematic programming initiatives.
Position Requirements
- Master’s degree in political science, international relations or related field.
- Seven or more years related experience, or equivalent combination, working in or with a focus on democracy and governance issues, to include engaging with stakeholders and thought leaders. Experience with social media analysis, including disinformation; experience conducting and analyzing qualitative and quantitate research; and experience with external communications and government affairs preferred.
- Working knowledge of politics, economics, history and culture of Tunisia; experience working with political systems. Experience and knowledge of political campaigns in Tunisia preferred.
- Strong profile as a subject-matter expert required.
- Experience identifying complex problems and developing creative solutions.
- Ability to work independently and as a member of a team to coordinate and lead the efforts of other professionals to effectively meet organizational needs.
- Strong communications and presentation skills in English.
Primary Functions & Responsibilities
- Works with the Resident Country Director (RCD) and senior management with input from program staff to develop and manage short- and long-term strategies.
- Serves as a resource for program staff to address implementation challenges and develop innovative program ideas for program development and new funding outreach efforts.
- Analyzes and reports on political and related developments.
- Travel as needed to support key programming and business development initiatives, including political and program assessments, high-level program activities, donor and USG/host government meetings, election observations, etc.
- Contributes to identification and analysis of new funding opportunities and supports program teams to pursue through capture processes and proposal development.
- Assists the RPD with external relations, including with government representatives, political party leaders, civic leaders, etc.
- Actively supports IRI’s communication strategy, including by organizing and participating in high-level events on democracy and governance issues, and producing regular analytical content for external publication. Leads IRI social media strategy.
- Drives the development and presentation of external communications products, including survey research, program success stories, etc.
- Maintains a pulse on IRI’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning processes for the purpose of synthesizing data and MEL into senior level thinking.
- Oversees various projects objectives and ensures that staff, consultants and partners are kept on track to achieve results.
- Conducts and leads implementation of specific strategic, thematic and research projects, on topics such as civic and voter education and the role of political parties and civil society, as designated by the RCD.
- Performs other duties as assigned.