Senior Program Officer

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World Learning seeks a Senior Program Officer for the Experiment in International Living. The Senior Program Officer will oversee and manage the day-to-day international partner relationship operations for approximately 20 international partners across the globe and will ensure partners develop and deliver high quality program content and logistics, comply with Experiment policies and procedures, and meet deadlines for contracts, itineraries, logistics, and budgets. This person will also hire, train, evaluate, and supervise program staff who manage international partnerships; write custom program proposals; and develop and implement new and existing programs to help meet the Experiment’s enrollment goals, and generate additional revenue for The Experiment.

Responsibilities

Program Management and Oversight

• Provide overall management and oversight of program portfolio;
• Maintain working knowledge of current issues, risks, and emerging trends in portfolio regions, while encouraging program staff to be fully immersed in regional understanding;
• Build and maintain strong relationships with international partner staff and offices;
• Manage and establish consistent international partner processes and systems for effective delivery and implementation of high-quality academic study abroad programs for high school aged students in strategic areas such as:
• Program content;
• Experiment policies;
• Partner capacity training;
• Medical accommodations;
• Program Evaluations;
• Oversee and inspire key programmatic innovations;
• Coordinate with SIT academic staff to support accredited program design and management;
• Oversee, develop, and support The Experiment’s evaluation systems and tools, and conduct annual or as-needed review panels of programmatic and risk assessment evaluation reports to review the quality of The Experiment programs and to assess new program ideas and trends;
• Manage and streamline the communication flow between Admissions, Operations, Experiment families, and international partners in preparation for the Experiment programs;
• Attend and fully engage in the delivery of Staff Training (ST), including:
• contributing to workshop design (prior to ST),
• session facilitation and content delivery (during ST),
• administration of Staff Training – van driving, sweeping, setting up classrooms, supply runs, etc. as assigned;
• Maintain a thorough understanding of all policies and procedures as laid out in the Youth Exchange Team Handbook (updated annually);
• Review, edit, and create content for the Youth Exchange Team Handbook as assigned;
• Serve as key member of the on-call team, advising leaders, partners, families, and staff on student management and program oversight decisions
• trouble-shoot student and group incidents, including the investigation, documentation, and advisement on special issues.

People and Team Management

• Provide leadership and management for The Experiment program staff;
• Manage the day-to-day tasks of The Experiment Programs team including:
• administering essential Experiment tools such as contracts, budgets, and reports, (collaborating with the Budgets and Contracts Coordinator where applicable); and
• streamlining and managing the implementation of processes such as partner communication, catalog and web content production, and budget administration;
• Build and maintain effective cross-departmental relationships across the institution and ensure staff compliance by working with colleagues in senior management, Finance, Compliance, Human Resources, Philanthropy, Admissions, Operations, Student Health, Safety and Wellbeing, SIT staff and faculty, and MARCOM as needed;
• Oversee hiring decisions for The Experiment program team, work with HR as well as coordinate onboarding;
• Coordinate intra-team collaborations, programmatic alignments, and shared projects across Youth Exchange program portfolio;
• Manage and mentor program staff while maintaining a productive and positive work environment; These tasks include:
• Coaching and supervising staff through regular oversight of job and program related responsibilities;
• Mentoring staff year-round by modeling and encouraging appropriate work/life balance and supporting strong time management;
• Collaborate with Youth Exchange leadership to support staff’s professional development and learning, within their roles and responsibilities, through trainings and other opportunities as identified;
• Leading performance management process and conduct annual performance evaluations;

Budgeting and Financial Management

• Manage and report on international partner program margins from year to year for the entire Experiment classic portfolio;
• Conduct strategic monitoring and oversight of all program expense increases for each program every cycle to control costs and maintain strong net profit margins;
• Authorize, monitor, and reconcile disbursement of all project funds in complete and timely compliance with Accounting Department requirements and guidelines (coordinating with Budgets and Contracts Coordinator where appropriate);
• Manage budget oversight for all Experiment programs through regular financial review, annual budget forecasting, and evaluation and approval of all partner program budgets (coordinating with Budgets and Contracts Coordinator where appropriate);
• Coordinate with Operations Team to outline leader expenses and budgets for each program;

Business and Organizational Development

• Contribute to and support strategic growth, new business initiatives, and market research in coordination with Experiment/WL business units (Admissions, MARCOM, and Business Development) through participation in design and development meetings;
• Provide relevant programmatic information for the annual catalog process;
• Conduct regular strategic planning and evaluation exercises to keep the program portfolio responsive to current market trends, and The Experiment’s vision and goals;
• Contribute to determination of annual Experiment program portfolio – in coordination with Admissions and MARCOM teams;
• Manage the development of The Experiment’s custom outbound programs, including proposal writing and production, and coordination of the design in collaboration with the Admissions, Operations, and other World Learning teams;
• Oversee the partner management and implementation of The Experiment’s custom outbound programs – assigning ownership to other members of the Youth Exchange team where appropriate; and
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• BA in education or international arena or five (5) years equivalent. Master’s Degree concentrated in international education/youth development arena preferred;
• At least six (6) plus years programming experience;
• Understanding of experiential education and youth empowerment pedagogies, with demonstrated examples of incorporating these pedagogies in professional work;
• Interest in the policy and regulatory requirements for providing student services in the high school study abroad context;
• Experience with international programs, event management, or youth programming;
• Experience with monitoring and evaluation of projects;
• People management experience;
• Project management experience;
• Excellent organizational ability;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in the English language;
• Computer proficient, i.e. comfortable with Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint et al), cloud-based document management and online project management tools;
• Knowledge of and experience with proposal development, project design, and budgeting;
• Team-oriented and collaborative work style, while skilled in managing independent tasks and deadlines;
• Creative problem-solver and adaptable, with strong attention to detail;
• International residence or international travel experience, with demonstrated cross-cultural competencies;
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously, coordinate activities in multiple locations (U.S. and overseas), and to prioritize competing tasks;
• Willingness to work outside of regular business hours as needed during high travel season.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally when assigned;
• Has a DEI Mindset: Fosters diverse, equitable, and inclusive practices and challenges practices which may be exclusionary;
• Ability to manage ambiguity in the work environment including effectively coping with change; able to shift comfortably; decide and act without having the total picture; comfortably handle risk and uncertainty; and
• Experience working with remote teams desirable.

Why World Learning For more than 85 years, World Learning has worked to create a more peaceful, sustainable, and just world. Our education, development, and exchange programs help people find their voices, connect with their communities, and strengthen the institutions that form the backbone of a democratic society. With our support, these emerging leaders tackle critical global issues like poverty, conflict, and inequality. As a thriving international nonprofit organization with impact in 150 countries, World Learning works across six major program areas. We’re hard at work improving global education to ensure schools and teachers have the tools they need to support students - including English language instruction through our TESOL teacher training. We encourage civic engagement in communities around the world, and we strengthen institutions so that they can best serve their constituencies. Our workforce development programs help people cultivate the hard and soft skills they need to succeed. And we offer people-to-people exchanges for people of all ages who seek professional and academic enrichment. All World Learning programs are grounded in five key approaches: experiential learning, leadership development, inclusive practices, innovation, and grants management. We believe in partnering with local experts, organizations, and institutions to find solutions that will truly work for each community. Together, we create the foundations for a better tomorrow. World Learning is a member of the World Learning Inc. family, which also includes The Experiment in International Living and School for International Training. World Learning is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action/veterans/ADA employer, committed to increasing the diversity of its workforce.