EDUCATION ABROAD PROGRAM MANAGER

Please submit a cover letter along with your CV

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Established in 1951, Amideast is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to creating hope, opportunity, and mutual understanding among people in the Middle East, North Africa, and United States through life-changing opportunities for education and cultural exchanges. Working with local, regional, and international partners, we provide programs and sevices that improve educational opportunity and quality, expand access to U.S. study, empower youth and women, strengthen local institutions, and develop language and professional skills for success in the global economy. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Amideast operates offices in 11 countries in the MENA region. For more information, visit us at www.amideast.org.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Amideast Education Abroad Program Manager (PM) ensures the overall quality of Amideast Education Abroad programs in Jordan, both those owned and operated by Amideast and those developed and implemented for an institutional client on a customized basis. Working with the Country Director, Director of Education Abroad, Sijal Institute for Arabic Language and Culture, teaching faculty, and a number of diverse local partners and vendors, the PM manages all day-to-day operations of Education Abroad programming in Jordan. The Program Manager serves as the primary contact for all students, faculty, colleagues, and partners, addressing issues related to program features, policies, and procedures.

Amideast Education Abroad Programs in the MENA help develop mutual understanding through virtual and onsite programs for young people to study the Middle East and North Africa, improve their Arabic language skills, and interact with the peoples and cultures of the region, especially local families, organizations, and students. The PM is committed to helping develop participants’ awareness of their positionality in the world and their capacity for intercultural humility while providing them with safe, secure, and healthy learning and living environments. The PM helps ensure that programs are academically rigorous, intellectually free, and personally challenging.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Management

• Coordinate and integrate the delivery of all aspects of Amideast’s and institutional partners’ customized programs, including academics, orientation, participant support, health and safety, and program assessment
• Ensure program coherence with stated program and organizational vision, goals, and outcomes. This includes active involvement in program development to ensure that programs are challenging, well-organized, and support wellbeing
• Maintain organized records and files for all program participants
• Employ the Amideast Education Abroad Student Portal and other tools as directed by Amideast/HQ to organize and protect all participant information prior to each program start date
• Answer inquiries from HQ staff in a timely manner regarding specific program design activities and particular student needs
• Follow start of program and end of program protocols as outlined in the Amideast Education Abroad Policies & Guidelines Manual
• Plan annual calendar of activities including program start and end dates, orientation dates, excursions, and reflection/re-entry activities
• Coordinate functional program areas with the Country Director, program staff in Jordan, and the Director of Education Abroad and program staff at Amideast headquarters in Washington, DC.
• Participate in the development of program budgets and ensure that there are no cost overruns Coordinate with the Amideast/Jordan Finance department to ensure timely purchasing requisitions and payments for professors, lecturers, and other program expenses
• In partnership with Amideast/HQ, coordinate site visits by administrators and faculty members from academic institutions in the US.
• Prepare budgets and itineraries for faculty-led and customized program proposals upon request of Amideast/HQ in a timely manner according to the procedures and templates provided
• Coordinate and implement faculty-led and customized programs for Amideast Education Abroad institutional partners
• Develop, budget, and implement the U.S. Department of State’s Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Abroad and National Security Language Initiative for Youth Programs

