Executive Director, Center Peacemaking Practice

Executive Director, Center for Peacemaking Practice

Department: Carter School

Classification: Administrative Faculty

Job Category: Administrative or Professional Faculty

Job Type: Part-Time

Work Schedule: Part-time (0.8 FTE, 32 hrs/wk)

Location: Arlington, VA

Workplace Type: Hybrid Eligible

Sponsorship Eligibility: Not eligible for visa sponsorship

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience

Restricted: Yes

Criminal Background Check: Yes

The Center for Peacemaking Practice (CPP) brings together practitioners and scholars to make a practical difference in peace and justice through engaged scholarship of many forms. The Center brings conflict resolution practice into the university, and extends conflict resolution scholarship outside the university. We foster connections between peacemaking practitioners and learning communities, enriching both the theory and practice of peacemaking, all with the goal of minimizing suffering due to violent conflict.

The Center brings together multiple programs and projects that share a connection to practice. The Center's work includes reflective practice, action research, and other forms of engaged scholarship.

The Executive Director oversees CPP active grants administration and plays a key role in shaping future funded initiatives. This includes maintaining strong relationships with sponsors to ensure ongoing engagement and program sustainability.

• Collaborates with the CPP Director to manage CPP initiatives; plans peacemaking training programs including identifying and securing funding, preparing content and curricula, building and training teams, recruiting participants, implementing programs, monitoring and evaluating, and reporting.
• Ensures proper stewardship of grants and philanthropic support; prepares monthly reports to CPP Director, tracks expenditures from all CPP accounts, and works with Office of Sponsored Programs to prepare financial reports on all CPP sponsored programs.
• Develops future CPP programs; identifies calls for proposals and support opportunities, drafts grant proposals to support research and practice aligned with CPP's mission, and serves as PI or co-PI on awarded grants.
• Maintains a vibrant research agenda; conducts research and publishes reports as peer‑reviewed journal articles, academic books, and public scholarship such as papers, blog posts, or op‑eds.
• Supervises CPP interns, staff, visiting scholars, and affiliates; recruits and selects interns and staff, orients new participants, prepares evaluations, and facilitates monthly check‑ins.

• Terminal degree in a related field.
• PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution or closely related field.
• Generally, five or more years experience managing $1 million+ grants and conflict resolution programs.
• Generally, five or more years experience participating in conflict resolution practical initiatives.
• Professional fluency in Russian (reading, writing, and speaking).
• Professional fluency (reading, writing, and speaking) in at least one additional language used widely in the South Caucasus region.
• Knowledge of conflict resolution and peacemaking practice, including Track Two and Track 1.5 process design and facilitation.
• Knowledge of conflict resolution and peacemaking practice program design, implementation, management, funding, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Knowledge of South Caucasus conflicts and conflict resolution processes.
• Proven skills coordinating with multiple stakeholders in peace processes.
• Proven skills in mentoring students and interns at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the conflict resolution field.
• Demonstrated ability to align program implementation with university, commonwealth, federal, and sponsor policies and procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to write winning funding proposals for conflict resolution practice initiatives to multiple donors.
• Proven ability to engage multiple stakeholders in participatory research approaches and experiential learning, including practice‑based research courses and short courses, and publication of research results.
• Proven ability to build strong teams across diverse organizational and national entities to support contributions toward peace processes and knowledge of peace building and peacemaking.

• Three or more years working experience at George Mason University.
• Experience serving as a PI for grants at George Mason University.
• Experience authoring peer‑reviewed published scholarly works on conflict resolution and peacemaking.

For full consideration, applicants must apply for the Executive Director, Center for Peacemaking Practice at (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). Submit the online application with three professional references and provide a cover letter and CV.

Posting Open Date: April 22, 2026

Apply by: April 29, 2026

Open Until Filled: Yes