Program Director, Media

Join Our Team as a Program Director, Media at the International Republican Institute (IRI)!

ABOUT IRI

The International Republican Institute (IRI) advances democracy and freedom. We link people with their governments, support politicians to be responsive to citizens, and motivate those citizens to engage in the political process.

At IRI, every employee plays a crucial role in advancing our mission across the globe. We’re looking for passionate individuals who embody our Core Values and are eager to contribute to our dynamic team. Our values include:

• Respect: We lead with trust, empathy, and dignity; empowering colleagues and partners.
• Teamwork: We collaborate across teams; solve problems together; are humble and ready to learn.
• Ownership:We take initiative; champion solutions; deliver results for IRI’s mission.
• Excellence through Execution: We balance thoughtfulness with timeliness; learn from results; prioritize progress over perfection.
• Transparency: We share information openly; give direct feedback; build trust through honest communication.
• Freedom: We are empowered to make decisions, try new approaches, and adapt as needed.

ABOUT THE ROLE:PROGRAM DIRECTOR, MEDIA

The Program Director (PD), Media oversees the day-to-day implementation, coordination, and administration of a global program that will strengthen the resilience of independent media outlets to foreign state propaganda and coercive influence through expanded access to credible content, technical assistance, training, and support for media business sustainability across multiple regions and languages.

The Program Director serves as the primary operational lead responsible for managing program activities, coordinating partner and participant engagement, overseeing media outlet recruitment and onboarding, monitoring implementation progress, managing consultants and service providers, and ensuring timely delivery of program outputs and deliverables. The PD coordinates closely with participating media outlets, content providers, trainers, consultants, and strategic partners to support effective implementation across all program activities and regions.

In addition, the Program Director serves as the primary point of contact for participating media outlets and platform users — responding to participant inquiries, supporting onboarding and engagement activities, coordinating with technical support providers, facilitating communications among project stakeholders, and helping ensure participating organizations effectively utilize program resources and services. The PD also supports routine monitoring and reporting functions and provides human oversight of automated platform processes by reviewing disputed or questionable AI-generated determinations and coordinating with technical experts when necessary. This position helps ensure responsive participant support, strong partner engagement, and effective coordination across the program’s content access, technical assistance, training, and media sustainability components.

This position is located in Washington, DC. The Program Director, Media is expected to work in-office at least three days per week.

This position is contingent upon award of funding.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Implementation & Oversight

• Serve as the primary operational lead for a global project, overseeing day-to-day implementation, coordination, and administration of all program activities across regions and languages.
• Develop and maintain detailed work plans, activity calendars, and implementation trackers; monitor progress against milestones and flag risks, delays, and resource constraints to program leadership.
• Ensure the timely delivery of program outputs and deliverables, coordinating inputs from staff, partners, consultants, and service providers.
• Plan and execute program activities, including trainings, workshops, convenings, and virtual events, overseeing or carrying out logistical arrangements as required.
• Ensure that program activities are technically sound, appropriate to each media market, and compliant with IRI policy, donor requirements, and applicable U.S. and local laws and regulations.
• Maintain awareness of political, media ecosystem, and security developments in program countries to inform programmatic and operational decisions, and ensure that program activities and participating organizations are handled with appropriate attention to participant safety and information security.

 Participant Support & Media Outlet Engagement

• Serve as the primary point of contact for participating media outlets and platform users, responding to participant inquiries promptly and professionally.
• Oversee media outlet recruitment, vetting, and onboarding, including outreach, application processing, eligibility review, orientation, and account setup.
• Design and deliver engagement activities that help participating organizations effectively utilize program resources and services, including a media resilience portal, content access, technical assistance, and training offerings.
• Track participant engagement and utilization, identify outlets requiring additional support, and coordinate follow-up.
• Coordinate with technical support providers to resolve user issues, and escalate unresolved or systemic problems to the appropriate technical or program leads.
• Facilitate communications among project stakeholders, including regular updates, guidance materials, and user-facing documentation in coordination with communications staff.

Platform Oversight & Human Review of Automated Processes

• Provide human oversight of automated platform processes.
• Apply established review criteria consistently, document review decisions and rationale, and communicate outcomes to affected participants.
• Coordinate with technical experts, the Senior Media Advisor, and platform providers when a determination requires specialized judgment or indicates a systemic issue, and recommend refinements to review criteria and platform processes based on patterns observed.

Partner, Consultant, & Service Provider Management

• Coordinate closely with content providers, trainers, consultants, strategic partners, and subawardees to support effective implementation across all program components.
• Manage consultants and service providers, including developing scopes of work, supporting procurement processes, overseeing deliverables and timelines, and reviewing work products for quality and compliance.
• Support the negotiation and administration of partnership agreements and content arrangements in coordination with IRI program, grants, and contracts staff.
• Maintain regular communication with partners to resolve implementation issues and ensure coherent, non-duplicative delivery.

