Senior Program Officer II, Community College Initiative Program

IREX•Washington, DC

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

IREX seeks a Senior Program Officer II to support the U.S. Department of State’s Community College Initiative (CCI) Program. The role is part of IREX’s Global Impact Hub and provides leadership in designing and delivering mission-driven programs. The officer oversees complex workstreams and deliverables, manages budgets, compliance, and partner relationships, guides team members, and translates strategy into coordinated implementation. The position supports CCI programming focused on workforce innovation, community college-industry partnerships, advanced manufacturing, super intelligence, energy and critical minerals, and supply chain and logistics. It includes program operations and administration; participant, partner, and stakeholder engagement; financial, procurement, and grant support; team leadership and continuous improvement; and support for partnerships and new business development. The position is based at IREX headquarters in Washington, DC. It requires in-person work under IREX’s Flexible Work Policy, currently at least two days (16 hours) per week in the office, including Wednesday. Domestic travel may be required as needed. Candidates must have unrestricted authorization to work in the United States; the position is not eligible for immigration sponsorship.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree.
At least 8 years of progressive experience supporting or managing complex programs, projects, or initiatives, including implementation planning, deliverables, budgets, compliance, reporting, and stakeholder engagement.
Ability to oversee multiple workstreams, establish priorities and deadlines, resolve implementation challenges, and deliver high-quality results with appropriate independence and judgment.
Experience directing or supervising others, delegating responsibilities, providing guidance and feedback, and supporting staff development and accountability.
Ability to develop and maintain effective relationships with donors, participants, partners, government counterparts, educational institutions, private sector organizations, and other stakeholders.
Strong financial management skills, including budget development or oversight, forecasting, expenditure monitoring, procurement, and compliance with organizational and donor requirements.
Experience designing and delivering convenings, exchanges, trainings, workshops, site visits, or other participant-centered programming.
Experience building partnerships between colleges or TVET institutions and employers and translating industry and workforce needs into responsive program and training design.
Ability to use data, feedback, and learning to monitor progress, improve program quality, and support evidence-informed decisions.
Experience developing and executing strategic recruitment and outreach campaigns to achieve program objectives.
Excellent written and oral communication skills, including preparing and reviewing reports, work plans, briefing materials, presentations, and external correspondence, and representing an organization with professional audiences.
Strong cross-cultural communication, facilitation, collaboration, organization, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work effectively across teams and time zones.
Ability to travel domestically as needed.
Unrestricted authorization to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting institutional change within community colleges, TVET institutions, workforce development organizations, or employer partnerships.
Experience with U.S. Government-funded grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts, including applicable compliance and reporting requirements.
Experience in workforce readiness and/or private sector engagement, including community college-industry partnerships, vocational or technical education, employer engagement, and labor market alignment.
Experience supporting business development, including technical design, proposal writing, budgeting, partner engagement, or proposal review.

Responsibilities

Oversee major program workstreams from planning through closeout, ensuring quality, impact, and timely delivery.
Develop and execute work plans, timelines, reports, presentations, events, exchanges, travel, and other program products.
Anticipate implementation risks, resolve problems, and keep leadership informed of progress and issues with significant implications.
Lead the design and delivery of participant-centered programming, regional exchanges, site visits, workshops, and follow-on activities, as applicable.
Build and manage productive relationships with donors, participants, alumni, U.S. and international educational institutions, private sector partners, workforce organizations, government counterparts, and other stakeholders.
Represent IREX in meetings and presentations, facilitate clear and consistent communications, and coordinate partner engagement.
Lead recruitment, nomination, selection, orientation, participant monitoring, and alumni engagement processes.
Cultivate partnerships among community colleges, industry, workforce systems, and international institutions for assigned initiatives.
Oversee budgets and financial processes, monitor expenditures and forecasts, and ensure financial integrity and cost-effectiveness.
Coordinate procurement, vendor and consultant management, subawards or partner agreements, participant support, and required documentation.
Ensure compliance with IREX, donor, and applicable U.S. Government requirements, including program, financial, safeguarding, records, branding, and reporting obligations.
Review work products and supporting documentation for accuracy, completeness, and compliance before submission or approval.
Direct and guide team members, delegate responsibilities with clear expectations, and provide coaching, feedback, and learning opportunities.
Collaborate across IREX to solve problems, strengthen workflows, share knowledge, and align program work with practice and organizational goals.
Use data, participant and partner feedback, and lessons learned to improve program quality and decision-making.
Foster a collaborative, respectful, accountable, and results-driven team culture.
Identify opportunities to deepen partnerships, expand existing work, and contribute to new program development.
Lead or support proposal strategy, technical design, writing, budgeting, partner outreach, and review processes as assigned.
Gather and share market and technical intelligence on workforce innovation, education-industry partnerships, advanced manufacturing, AI, digital skills, and private sector engagement.
Contribute expertise and high-quality materials that strengthen IREX positioning and program growth.
Travel domestically as needed.