Sports Diplomacy Program Lead

Meridian-International-Center; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 68,000 - 93,000; Full time

Job summary

Meridian International Center in Washington, DC, seeks a Program Officer, Sports, to lead end-to-end coordination of sports diplomacy programs, including participant recruitment, travel logistics, honoraria, and on-site delivery for grants. The role oversees a Program Associate, coordinates with U.S.

Embassies and partners, and requires exceptional project management, cross-cultural communication, and the ability to work across multiple time zones.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5-8 years of progressive program management experience.
• At least 2+ years of experience working in sports, athletics, or a related field, with a demonstrated understanding of the sports ecosystem and established relationships.
• Experience managing logistics for complex international programs.
• Prior experience supervising staff or managing junior team members.
• Familiarity with participant coordination, travel logistics, and program implementation.
• Experience working with federal programs or compliance frameworks preferred.

Responsibilities

• Support business development efforts for Meridian's sports diplomacy portfolio, including proposal development, fundraising, sponsorship outreach, and identifying new partnership opportunities.
• Build and manage the Sports Diplomacy Leadership Council, including cultivating relationships with athletes, sports executives, leagues, teams, and other key stakeholders.
• Cross-team collaboration on designing, developing, and managing sports-related programming, including convenings, salons, panel discussions, CultureFix events, Summit programming, and other thought leadership initiatives.
• Identify emerging trends, themes, and influential leaders across the sports industry to inform programming, content, and thought leadership, and strengthen Meridian's network.
• Represent Meridian with external stakeholders and help expand the organization's visibility and influence within the sports diplomacy and sports business communities.
• Provide overall coordination and oversight of sports diplomacy programming logistics, content development, and execution.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder coordination

Communication

Problem-solving

Attention to detail

Tools

Microsoft Office

Outlook & Teams

Google Workspace

Job description

Meridian International Center in Washington, DC, seeks a Program Officer, Sports, to lead end-to-end coordination of sports diplomacy programs, including participant recruitment, travel logistics, honoraria, and on-site delivery for grants. The role oversees a Program Associate, coordinates with U.S.

Embassies and partners, and requires exceptional project management, cross-cultural communication, and the ability to work across multiple time zones.