Academics

• Serve as primary liaison with the Sijal Institute for Arabic Language and Culture
• Work jointly with faculty members and Sijal Institute for Arabic Language and Culture in implementing and evaluating all aspects of the academic program, including proper use of Amideast Online, Amideast’s Moodle-based LMS
• Work jointly with the Arabic Language Coordinator at Sijal Institute for Arabic Language and Culture to identify course schedules and respond to Arabic needs of the programs
• Work with local faculty contacts or local Academic Coordinator (as applicable) to identify, hire, onboard, and support instructors for all non-language courses, including their proper use of Amideast Online
• Ensure and support all instructors’ understanding of and compliance with the Faculty Manual
• Ensure that all syllabi and course materials are submitted on time, properly uploaded to Amideast Online and compliant with digital accessibility standards and U.S. copyright laws
• Supervise Education Abroad faculty members and serve as point of contact for participants on all academic issues
• Monitor emerging academic issues with participants and faculty members on a continuous basis and intervene to take additional supportive or corrective action when necessary
• Submit timely textbook order requests to Operations Manager and/or HQ staff, as needed
• Facilitate logistics of Arabic language course placements for participants, working with HQ staff and the Sijal Institute for Arabic Language and Culture
• Facilitate logistics of exit language proficiency testing and report results to the Academic Coordinator (as appropriate), Sijal Institute for Arabic Language and Culture staff, and Amideast HQ
• Coordinate participant course registration activities, course and facilities scheduling, textbooks and other learning resource materials with the content faculty
• Report course registrations and any drop/add changes to HQ program staff
• Work collaboratively with course faculty and Sijal Institute for Arabic Language and Culture faculty and staff in monitoring the quality of instruction, academic integrity, appropriate degree of difficulty of the academic program, appropriate assessment of student work, and standards of grading
• Coordinate co-curricular trips and activities with program faculty members
• Organize special events and lectures related to the academic program; organize other co-curricular activities as appropriate
• Organize community-based learning opportunities for program participants
• Ensure that faculty report grades in a timely manner, review participants’ final grades per the Amideast Online gradebook, and provide gradebooks promptly to Amideast HQ at the conclusion of the program
• Serve as participants’ primary point of contact for academic concerns, requests for exceptions, appeals, etc.
• Coordinate the organization and maintenance of the program library
• Supervise the Program Officer’s coordination of student housing and arrangements for transportation, meals, and stipends, as necessary

Participant Life and Wellbeing

• Ensure a justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion framework holistically for all programs, with emphasis on the critical relationship between participants and the host community
• Design and implement on-site orientation program on arrival
• Be available to students during regular and well-publicized office hours
• Be available to students as needed; direct student concerns to appropriate staff members such as faculty members, Sijal Institute for Arabic Language and Culture staff, and other program staff
• Organize the rotating 24/7 emergency phone for participants, coordinating with other program staff and Amideast HQ staff
• Assure that participants are aware of the regular office hours of faculty members and other Amideast staff with whom they may need to interact
• Be available for individual and group conferences with participants; hold these meetings regularly to check in with program participants and ensure their wellbeing
• Ensure timely submission and follow-up on all participant support issues and incidents
• Oversee review of Travel Forms and related policies and procedures
• Ensure that requested accommodations are made and champion participant accessibility and support
• Plan, implement, and supervise the following in an intentional manner to assure that programs run justly, coherently, and smoothly:
  • Residency extensions for visas and other legal procedures that apply to participants
  • Airport meet and greet upon arrival
  • Comprehensive on-site orientation program
  • Housing
  • Cultural, co-curricular and social activities
  • Facilities (library, computer access, etc.)
  • Appropriately informed responses to medical, emotional, and other needs
  • Appropriate intervention in behavioral issues

Support for Intercultural Learning:

• Conduct ongoing training with staff on intercultural interventions
• Lead organization and implementation of program orientations, continuous reflection opportunities through the term, and reflection/re-entry period. Assign sessions to all relevant staff members

Health and Safety

• Maintain contact with reliable medical professionals to serve participants requiring a diversity of care.
• Accompany students, as necessary, to medical providers
• Maintain up-to-date location-specific incident, emergency, and crisis protocols to guide staff in dealing with emergency situations
• In coordination with other staff, lead the response to serious health, injury, or other safety related incidents and emergencies and maintain excellent communications with all concerned parties following Amideast Education Abroad emergency response protocols
• On an ongoing basis, maintain current and reliable information concerning health and safety risks in Jordan and the Amman area specifically, including potential risks at program-sponsored accommodations, events, excursions, and other activities
• Conduct and document an annual safety audit covering relevant health and safety information needed by participants and home institutions
• Include health and safety issues in the on-site orientation program conducted upon arrival in Jordan; update information provided to students as needed during the program
• As necessary, provide appropriate advice and warning to participants during the program to help them mitigate risk to the extent possible and enhance their individual safety
• Assure that participants and all program staff in Jordan are aware of applicable codes of conduct and related policies, with emphasis on their positionality vis-à-vis a Global South host community
• Coordinate appropriate action when policies have not been followed by participants or staff
• Be mindful of and advocate for the wellbeing of staff, faculty, self, and other members of the host community as for program participants

