Position Summary:

USAID/Office of Transition Initiatives requires an in-country Field Transition Advisor (FTA) to be hired and fielded by Creative Associates, to support implementation of the Northern Cameroon Initiative. Due to security restrictions on U.S. Government official personnel, the OTI Country Rep (CR) and Deputy Country Rep (DCR) are unable to travel to the field as often as necessary to oversee the program. The FTA will be an integral part of the program team, and will work closely with the USAID/OTI CR, DCR and USAID/OTI’s implementing partner. The FTA will serve on the program’s Senior Management Team and represent USAID/OTI’s interests at the field level in Maroua where the program is based. The FTA will provide programmatic guidance and advice, political analysis, and operational support to the CR and DCR, and under their direction work closely with the implementing partner to ensure that the Northern Cameroon Initiative meets the expectations of a USAID/OTI program.

This location has been designated as an unaccompanied post.

Reporting & Supervision:

The workload of the FTA will be managed by the USAID/OTI Country Representative (CR) and his/her designee, with oversight and logistical support provided by Creative’s Chief of Party (COP) and Headquarters. The incumbent is expected to take initiative and manage his/her tasks with minimal supervision. The FTA is expected to actively and proactively collaborate with the USAID/OTI CR, and to fully embrace flexibility. Keeping the USAID/OTI CR and/or his or her designee informed of progress, the FTA should propose approaches and methodologies to achieve programmatic goals and objectives for activities and plans.

Expected Outcomes:

• Enhance OTI’s presence and day-to-day input and interaction with the field team.
• Provide independent analysis, advice, and reporting to USAID/OTI on the operational and political context and programmatic progress, challenges and opportunities.
• Assist in the conceptualization and design of program strategies and objectives in close coordination with USAID/OTI and implementing partner staff.
• Assist in the regular review and refining of strategic objectives, including documentation of strategies where required.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Track and analyze local and regional political developments and security concerns as well as other pertinent information required to achieve program objectives, ensuring that the program responds appropriately to new developments;
• Support the CR and DCR in maintaining ongoing efficacy of the USAID/OTI program’s M&E efforts;
• Work closely with the USAID/OTI CR, DCR and implementing partner to develop regular and ad hoc reports, success stories, and outreach products for the program, including working with the CR and OTI Washington on developing mapping, data analysis, and other analytical products;
• At the direction of the USAID/OTI Country Representative, attend meetings with the USAID Office, the U.S. Embassy and interagency partners, foreign donors, humanitarian/development actors and any other stakeholders as required;
• Assist the CR and DCR and M&E team with cluster level evaluation design and oversight as assigned; Ensure that research and monitoring findings are well-integrated into program strategy and activity design;
• Participate in and help lead in-country Program Performance Management processes, such as Strategy Review Sessions, Rolling Assessments, Planning/Team Building Workshops, Program Performance Reviews, etc;
• Feed into discussions within SMT regarding aspects necessary for effective implementation such as necessary personnel, equipment, activity making capacity, and facilities. (Note that USAID/OTI’s implementing partner is currently responsible for all the administrative, logistics, procurement, finance, and implementation aspects of the USAID/OTI Cameroon Program);
• Travel to target communities to meet with authorities, community members and partners (in line with security guidance);
• Independently manage special projects or tasks as assigned; and
• Integrate fully with USAID/OTI’s implementing partner staff, representing USAID/OTI’s thinking on strategic direction and priorities during the entire activity cycle. In practice, this may include:
• Identifying potential areas of intervention, ensuring that all individual activities contribute to USAID/OTI’s program objectives and are achievable.
• Giving guidance on day-to-day programmatic, operational, and strategic matters related to the program, and recommend activity adjustments that may be needed to address the rapidly changing political situation.
• Work closely with program staff to ensure the effective use of the USAID/OTI Activity Database. The Field Transition Advisor may also review the quality of information within the database and make recommendations to the SMT for improved data management, maintenance, and database use.
• Support and mentor implementing partner program staff, particularly program development officers (PDOs) and grants officers, on USAID/OTI systems and best practices in activity development and implementation. This would naturally include formal and informal training and capacity building for staff on OTI programming principles and their application in the Cameroon context.
• Guide, participate in, and provide support to monitoring and evaluation and programmatic learning processes, such as after action reviews, context review sessions, meeting with grantees and beneficiaries, assistance drafting Final Evaluation Reports, drafting hotline questionnaires, etc. Work closely with the program staff to ensure that the M&E strategy and team is working effectively to measure quality, desired impact, timeliness, and that outcomes above the activity level are captured and documented.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

• Excellent political analysis, program and project management skills, reporting skills, and in-depth knowledge of international relations, particularly transition, CVE, and stabilization issues;
• Ability to serve as an effective liaison with a wide array of individuals and institutions;
• Demonstrated understanding of grantee and contractor/USAID relationships, as well as grants programs; m
• Aptitude to operate with high levels of autonomy, responsibility, maturity, and authority in a highly stressful and complex situation while exercising sound judgment in politically charged and challenging security environments;
• Ability to travel extensively within Cameroon, sometimes in high risk areas;
• Demonstrated ability to maintain staff morale in a difficult work environment;
• Excellent interpersonal, presentation, negotiation, problem-solving, and team building skills;
• Ability to communicate effectively with a variety of stakeholders, including local government counterparts, grassroots organizations and their constituencies, U.S. Government agencies, and other international organizations;
• Familiarity with a wide range of relevant issues is desirable, including community development, reconciliation processes, conflict resolution, democracy/governance, and human rights;
• Prior work experience with U.S. Government agencies or managing program operations in civil conflicts is preferred;
• A degree in a field related to supporting OTI’s goals and objectives in Cameroon is required; an advanced degree is strongly preferred;
• At least (5) years of progressively responsible work experience;
• A minimum of (3) years of recent and relevant project management experience, which may include CVE, community development, economic development, democracy and governance, international law, human rights activities, reconciliation and transitional justice, or other transition-related programming;
• A minimum of (2) years of overseas field experience working in a developing country;
• Fluency in written and spoken English and French is required. Arabic is preferred but not required; and
• Prior knowledge of Cameroon and/or Lake Chad Region social and political structures is desired.

Local candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.