Senior Project Officer

Overview

The Senior Project Officer, RISE will provide dedicated project management, coordination, and operational support for HR activities across assigned USG-funded multi-country projects working across multiple regions, countries, and technical areas. Based in Jhpiego’s Washington, DC office, this role will help ensure that HR start-up, close-out, transition, staff onboarding and off-boarding, vendor coordination, compliance, reporting, and change management activities are planned, tracked, and delivered effectively in alignment with project priorities, Jhpiego standards, donor requirements, and applicable employment practices.

 

The Senior Project Officer, RISE,  Serves as a coordination and implementation partner for Global Human Resources and project leadership. The position is responsible for organizing workstreams, maintaining project plans and trackers, coordinating across country offices and Regional HR Business Partners, supporting HR-related project start-ups and close-outs, and ensuring timely follow-through on HR deliverables. The role requires strong project management discipline, excellent communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, matrixed, global environment.

Responsibilities

Project Planning and Coordination:

• Develop and maintain HR project plans, timelines, trackers, action logs, and deliverable schedules for project HR workstreams, including start-up, close-out, staffing transitions, and HR operational activities across country offices.

HR Start-Up, Close-Out, and Transition Support

• Coordinate HR activities related to country office start-ups, project close-outs, staff transitions, workforce planning scenarios, contract changes, separations, onboarding, and movement of staff between employment models or implementing partners.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

•  Serve as a liaison between Global HR, Regional HR Business Partners, country HR teams, project leadership, Finance, Operations, Talent Acquisition, Compensation, Legal, and other stakeholders to support coordinated and timely execution of HR activities.

Vendor and Employment Model Coordination

• Support coordination with external vendors and service providers, including Employers of Record, payroll providers, recruitment vendors, benefits providers, and consultants, ensuring activities are tracked, documentation is complete, and issues are escalated appropriately.

Monitoring, Reporting, and Documentation

• Track progress against HR workplans and deliverables; prepare regular updates, dashboards, briefing notes, and status reports for project and HR leadership; maintain accurate records, trackers, decision logs, and documentation repositories.

Risk, Compliance, and Issue Tracking

• Identify HR-related risks, dependencies, gaps, and bottlenecks; maintain risk and issue logs; support follow-up on compliance actions; and escalate matters requiring leadership, legal, donor, finance, or HR partner input.

Change Management and Communications

•  Support communications, stakeholder engagement, and change management activities related to HR transitions, policy implementation, staffing changes, and new or revised HR processes, ensuring messages are clear, timely, and aligned with organizational standards and project needs.

Recruitment and Onboarding Coordination

• Partner with Talent Acquisition, hiring managers, and country HR teams to track anticipated and upcoming recruitment needs, and facilitate job description development, approvals, onboarding readiness, hiring milestones, and any other HR processes for project-related roles.

HR Systems and Data Support

• Support accurate HR data collection, reporting, and follow-up in coordination with HR systems and country teams, including information related to staffing, onboarding, separations, performance management, and HR compliance deliverables.

Process Improvement

• Document lessons learned, identify opportunities to streamline HR project processes, recommend improvements to tools and workflows, and support development of standard operating procedures, templates, and guidance materials.

Internal Knowledge Management Systems

• Support internal communications and knowledge management processes by maintaining functional staff lists and supporting development and use of internal mailing lists; support staff to register for relevant Communities of Practice, etc. and support sharing of updates and orientation resources to project staff.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Project Management, International Development, Organizational Development, or a related field required. Advanced degree or professional certification such as PMP, PMD Pro, SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, SPHR, or equivalent preferred.
• Minimum of 8 years of relevant experience in human resources, project coordination, HR operations, international development operations, or related project management roles. Experience supporting multi-country or donor-funded programs strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of HR operations, recruitment, onboarding, employee transitions, performance management, employee relations processes, HR compliance, HRIS/data management, and employment documentation.
• Demonstrated ability to manage timelines, coordinate complex workstreams, track deliverables, identify risks, follow up on action items, and produce clear project status updates for multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare concise updates, briefing materials, trackers, meeting notes, and leadership-ready summaries.
• Strong attention to detail, sound judgment, analytical thinking, problem-solving ability, and capacity to organize information from multiple sources into actionable plans.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint. Experience with HRIS, applicant tracking systems, project management platforms, dashboards, or reporting tools preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to work respectfully and effectively across cultures, time zones, functions, and organizational levels. Experience supporting country offices or global teams preferred.