Monitoring, Reporting, & Adaptive Management

• Support the Senior MEL Specialist in routine monitoring functions, including data collection, participant feedback, indicator tracking, and maintenance of program records and databases.
• Work with the Senior MEL Specialist to draft and compile internal and donor reports, activity summaries, and success stories, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timely submission.
• Analyze implementation and engagement data to identify trends and challenges, and contribute recommendations for adaptive management and course correction.
• Coordinate with monitoring, evaluation, and learning colleagues on assessments, evaluations, and learning activities.

Financial & Compliance Oversight

• Support program budgeting, spending projections, and financial reconciliations in coordination with headquarters-based program and finance staff.
• Ensure that donor funds are used appropriately and in accordance with IRI policy, donor regulations, and applicable laws.
• Maintain an understanding of donor and IRI policies and procedures and help ensure grant compliance across program activities, procurements, and partner agreements.

Internal & External Collaboration

• Build and maintain productive working relationships with colleagues across IRI, including Regional Divisions, technical practices, grants and contracts, finance, and communications.
• Support IRI’s coordination with the donor and partners, including preparation of materials for donor meetings and responses to donor requests.
• Coordinate with the Senior Media Advisor and other technical advisors to ensure that implementation reflects the program’s technical direction.
• Represent IRI and the global project effectively to participating organizations, partners, and external audiences as requested.
• Other duties as assigned.

Note: This post is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, or skills required in this role. Further details of the role will be shared during the recruitment process.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

We seek a passionate, experienced, and technically fluent individual with:

• Undergraduate degree in journalism, communications, international relations, political science, or a related field. Graduate degree preferred.
• Minimum eight years of relevant work experience, with a strong preference for experience in independent media development, media support, or the democracy, rights, and governance sector.
• Demonstrated experience managing the day-to-day implementation of international programs, including work planning, activity execution, monitoring, reporting, and close out.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating multiple partners, consultants, and service providers, including developing scopes of work and overseeing deliverables.
• Experience in a participant-facing or user support role, with a proven ability to manage a high volume of inquiries and deliver responsive, service-oriented support to diverse users.
• Experience supporting recruitment, onboarding, and engagement of participating organizations, grantees, or platform users.
• Familiarity with digital platforms and content delivery systems, and comfort providing human review of automated or AI-generated determinations; capacity to apply review criteria consistently and document decisions.
• Proven knowledge of U.S. Government donor requirements, regulations, and reporting for international programs
• Demonstrated experience with results-based program design and performance management, including monitoring data collection and donor reporting.
• Strong written and oral communications and editing skills in English. Proficiency in an additional language relevant to the program’s target regions preferred.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage competing deadlines across multiple regions, languages, and time zones.
• Strong ability to initiate, foster, and maintain relationships with contacts and stakeholders in a diverse and multicultural environment, with sensitivity, respect, discretion, tact, and professionalism.
• Experience identifying complex problems and developing creative solutions; ability to exercise sound judgment on sensitive participant, security, and partner matters.
• Ability to work well under pressure, adapt to shifting priorities, and work both independently and as a member of a team.
• Experienced user of Microsoft Office; familiarity with project management, CRM, or learning platform tools preferred.
• Experience living, working, or traveling internationally; willingness to travel internationally, including to remote and sometimes challenging environments.

IRI TOTAL COMPENSATION

The anticipated compensation range for this position is $125,000 to $145,000 USD.

The salary for this position is determined based on a wide variety of factors including but not limited to an individual’s professional experience, qualifications, education and other business needs along with internal equity considerations. Employees are not typically hired at the top of the range for their role and compensation decisions are made based on the aforementioned considerations.

WE OFFER

An empathetic and dedicated work environment with generous benefits that demonstrates IRI’s commitment to all dimensions of employee wellness, including:

• Health and Wellness Support: Significant coverage of health, dental, and vision insurance costs. Meaningful assistance programs through an Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) and Rula (access to mental health experts).
• Long-term Financial Health: Retirement plan with generous employer contribution (vested after 12 months).
• Hybrid Work: Employees typically work in-office three days per week and telework two days per week.
• Time Off: Company-paid holidays, parental leave, generous vacation, sick, and personal leave days.
• Family Support: Dependent Care FSA
• Learning and Development Opportunities: Annual allowance for professional development courses and seminars along with access to world-class e-learning via eCornell.
• Compensation Equity: Regular competitive review of internal and external equity to ensure fairness in pay for employees working in similar jobs requiring comparable knowledge, skills, and experience.

Benefits, professional development, and flexibility offerings may vary based on employment classification and location.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS – RESUME, COVER LETTER, REFERENCES

In your application, please include a copy of your most up-to-date resume along with a cover letter that outlines your background and explains why you are interested in this opportunity. Additionally, please include the contact details of at least 2-3 professional references. If you are selected for an interview, we will contact your references before the final interview.