Program Evaluation

• Manage all evaluation and assessment processes for the Amideast Education Abroad programs in Jordan, including the participant evaluation following the on-site orientation, a mid-semester program evaluation, and the final program evaluation; such evaluations are to include both the program as a whole and individual course evaluations

Other

• Communicate promptly to Amideast HQ any issues that arise regarding participants – including, but not limited to, academic difficulties, health problems, challenges to wellbeing, disciplinary issues, irregular attendance, or unauthorized absence
• Assist in the development of promotion and marketing materials for the programs in coordination with HQ staff
• Provide monthly social media content to Amideast HQ, highlighting on-program success stories and student language and cultural activities
• Continuously save all Amideast-related materials to their appropriate places in FO or HQ drives
• Participate in training programs organized for program staff
• May, on occasion, require hours in excess of 8 per day and/or 40 per week
• Other duties may be assigned from time to time as appropriate

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

The following represents the minimum set of qualifications for this position:

• Bachelor’s degree in Management, Applied Linguistics, Educational Development, or a related field. A Master’s degree is strongly preferred.
• Minimum of 7 years professional work experience, preferably in an international education-related position
• Significant experience living and working in North America.
• Proficiency level in written and spoken English with exemplary communication skills.
• In-depth knowledge of Jordanian culture, history, business practices, and academic environment.
• In-depth knowledge of U.S. culture and U.S. undergraduate students.
• In-depth knowledge of U.S. academic institutions and their culture.
• Team-oriented-must have the ability to work closely with a team of academics and professional staff in Jordan and the US, including Amideast/Jordan staff not directly involved with the Education Abroad Program
• In-depth knowledge of the key issues and developments in the education abroad field.
• Extremely strong interpersonal and student/customer service skills and the ability to resolve issues fairly, empathetically, expeditiously, and cost-effectively
• Ability to engender the trust and confidence of participants and partners and be able to deal effectively with a wide variety of often sensitive issues, ensuring that all involved parties are satisfied with the resolution
• Ability to represent Amideast Education Abroad as part of the community of practice of education abroad providers in Jordan
• Ability to work effectively with Jordanian officials at all levels
• Ability to communicate and resolve disputes effectively with students, parents, faculty and staff from visiting US institutions, administrators and faculty members at the Sijal Institute for Arabic Language and Culture and other Jordanian institutions, and colleagues. Must be able to work through and resolve a wide range of issues (some difficult/sensitive) and explain academic issues
• Ability to simultaneously balance confidentiality and the need to share certain information to effectively resolve the range of issues that arise with students, parents and institutions
• Ability to exercise superior judgment when dealing with confidential information
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize own work and multi-task
• Demonstrated excellent organizational skills
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and ownership of projects
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing
• Demonstrated experience working independently and as part of a team
• Relevant subject matter knowledge
• Ability to direct the work of others, for jobs requiring supervision

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The incumbent in this position will work in a professional office environment and will utilize the following equipment when working from the corporate office or remote home office (either on a full time, temporary, or hybrid basis).

• Computer (laptop or desktop)
• Printer/Photocopier/Scanner/Fax
• Telephone

Up to 10% business travel may be needed to support the department as needed.

The physical demands and work environment that have been described is representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This position description is an overview of the major functions and requirements of this position. This document is not intended to be an exhaustive list encompassing every duty and requirement of the position; the Employee’s Manager may assign other duties as related or as otherwise deemed appropriate and necessary within the general scope, without the need for additional compensation.

Amideast is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Positions that involve interaction with children will be required to read, acknowledge, and comply with and attend special training in accordance with the Child Protection and Safeguarding policy. All Amideast representatives must comply with the Code of Conduct and all applicable organizational policies which include but are not limited to, Anti-Human Trafficking and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.

Amideast provides covered training opportunities for its staff within its current portfolio of offered services and that it invests in the advancement of its staff’s capabilities and skills to better perform at their roles.

Please note only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Interviews will be conducted on rolling basis and the vacancy will be closed when filled.

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