Program Officer, Economic Opportunities for Rural Poor Mexico and Central America – Ford Foundation

Summary Description

The program officer will be responsible for developing, monitoring, and coordinating grantmaking activities to improve the livelihoods of rural households and will serve as office focal point for work on migration. The goal of the livelihoods work is to reduce poverty in rural areas and generate viable alternatives to migration by assisting poor and marginalized households to access financial, business development, and organizational development services that have the potential to improve the productivity of income generating activities and access to markets for goods and services.

Under the direction of the Foundation’s representative in Mexico and the Director of Financial Assets in New York, the new Program Officer will develop grantmaking and other activities to implement three strategies to achieve the goals of this work: research and development of effective, viable, and scalable livelihood solutions, that could include financial products, business and organizational development services, and new ways to access markets; building and strengthening the infrastructure, including intermediary organizations, networks, and government agencies, for the delivery of livelihood development services; and supporting advocacy with public and private agencies and organizations to promote livelihood development strategies. The new Program Officer will give particular attention to the link between migration, livelihoods and community development, helping potential migrants to develop livelihood opportunities that would reduce the financial pressures to migrate and maximizing migrants’ opportunities to contribute to their families and communities once they have migrated. She/he also will be expected to keep abreast of the issues, institutions, and key individuals concerned with these issues, provide intellectual leadership in the field, and work closely with other Program Officers throughout the Foundation whose work relates to the central mission of the portfolio.

In addition, working with the Representative and other program officers, the Program Officer will contribute to the Mexico and Central America Office thematic focus on migration, coordinating activities involving all the program staff in the office. The foundation’s Mexico and Central America office has a holistic approach to migration that addresses the underlying causes of migration, migrants’ vulnerability during their journey and at their destination, and migration’s positive and negative effects on migrants, host communities, and communities of origin. The foundation also takes a transnational approach to migration, which seeks to address migration issues simultaneously in places migrants come from and move to. The foundation seeks to empower migrants as social actors and assist them in building transnational cooperation.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have a thorough understanding of the use of financial, business development, and organizational development services to improve rural livelihoods, as well as the impact of public and private sector policies and practices and the influence of global markets on rural markets and livelihoods. In addition, she/he will also have strong familiarity with the complex transnational phenomenon of migration in the North and Central American context, with particular expertise on the issue of migration and development and the economic root causes of migration. Knowledge of the Mexico and Central America context; written and oral fluency in Spanish and English; ability to work effectively with colleagues from diverse disciplines and perspectives are a requisite. A graduate degree in economics, rural development, finance, or a related field is a requirement.

Salary

Is based on experience and on the Foundation’s commitment to internal equity. A generous benefits package is provided.

To apply for the position send full application materials (consisting of substantive cover letter, c.v., and a 1-2 page sole-authored writing sample) to Cristina Galindez at cristina.galindez@gmail.com.

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