Program Assistant, Higher Education & Research in Africa

Company Overview:

Carnegie Corporation of New York was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 “to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” It is one of the oldest, largest, and most influential American grantmaking foundations.

Job Summary:

Carnegie Corporation of New York currently has an exciting opportunity for an individual who is passionate about advancing higher education opportunities, and who thrives in a fast-paced, team-oriented and problem-solving environment.

The ideal candidate for the role of Program Assistant, Higher Education and Research in Africa Program, is someone who is proactive, motivated, creative, energetic, well organized, and able to multi-task, prioritize, and learn quickly.  Experience working in Africa, preferably in the higher education sector, is a must.

The Program Assistant position will be responsible for providing programmatic and some administrative support to a Program Officer in the Higher Education and Research in Africa Program.

The goal of the Higher Education and Research in Africa Program is to enhance training, research, and retention of academics in select countries of sub-Saharan Africa.  Understanding that Africa’s higher education institutions and academic communities are key to reaching the continent’s potential, the Program supports initiatives that foster future generations of academics; connect centers of higher education across Africa and the diaspora; and advance academic leadership, policy, and governance in sub-Saharan Africa.

General Responsibilities:

• Support grantmaking initiatives by reviewing active proposals, drafting external review and evaluation questions, and copy-editing grant recommendation documents.
• Support the management of active grants through monitoring progress, including compliance with stated objectives and proposed outcomes of the grants; identifying grantee results that should be communicated more widely; conducting preliminary review of requests to modify grants; and facilitating grant close-out.
• Represent the Corporation at U.S.-based meetings and prepare meeting summaries.
• Assist in disseminating the results of grants through the Corporation’s website, social media, and other forms, in consultation and collaboration with program officers and communications staff.
• Track beneficiaries of Carnegie Corporation-supported academic programs.
• Sustain an accurate working knowledge of the current trends, professional practices, and developing policy issues pertinent to the program area.
• Draft correspondence and other miscellaneous duties as required

Grantmaking and Proposal Management Responsibilities:

• Contribute to content and budget reviews of proposals, identifying inconsistencies and ways to strengthen performance measures.
• Draft questions for external reviews.
• Correspond with applicants on proposal questions, as advised by program officer, and respond to applicant questions regarding proposal content.
• Review unsolicited letters of inquiry and other queries and recommend action.

Grants Management Responsibilities:

• Track progress on grants and report to relevant program officer on a regular basis.
• Conduct first-line review of budget modification, carry-over, and no-cost extension requests, referring to program officer for deeper review and approval.
• In consultation with the relevant program officer, draft terms of reference for grant and grant cluster evaluations and identify documents and data to be shared with consultants; liaise with consultants during evaluation processes.
• Facilitate end-of-grant summaries and closing out of grants.

Program and Communications Support Responsibilities:

• Assist program officers with gathering data and preparing presentations for internal and external presentations, compile tables and charts in Word and Excel and format documents.
• Review grantee research reports and manuscripts for copyediting as needed.
• Set up and manage beneficiary tracking database/spreadsheet.
• Contribute to program dissemination, in consultation with program officer and communications staff, including:
  • Identify grantee news and publications suitable for the Corporation’s website
  • Draft publications/news to be posted on website
  • Conduct short interviews for website
  • Conduct research and contribute to copy for website features
• Contribute to agenda setting and developing content for grantee and other Corporation-hosted meetings.

Qualifications:

• College degree and willingness to pursue an advanced degree
• At least six months work experience in an African country, and a total of at least three years full-time working experience
• Proactive, with strong presentation and listening skills, good planning and organizational skills, strong interpersonal skills, excellent writing and editing/proofreading skills, and project management skills
• Demonstrated data collection, management, and presentation experience
• Good instincts for communication and outreach
• Prior experience in a grantmaking environment a plus
• Savvy user of technology with knowledge of data and communication platforms
• Willingness to travel domestically only.  No international travel
• Ability to perform job onsite at midtown office location

Benefits and Perks:

• Employee paid health insurance; including medical, dental, life, long term care, and short-term disability, plus a substantial contribution to a retirement plan account, tuition reimbursement, and a generous paid time off program.
• Corporate discounts including gym memberships.

Carnegie Corporation of New York is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversifying its workforce and is firmly committed to complying with all federal, state and local equal employment opportunity (“EEOC”) laws.

Carnegie Corporation of New York strictly prohibits discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment because of the individual’s race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, height and weight, disability, and any other characteristic protected by law.  The Corporation abides by all applicable rules and regulations in its recruiting and employment practices including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and state disability laws.