Director Of Program Operations, Jdc-Idp (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee-Idp)
New York, Ny
I began my international development career at the JDC, the 116-year old organization ensuring the cultural and social well-being of Jewish communities around the world. JDC’s International Development Program, the JDC-IDP, focuses on helping non-Jewish community grow and prosper. This is where I worked and, in time, became its director. In that capacity, I worked in 24 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and South America. My responsibilities were to- Establish close relationships with host governments, assess needs, develop responsive programs, hire professional and support teams, and the regional director. - In person, continuously assess the programs and ensure their quality and ability to remain within budget and timeline. - Ensure that upon the programs' completion host governments took possession of them - as previously negotiated - and maintained their quality and functionality for the next few years. We also responded to major natural and man-made disasters, coordinating our activities with the U.S. State and other Departments, and the United Nations’ various divisions. We often collaborated with other major organizations such as the International Red Cross; the IRC (International Rescue Committee,) CRS (Catholic Relief Services), LWR (Lutheran World-Service), The Armenian Assembly, etc.Our programs helped hundreds of thousands of people around the world, who represented all political, religious and cultural backgrounds, and who shared our deepest values of human decency and valor.
