Senior Program Officer, Education & Culture

Partners of the Americas (POA) is a private, nonprofit volunteer organization founded in 1964 that connects people, institutions, and communities across the Western Hemisphere, especially between the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Its purpose is to build bridges of collaboration to promote sustainable development, strengthen civil society, and create opportunities that improve people’s lives. Over the past six decades, POA has become a strong network that engages volunteers, professionals, governments, and businesses, generating positive impact in education, economic development, agriculture, health, youth leadership, and community resilience.

Reporting to the Senior Director, Education Unit, the Senior Program Officer for the Education and Culture Program provides program management, compliance, financial oversight, and stakeholder coordination for Partners of the Americas’ U.S. Department of State-funded Education and Culture (E&C) Program. The Senior Program Officer leads day-to-day administration of the Program, ensuring that all activities are implemented in accordance with the approved proposal, award terms and conditions, and applicable U.S. government regulations.

The Senior Program Officer serves as Partners of the Americas’ primary point of contact with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) for technical and administrative matters related to the Program, and works closely with Partners’ Finance and Administration, Communications, Community & Volunteer Engagement, and Monitoring and Evaluation teams to ensure sound program, financial, and compliance management. This position does not have supervisory responsibilities.

This position is based in Washington, DC.

• Lead day-to-day implementation of the Education and Culture Program.
• Oversee the application, review, and selection process for exchange participants and sub-award applicants, including recruiting and orienting reviewers and coordinating review committees.
• Develop materials and resources for prospective applicants, participants, and sub-award recipients, and guide program agendas, orientations, and cultural-immersion activities.
• Monitor program implementation against the approved Work Plan and proposal, identifying and resolving implementation challenges.
• Support onboarding, orientation, and ongoing technical assistance for Group Pre-Designed Exchange and Community-Led Project sub-awardees.

• Ensure Program implementation complies with the terms and conditions of the Award, 2 CFR Parts 200 and 600, and the Department of State Standard Terms and Conditions for Federal Awards.
• Oversee compliance with Exchange Visitor Program (J-1 visa) regulations under 22 CFR 62, in coordination with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and Public Affairs Sections.
• Ensure Program materials and communications comply with ECA branding, marking, and Communications Guidance requirements.
• Support compliance with award-specific conditions, including OFAC licensing provisions and subrecipient vetting requirements, in coordination with the Finance and Administration Unit.
• Oversee preparation and timely submission of semi-annual and final performance and financial reports to ECA in accordance with the award’s reporting schedule.

• Partner with Partners’ Finance and Administration Unit to monitor the Program budget, ensuring costs are allowable, allocable, and classified in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
• Review and support processing of sub-award contracts, invoices, and payment requests for exchange facilitation and community-led project sub-awardees, consultants, and vendors.
• Track program expenditures and cost-share contributions against the approved budget and flag variances or risks for resolution.
• Maintain program files, records, and documentation in compliance with award and organizational requirements.

• Lead development and maintenance of the Program’s Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP), including data collection tools,…