Program Officer; YA-NEA & IYLEP HS

Reports
to: Director of Youth Programming

Salary Range: $57,000–$65,500

Anticipated

Start Date:

November 30, 2026

Term of Employment: Full-time

Base of Operations Designation: Vermont

Remote Eligible: Remote OR Hybrid

World Learning seeks a Program Officer to manage day-to-day implementation of two U.S. Department of State–funded youth leadership exchanges for high school students and adult mentors from the Middle East and North Africa:
Youth Ambassadors – Near East (YA-NEA) and the Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program (IYLEP) High School, funded by the U.S. Mission Iraq. The Program Officer will work closely with World Learning's Iraq and Algeria–based teams, manage U.S. host community and university partners, and lead curriculum delivery across virtual pre‑departure modules, the in‑person U.S. exchange, and follow‑on. This person will also track program budgets, draft funder reports, provide direct participant support during the summer exchanges, and serve on the on‑call team during program season.

The specific programs and countries in this role's portfolio may shift over time based on funding and U.S. Government priorities.

This position will be a part of the Global Programs unit of World Learning which designs, implements, monitors and evaluates global exchange and education programs. We work with various donors, including the U.S. Department of State, to achieve immediate impact and sustainable outcomes. Consistent with our organization's status as both a global nonprofit and an accredited institution of higher education, we prioritize experiential programs that are grounded in theory and proven in practice.

• Manage day-to-day implementation of the YA-NEA and IYLEP High School awards, ensuring funder guidelines are followed and deliverables are met on time.
• Maintain regular communication with the Department of State program office for YA-NEA and the S. Mission Iraq Public Diplomacy Section for IYLEP High School, with close guidance from the Director of Youth Programming.
• Coordinate closely with World Learning's Iraq and Algeria
  -based teams on in-country recruitment, selection, visa interviews, pre-departure orientations, departures, and follow-on
• Prepare and submit required approval requests, including selection criteria, recruitment materials, finalist and alternate lists, activity calendars, and virtual program components.
• Draft funder reports for both awards and compile program data, implementation updates, and success stories for the Director's final review.
• Support the design and development of proposals, renewals, and non-competitive continuation requests for MENA youth programming.

• Lead the design, delivery, and evaluation of youth and adult mentor curriculum, including leadership, entrepreneurship, digital citizenship, and AI‑driven problem-solving
• Deliver live virtual sessions and support asynchronous learning on the Kolab platform during pre‑departure and follow‑on phases.
• Manage programmatic relationships with U.S. host community, university, and campus partners, including program design and review, homestay or residential arrangements, and debriefing and evaluation of each exchange
• Coordinate with the YA-USA program team on the onboarding and preparation of S. participants who join the YA-NEA exchanges.
• Support participants and adult mentors through the follow‑on period, including capstone project implementation and connections to alumni networks.
• Provide program information to the Operations team for travel, logistics, vendor management, and group leader hiring, training, and feedback.
• Orient and support group leaders and facilitators…