 

Core Competencies

• Strong project coordination and follow-through
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines
• Clear, proactive, and professional communication
• Discretion and sound judgment in handling confidential HR information
• Collaborative approach to working with HR, program, operations, finance, legal, and country office stakeholders
• Adaptability in a dynamic, donor-funded, multi-country project environment
• Commitment to compliance, equity, employee well-being, and Jhpiego’s values and culture of respect

Work Environment, Reporting, and Travel

• Location: Washington, DC office, with flexibility consistent with Jhpiego and project work arrangements.
• Organizational Unit: Global Human Resources, supporting project HR activities.
• Reporting Structure: Reports to the International HR Operations Director or designated HR leadership, with dotted line / close coordination with project leadership, Regional HR Business Partners, and country HR teams.
• Travel: Occasional domestic or international travel may be required to support project start-up, close-out, transition activities, HR reviews, meetings, or stakeholder engagement.
• Physical Demands: Typical office environment requiring regular computer use, virtual meeting participation, document review, and coordination across multiple time zones.

 

Additional Information

The Senior Project Officer plays an important role in strengthening coordination, accountability, and operational effectiveness across project HR activities. The position supports timely and compliant HR execution during periods of rapid change, including project start-ups, close-outs, staffing transitions, vendor coordination, and workforce planning. Success in this role requires a service-oriented mindset, strong organizational discipline, discretion, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to translate complex HR activities into clear plans, actions, and results.

 

 

    The salary range for this role is expected to be: $74,867 - $92,924.

Total Rewards

The referenced salary range is based on Johns Hopkins University’s good faith belief at the time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as geographic location, work experience, market conditions, education/training and skill level. Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees' health, life, career and retirement. More information can be found here: https://hr.jhu.edu/benefits-worklife/

 

Education and Experience Equivalency

 Please refer to the job description above to see which forms of equivalency are permitted for this position. If permitted, equivalencies will follow these guidelines: JHU Equivalency Formula: 30 undergraduate degree credits (semester hours) or 18 graduate degree credits may substitute for one year of experience. Additional related experience may substitute for required education on the same basis. For jobs where equivalency is permitted, up to two years of non-related college course work may be applied towards the total minimum education/experience required for the respective job.

**Applicants who do not meet the posted requirements but are completing their final academic semester/quarter will be considered eligible for employment and may be asked to provide additional information confirming their academic completion date.

 

Background Checks

The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check. Johns Hopkins is committed to hiring individuals with a justice-involved background, consistent with applicable policies and current practice. A prior criminal history does not automatically preclude candidates from employment at Johns Hopkins University. In accordance with applicable law, the university will review, on an individual basis, the date of a candidate's conviction, the nature of the conviction and how the conviction relates to an essential job-related qualification or function.

 

 Diversity and Inclusion

The Johns Hopkins University values diversity, equity and inclusion and advances these through our key strategic framework, the JHU Roadmap on Diversity and Inclusion.

 

 Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

 

 EEO is the Law

https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf

 

Accommodation Information

If you are interested in applying for employment with The Johns Hopkins University and require special assistance or accommodation during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact the Talent Acquisition Office at [email protected]. For TTY users, call via Maryland Relay or dial 711. For more information about workplace accommodations or accessibility at Johns Hopkins University, please visit: https://accessibility.jhu.edu/.

 

Vaccine RequirementsJohns Hopkins University requires all faculty, staff, and students to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. Exceptions to the flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry.

 

RECRUITMENT SCAMS & FRAUD WARNING

 

 Jhpiego has become aware of scams involving false job offers. Please be advised:

• Recruiters will never ask for a fee during any stage of the recruitment process.
• All active jobs are advertised directly on our careers page.
• Official Jhpiego emails will always arrive from a @Jhpiego.org email address.

 

Please report any suspicious communications to [email protected]

 

#LI-TT1