Sports Diplomacy Program Lead — Hybrid/Remote

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

Job summary

Meridian International Center is seeking a highly driven Program Officer, Sports to lead end-to-end coordination of athlete engagement, travel logistics, and honoraria across global programs. The role supervises a Program Associate, manages a diverse portfolio of envoys and partners, and ensures compliant execution while collaborating across time zones in a fast-paced environment.

Based in Washington, DC, the position may work partially remotely and is contingent upon grant funding from the U.S.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5-8 years of progressive program management experience.
• At least 2+ years of experience working in sports, athletics, or a related field.
• 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.
• Or any equivalent combination of training, education, and experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the essential functions of the position.

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.
• Oversee coordination of envoy/participant travel, lodging, and itineraries to ensure accuracy and compliance.
• Monitor and support the processing of honoraria and envoy/participant payments; ensure financial tracking aligns with requirements.
• Review and approve logistics plans and troubleshoot challenges as needed.
• Supervise and provide guidance to the Program Associate; delegate tasks and ensure timely completion.
• Provide mentorship, quality control, and performance feedback; support coordination across staff.

Skills

Project management

Organizational skills

Communication

Team management

Problem solving

Attention to detail

Inter-cultural communication

Tools

Microsoft Office

Airtable

Google Workspace

Canva

Adobe Acrobat

Zoom

Squarespace

Salesforce

VendorRisk

Job description

Meridian International Center is seeking a highly driven Program Officer, Sports to lead end-to-end coordination of athlete engagement, travel logistics, and honoraria across global programs. The role supervises a Program Associate, manages a diverse portfolio of envoys and partners, and ensures compliant execution while collaborating across time zones in a fast-paced environment.

Based in Washington, DC, the position may work partially remotely and is contingent upon grant funding from the U.S.