Special Assistant - Open Society Foundations - New York, NY

The Middle East-North Africa/Southwest Asia program (MENASWA), is responsible for work conduced in the Levant, Maghreb, Gulf, plus Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The team, based in New York, oversees the Arab Regional Office, based in Amman and Tunisia, as well as two national foundations with offices in Kabul and Islamabad. The New York team is responsible for overall program management, regional advocacy, grantmaking and coordination of the work in the region with the broader OSF network.

Job Profile

The Special Assistant provides direct and high level programmatic and administrative support to the Regional Director for the Middle East/North Africa and South-West Asia Program (MENASWA). The Special Assistant is likely to handle a variety of projects and assignments on behalf of the Regional Director and may have ongoing responsibility to convene and conduct status meetings, develop certain regular reports and analyses, attend certain events on behalf of the Regional Director, and otherwise to facilitate the Regional Director’s effectiveness on issues involving considerable judgment and autonomy. #

The Special Assistant is well-grounded in knowledge of the MENASWA region. This includes knowledge of, for instance, current controversies/issues and leading figures/thinking, as well as a general understanding of philanthropy as it impacts the field. The role also requires extensive knowledge of organizational management and cross-cultural leadership along with some knowledge of international variations in practice. The incumbent is responsible for working collaboratively with minimal supervision and participating materially in developing and executing strategies.

The role includes significant coaching of colleagues and managing cross-department, cross-program, or similarly complex projects in a manner that encourages clear communication and respectful colleagueship. Relationships are critical to the success of the role and diverse in scope. The role requires the development and nurturing of trusting relationships internally and externally, across cultures and geographies. Interactions involve competing interests, complex political and cultural factors, and tensions between long- and short-term goals. Typical duties and responsibilities will include:

developing and managing elements of the Regional Director ’s role and activities~

convenes, chairs, and rapports on network-wide calls for the Director

preparing the Regional Director for meetings with external and internal guests, providing research, preparation and rapportage

representing the Regional Director as required, both internally and externally, as needed

assists the design and convening of staff and management meetings and retreats

anticipating and identifying subject matter and field driven targets that could be of interest to senior staff. The Special Assistant may also conduct preliminary research and/or make initial contacts to explore new directions for the program as directed by the Regional Director

facilitating and coordinating high level events and meetings for Open Society Foundations senior management with external partners

supporting programmatic efforts by conducting a wide range of activities related to grant making processes and/or analytical work in support of field development, advocacy, regional consultations and integrative activities

conducting research and working to synthesize large amounts of data/information to be used in decision-making, strategy development and evaluation of grants portfolios or processes

Candidate Profile

advanced degree desirable, as is experience in social change, areas of work relevant to the particular role, and fluency in arabic

seven to ten years of work experience preferred in relevant programmatic and administrative/organizational roles sufficient to demonstrate competency in skills indicated above

experience contributing to department/function strategy and setting operational plans for teams

knowledge of the MENASWA region

demonstrated ability to think strategically about programs, administrative processes and operations

experience working in an Administrative/operational discipline in a global/matrixed organization~

knowledge of best practices in administration and ability to recommend solutions

demonstrated commitment to building relationships and ability to network with internal and external stakeholders

experience developing and managing a budget

proven success at supervising a team, including managing work flow, reviewing work and providing feedback preferred

expertise in creating and implementing improvements to the Administrative functions and applying best practices

Application instructions: Please upload a resume and cover letter when submitting an application.

Work Environment and Physical Demands : Essential functions are typically performed in an office setting with a low level of noise. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions

We are strengthened by the diversity of our colleagues across the Open Society Foundations, and we welcome and actively seek applications from people of all cultures, backgrounds, and experiences.