• The BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI) seeks to hire a Senior Policy Manager to supportUPGI’s efforts to scale the Graduation approach through government systems. The candidate will report to and work closely with the Global Lead, Policy & Partnerships to design and support the overall global policy strategy, and will serve as a primary liaison between the global Policy & Partnerships team and some of the country portfolio, facilitating cross-country learnings and regional partnerships.
• The candidate should have political acumen, a strong track record of working with complex and high level external stakeholders and be extremely organized with a problem solving attitude. All candidates require demonstrated experience in poverty reduction and/or women’s empowerment programs and policies, and must show a commitment to BRAC’s mission and values.
• The role can be based in any existing BRAC office with a strong preference for candidates based in Nairobi, Kigali, Delhi, or Dhaka. Irrespective of location, work hours will often need to include GMT 11AM-3PM for maximum overlap with global teams, and flexibility will be required to accommodate the global nature of UPGI’s team.

Responsibilities

• Work across UPGI country teams to support policy strategy implementation, as directed by country leads in each context, including but not limited to:
  • Policy events, dialogues, exchanges, and roundtables
  • Direct engagement with key decision-makers
  • Background research for influence & policy impact
  • Policy drafting or implementation planning
  • Interventions to strengthen & influence government systems to own and deliver the graduation approach
  • Support as needed for the Immersion & Learning Exchange (ILE) program, a joint effort led by the Policy & Partnerships team and the India Country team, which expects to host :15-25 delegations per year (both national and international) for field visits and relevant government partner engagement with the Government of Bihar’s Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana (SJY), the world’s largest government-led Graduation program)
• Facilitate, collate and present lessons learned from government to government (and across teams) ; oversee and facilitate communities of practice to distill such lessons
• Directly cultivate and maintain relationships with critical regional development stakeholders, and support country leads with connections and in holding relationships.
• Serve as liaison with global policy & partnerships and country teams, helping to document successes and learnings throughout our country portfolio and connecting global relationships to regional and national stakeholders
• Develop global and regional coalitions for scaling the graduation approach
• Develop proposals for global development partners connected to our country portfolio

Safeguarding Responsibilities

• Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation to achieve the program’s goals of safeguarding implementation.
• Practice, promote and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action.
• Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, and encourage others to do so

Qualifications

• 8+ years experience working in international development and/or policy
• Bachelor’s degree required, with a master’s degree in a relevant field (public policy, development, etc) strongly preferred
• Demonstrated direct experience with high level national policymakers and the global policy landscape, including relevant agendas & actors, such as the World Bank, United Nations, & other bilateral and multilateral organizations
• Demonstrated experience influencing large scale programs and policies and translating policies into action.
• Significant external-facing experience in previous roles, including but not limited to writing, speaking, and partnership building.
• Strong ability to communicate and tailor messages in a concise and compelling way to key audiences and partners
• Strong ability to develop time-bound work-plans and turn them into results.
• Possess a flexible attitude and an entrepreneurial approach to problem-solving.
• Demonstrated ability to serve as an external representative with high level officials
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a remote, multicultural, multi time zone team
• Significant travel up to 25% will be required, often at short notice, to accompany high level delegations and to participate in events.
• Highly organized with ability to take initiative and manage multiple priorities
• Diplomatic, with strong interpersonal skills, and a high degree of cultural sensitivity;
• Excellent writing and speaking skills in English is required. Additional languages are a plus.