Project Manager, European Humanities University Scholarship Support Activity

EMPLOYMENT STATUS: full-time
APPLICATION DEADLINE: September 30, 2024

POSITION SUMMARY

The European Humanities University Scholarship Support Activity will provide need and merit-based scholarships for Belarusian youth in liberal arts disciplines at EHU, and place particular focus on youth with leadership potential.  Students selected will join a cohort of Fellows for enhancement activities and trainings, and support to engage on issues of importance to their home country of Belarus.  Scholarships are provided for the duration of studies, with an overall Activity duration of 4.5 years at present.

This position leads Activity working under the direction of American Councils Regional Director for the Baltics and Belarus, and in close cooperation with EHU administrators, coordinating with other donors, and engaging employers and other stakeholders to create a supportive community for the Fellows’ success.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provides overall leadership, management oversight and strategic direction for the successful implementation of the Activity
• Cooperatively strategizes and executes strategy to identify target audience for liberal arts education scholarships, representing liberal education and creating understanding of the approach and its applications for Belarus
• Oversees application management and processing to select Fellows with high success potential who meet Activity criteria
• Participates actively in integrating the Activity into EHU’s practices and functions
• Communicates with strategic partners, tapping Private Sector Entities such as employer and community actors, as well as communities linked to activities of other implementing partners
• Designs, launches and maintains casework model with Fellows to initiate and follow through on action plans involving community service, and securing internships, as well as completing enhancement leadership and career-readiness programming
• Leads in the design of enhancement programming in the areas of leadership development and civic engagement, and career-readiness and engages experts to design and deliver programming to enhance the skills and networks of the Fellows
• Mobilizes resources from within American Councils’ overall portfolio and beyond in design and provision of activities
• Carries out activities to support monitoring, evaluation and learning, including coordination and delivery of participatory collaborative learning sessions, distribution of surveys using the SurveyMonkey platform and collection and input of data from EHU and the project using American Councils’ customized data collection and storage system
• Prepares annual implementation plans and narrative reports
• Identifies issues and risks related to program implementation and guides appropriate program adjustments
• Supervises Project Officer responsible for day-to-day Program operations including events management and delivery, finance, travel, recruiting and HR functions in compliance with American Councils policy and regulations
• Directs disbursals and monitors payments
• Participates in budget management, including projections
• Monitors the progress and pace of the activity’s implementation, assuring that the full potential of the Activity is realized through the promotion of high-quality work and internal control
• Supports and designs internal and outward-facing events and supports ancillary projects that contribute to Activity
• Coordinates alumni engagement, drawing on alumni of U.S. government sponsored programs, and alumni of the SSA program narrowly, and EHU broadly

• Project management expertise
• Experience in academic and career advising, and leadership development
• Work experience involving multiple task prioritization required
• Strong writing and communication skills
• Fluent in Russian and English required; strong Belarusian and Lithuanian language skills preferred
• Demonstrated organizational ability and attention to detail
• Demonstrated problem-solving skills
• Ability to forge and develop connections and work cooperatively with partners and stakeholders from various sectors including higher education communities, government, and private companies
• Ability to manage multiple priorities quickly and effectively
• Ability to work independently while contributing to an overall team effort
• Proven effectiveness in a cross-cultural work environment
• Effective interpersonal skills
• Strong computer, web and social media skills

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

American Councils is committed to taking affirmative steps to enhance employment opportunities for minorities, women, veterans, and people with disabilities, and strives to ensure that meaningful employment and promotional opportunities are maintained for everyone. American Councils’ commitment to equal employment opportunity is based not only on federal requirements, but also on a longstanding commitment to maintaining a diverse workforce reflective of the communities in which we operate.

PAY TRANSPARENCY NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISION

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information