The OTI Deputy Country Representative – Nigeria is a full-time Personal Services Contract (PSC) position at the GS-13 equivalent level and located in Nigeria. Offers for this position are due no later than September 23, 2019 at 1:00pm Eastern Time. For full information about this position, as well as instructions on how to apply, please read the entire solicitation at
INTRODUCTION:
The OTI Deputy Country Representative – Nigeria is a member of the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA)/OTI Africa (AFR) Regional Team, reports to the OTI Country Representative or his/her designee, and is based in Nigeria. The Deputy Country Representative’s principal responsibility is to support the OTI Country Representative in the development, oversight, and management of the OTI country program.
Nigeria is one of the USG’s most strategic allies in sub-Saharan Africa but still struggles with insecurity caused by Boko Haram (BH) and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)-West Africa (WA). An escalated military offensive by Nigerian and regional security forces helped the government reclaim areas previously held by BH and ISIS-WA and provided an opportunity for communities to return to their homes. However, the insurgency is far from over, as BH and ISIS-WA have increased attacks in Nigeria and neighboring countries in the Lake Chad Basin. To defeat BH and ISIS-WA, military operations must be coupled with civilian efforts to address the underlying issues.
OTI’s Northeast Nigeria program seeks to further U.S. foreign policy objectives in Nigeria through support that denies BH/ISIS-WA the space to operate by reducing recruitment and support for their ideology. OTI intends to address these critical issues through a flexible, small-grants mechanism which tailors approaches to the varied needs of communities in northeast Nigeria. The program may utilize both “soft” (e.g., cultural and recreational activities, media and strategic communications) and “hard” (e.g., small-scale infrastructure) activities to better connect communities, local actors, and the Nigerian government and to increase youth resistance to violent extremism. The program may also support national level activities or other emerging transition needs.
Due to the sensitive, fragile, and challenging environments in which OTI works, the office’s approach to programming is one that seeks to find creative, entrepreneurial, and unique ways to approach problem sets. These dynamic contexts require that programs adapt to rapidly evolving situations and that teams continually explore assumptions and test innovative tools and methods to achieve program objectives. Given OTI’s short-term political mission, its unpredictable working environments, and to diffuse problems it seeks to address, OTI has developed ways to respond quickly and act fast. OTI has honed a program approach that uses iterative strategic planning, where staff constantly review the current political situation, create relationships with communities and key actors, and undertake activities that will test what works and what doesn’t in order to inform future activities and priorities. Core qualities of a successful OTI program are characterized by a team that is able to be: fast, flexible, iterative, adaptive, and entrepreneurial.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
● Represent OTI interests during meetings with USAID Mission personnel, U.S. Embassy staff, host-country government officials, international organizations, indigenous and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and international donors interested in DCHA/OTI activities;
● Provide guidance on the identification and development of projects that meet OTI funding criteria, further OTI programmatic objectives, and complement other projects and programs implemented by other OTI offices, USG agencies and donor organizations;
● Provide support for the design and execution of programs that follow OTI’s quick impact programming model in U.S. Embassies or USAID Missions. Support to U.S. Embassies and USAID Missions will include attendance and/or facilitation of program management processes for follow-on programming, including rolling assessments, strategy review sessions, program performance reviews and management reviews;
● Review proposals and grant concepts and work with diverse groups, many of which have not previously had international funding;
● Collaborate with the Country Representative in monitoring the performance of OTI implementing partners in the implementation of OTI-financed activities designed to achieve OTI strategic objectives;
● Travel to monitor and assess political conditions, implementing partner operational platforms, meet with potential grantees, host-country government and other program counterparts, and develop activity ideas;
● Mentor and train other OTI and implementing partner field staff;
● Take the lead on collecting information and drafting/editing regular reporting products, such as weekly reports, cables and digest reports;
● Assume higher representational responsibilities, potentially serving as Acting OTI Country Representative in his/her absence;
● Perform a wide range of administrative functions including budget preparation, financial management, records management, and travel assistance to help ensure programmatic success;
● Coordinate with the OTI Country Representative to develop an exit strategy that ensures reasonable time to transition from OTI programs to follow-on USAID or other donor programs;
● Communicate regularly and share program information with other USAID project managers, the US Embassy, bilateral donors, United Nations (UN) Organizations, International Organizations (IO’s), and indigenous and international NGOs to ensure visibility and synergy of USAID/OTI activities;
● Support the Country Representative to ensure the use of OTI systems and procedures to maintain effective and efficient management of funds, programming, and monitoring and evaluation;
● Report to the OTI Country Representative and OTI/Washington, D.C on the status of: 1) grant development and implementation, 2) OTI contractor performance, 3) Foreign Service National (FSN) staff support needs and morale, 4) communication and coordination issues among OTI offices with other USG entities, 5) security concerns, 6) relations with local partners including local, state and national government representatives, and 7) other pertinent information required to achieve OTI’s program objectives;
● Manage and/or supervise the FSN staff, including program officers, administrative assistants and drivers alongside of the Country Representative;
● Supervise staff as delegated by the Country Representative (e.g. program managers, program assistants, program administrative assistants, etc.). Provide orientation, training and mentoring for USAID staff supervised; assign work, explain how duties are to be performed to meet expectations, and communicate how the successful performance of those duties will be measured; evaluate staff performance; recognize good performance; communicate where performance needs to be improved; resolve complaints; and approve leave requests and timesheets as well as training, travel and program and operations requests.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
(1) A Master’s Degree with five (5) years of work experience;
OR
A Bachelor’s Degree with seven (7) years of work experience;
AND
(2) A minimum of five (5) years of project management experience with a USG foreign affairs agency, international assistance organization, or non-governmental organization in community development, economic development, mediation/arbitration, conflict resolution, democracy and governance, international law, human rights activities, and/or political analysis;
(3) One (1) year of overseas field experience working in a developing country;
(4) One (1) year of supervisory experience.
Please direct questions about this position or the offer process to the OTI Recruitment Team at [email protected].
More Information
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