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Job Title: Program Manager (f/m/d)
Date: 15 Jul 2026 Department: Democracy Institute Full-time/Part-time: Part-time Location:
Budapest, HU, 1051
Application Deadline: open until filled
Are you an experienced program manager with a strong background in academic, policy, civil society, or international organizational settings? If so, you may be interested in joining the CEU Democracy Institute as Program Manager for the Democracy Institute Leadership Academy (DILA).
The CEU Democracy Institute is CEU’s Budapest-based research and civic engagement platform. DILA supports democratic public leadership through practice-oriented leadership programs, bringing together mid-career local, municipal, and national leaders, political party representatives, civil society activists, media professionals and policy experts from across the region.
The Program Manager will provide operational oversight and management for DILA and associated projects. The role covers the implementation program cycle, including day-to-day program implementation and organization, budget oversight, speaker and participant support, and institutional compliance. The Program Manager will also contribute to the design of a new CEU School for Democratic Change, working closely with the DILA Program Director.
This is a part-time position based in Budapest, with the possibility of partial work from home, offered on a fixed-term contract until December 31, 2026. Contract extension may be possible but is not guaranteed.
Duties and Responsibilities
Program Management & Delivery
- Coordinate the delivery of DILA program activities, including logistics, participant and speaker support, and program communications.
- Support fellow recruitment, selection, onboarding, and engagement throughout the program.
- Coordinate faculty and guest speakers, including contracts, invitations, reimbursements, and payments.
- Organize residential sessions and related event logistics in collaboration with the Program Assistant.
Grant Administration & Reporting
- Manage program budgeting, forecasting, financial reconciliation, and compliance.
- Lead donor, narrative, and financial reporting, ensuring timely and accurate documentation.
- Administer fellow contracts and relevant reporting systems, including Hungarian Adult Education Data Reporting.
- Monitor program risks and coordinate corrective actions related to budget, compliance, and timelines.
Strategic & Stakeholder Support
- Contribute to DILA’s strategic development and the design of the CEU School for Political Change.
- Support the DILA Director in strategic, representational, and program-development activities.
- Coordinate communication and collaboration with fellows, alumni, faculty, partners, donors, and internal stakeholders.
- Ensure compliance with institutional, donor, legal, and data-protection requirements.
Team Coordination & Operations
- Supervise the DILA Program Assistant and support effective team coordination.
- Drive process improvements, maintain operational documentation, and strengthen institutional knowledge.
- Oversee program-related office administration and operational continuity.
Qualifications
- Advanced university degree—MA/MSc or equivalent—in social sciences, public policy, international relations, law, or a related field;
- Minimum five years of relevant professional experience in program management, academic, policy, civil society, or international organizational settings;
- Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder programs with administrative, financial, logistical and compliance responsibilities;
- Strong budget development and financial planning skills, including the preparation of detailed financial tables aligned with donor and institutional requirements;
- Experience with grant administration, reporting, documentation and institutional compliance;
- Excellent analytical and drafting skills, with the ability to translate strategic concepts into coherent project proposals and implementation plans;
- Strong stakeholder-management skills and the ability to communicate effectively with fellows, alumni, faculty, speakers, donors, partners, service providers and institutional stakeholders;
- Experience supervising or coordinating the work of junior colleagues, assistants, interns or project staff;
- High level of autonomy, organizational judgment and problem-solving ability, combined with the ability to work in close coordination with senior leadership;
- Excellent written and spoken English.
What CEU Offers
- Competitive salary starting from a gross salary of HUF 550,000 per month;
- International environment;
- Salary supplement for meals;
- In-house opportunities for job-related training and workshops;
- Modern, easily accessible office space;
- Opportunity to work from home in line with the position’s work-from-home arrangement.
How to Apply
Applicants need to submit:
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. The position will remain open until filled.
CEU is strongly committed to the promotion of gender equality and equal opportunities within our institution. Previous training, work experience and/or engagement with matters of equality, diversity and inclusion at the organizational level will be an asset.
Central European University does not discriminate on the basis of—including, but not limited to—race, color, national and ethnic origin, religion, gender and sexual orientation in administering its educational policies, admissions policies, employment, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
About CEU
One of the world’s most international universities, a unique founding mission positions Central European University as both an acclaimed center for the study of economic, historical, social and political challenges, and a source of support for building open and democratic societies that respect human rights and human dignity. CEU is accredited in the United States and Austria, and offers English-language bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in the social sciences, the humanities, law, environmental sciences, management and public policy. CEU enrolls more than 1,400 students from over 100 countries, with faculty from over 50 countries.
In 2019, CEU relocated from Hungary to Austria as the Hungarian government revoked its ability to issue US-accredited degrees in the country. As a result, CEU offers all of its degree programs in Vienna, Austria; and retains a non-degree, research and civic engagement presence in Budapest, Hungary, through its CEU Democracy Institute, the Institute for Advanced Study, the CEU Summer University and The Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives (OSA), and its Hungarian language public educational programs and public lectures.
For more information, please visit https://www.ceu.edu/.
Requisition ID: 1007
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Vollzeit
Projektmanagement
€ 3.571