The work of the International Migration Initiative (IMI), one of OSF’s thematic programs, is organized around three sets of goals: improving protections for refugees and vulnerable migrants; mitigating the exploitation of migrant workers; and building stronger ties between host communities and newcomers. To achieve these goals, we make grants, advocate, create multi-stakeholder partnerships, and engage with actors across a broad range of sectors, including civil society, national and local governments, international organizations, faith groups, and the private sector.

This position is for IMI’s 21st Century Protection program area. It aims to promote innovations that expand the capacity of the international protection system and extend rights protections to more people on the move and provide analysis of protection issues to inform broader OSF responses to displacement crises. It also aims to strengthen the field to fight policies and practices that threaten migrants and refugees, such as detention and deportation. This program area uses a combination of advocacy, government engagement, and civil society support to push change.

IMI seeks a dynamic, creative, and collaborative Program Officer to help shape the Protection program area. The role will focus on defining how OSF will pursue advancements to, and reinvigorate support for, existing and nascent protection mechanisms in the context of refugee and displacement situations. The Program Officer will contribute to global-level work on the state of international protection and role of the international community (including philanthropy), while also pursuing national and/or local-level work in order to galvanize political will, national ownership, and community support for hosting refugees and migrants. 

The position is for a mid-career professional who is committed to promoting the rights of refugees and vulnerable migrants and can articulate a vision of social change to achieve this. The Program Officer will identify key ecosystem interventions and levers of change and play a leading role in building a strategic portfolio of activities, combining grant making with advocacy.

The Program Officer will work across sectors with grassroots civil society groups (including refugee and migrant-led groups), humanitarian response actors, relevant multilateral agencies (IOM, UNHCR, UNICEF), government officials, private sector actors, issue experts, scholars, and other funders. She or he will serve as a connector of grantees and other partners and will collaborate broadly both within OSF and with external entities. Based in London or New York, the Program Officer will work with a global team in multiple office locations.

For further information and to apply, please visit the employment page on our website.

Closing date: 2 December 2018.

We are strengthened by the diversity of our colleagues across the Open Society Foundations. We welcome applications from people of all cultures, backgrounds, and experiences, and are committed to providing reasonable adjustments so that colleagues with disabilities are able to fulfill the essential functions of the job.