Coptic Orphans

Research & Innovation Specialist

Coptic Orphans  •  Cairo, EG (Onsite)  •  5 hours ago
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Job Description

Research & Innovation Specialist

Purpose of the Job

The Research and Innovation Specialist supports the Research & Innovation (R&I) Director across the full lifecycle of new initiatives - from initial concept through piloting, scale-up, and handover to the relevant delivery team. This is a generalist, deliberately cross-functional role that combines strategic support with hands-on execution, spanning program design, operational coordination, and field-level implementation. Because R&I's portfolio evolves continuously, specific assignments will shift with its priorities as directed by the R&I Director; the role exists to give the department the operational capacity and continuity required to develop, test, and scale new initiatives effectively.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Program Development & Handover

  • Partner with the R&I Director to take new program ideas from concept through pilot to scale, often within compressed timelines
  • Support research, benchmarking, and due diligence on new program ideas or potential partnerships
  • Prepare and execute the handover of matured initiatives to the receiving delivery team, including documentation, training, and transition support

Initiative Operations & Documentation

  • Design and manage the operational infrastructure new initiatives need - applicant/participant tracking, scheduling, mapping, and simple digital tools
  • Draft and manage documentation: program designs, training materials, applicant/stakeholder communications, reports, and presentations
  • Proactively identify inefficiencies and propose and implement improvements

Field Engagement & Coordination

  • Coordinate across internal teams (Field, L&D, Programs, Finance) and external partners to keep new initiatives moving
  • Conduct field visits across Egypt to support inspections, training rollouts, and quality checks
  • Represent R&I in field-level meetings with volunteers, church contacts, and local stakeholders as needed

Required Education, Experience, Knowledge, and Skills

  • Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
  • 2–4 years of professional experience, ideally including exposure to program/project management, operations, or a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment
  • Demonstrated versatility - comfortable moving between strategic thinking and hands-on, administrative, or field-level tasks
  • Strong organizational and project management skills; able to juggle multiple concurrent workstreams
  • Comfortable with data and everyday digital tools (Excel required; comfort with tools such as Google Sheets or lightweight apps a strong plus)
  • Excellent written and spoken Arabic and English
  • Willingness and ability to travel regularly within Egypt, including to Upper Egypt (e.g. Luxor, Qena)
  • High degree of self-direction; comfortable with ambiguity and shifting priorities
  • Genuine interest in the NGO/development sector and Coptic Orphans' mission is a strong plus

Travel and Working Requirements

  • Typical office environment: sitting, typing, using office equipment, and occasional lifting of boxes or luggage during travel.
  • Travel throughout Egypt of up to approximately 30% of the time.
  • Flexibility to work outside official hours and on weekends as needed.
Coptic Orphans

About Coptic Orphans

Coptic Orphans is an award-winning international Christian development organization that has transformed the lives of over 100,000 children in Egypt since 1988. We believe that through long-term programs that focus on education, we can affect the vicious cycle of poverty.

When most people think of “orphans,” they think of children in orphanages who have no family at all. In fact, many orphanages in Egypt are filled with children who have families only because their widowed mothers cannot afford to feed them.

This is an injustice.

Coptic Orphans focuses on the children most likely to face the deadly combination of poverty and social injustice, but who have the greatest potential to change their lives and the lives of others.

Through child sponsors and a network of over 900 village-based on the ground volunteers, churches, and organizations, our programs help children stay in school (and stay with their families) and by God’s grace, we empower thousands of children to reclaim their dignity and self-worth.

We make a covenant with orphaned families in Egypt to stay with a child until the end of their highest education, as long as they also work hard to make full use of every possible educational opportunity they have.

Our vision is a peaceful, prosperous Egypt where children thrive, and a vibrant, engaged Diaspora.

Our team of over 150 trained professionals works from our headquarters just outside Washington, D.C. and from offices in Egypt, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Industry
Nonprofit & NGOs
Company Size
201-500 employees
Headquarters
Fairfax, Virginia
Year Founded
1988
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