Senior Regional Advisor – Southern and East Africa 232 views0 applications

The OTI Senior Regional Advisor – Southern and East Africa is a full-time Personal Services Contract (PSC) position at the GS-15 equivalent level and located in . Offers for this position are due no later than April 1, 2020 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 www.OTIjobs.net.

INTRODUCTION:

The OTI Senior Regional Advisor position was developed in response to a significant increase in USAID’s portfolio of countries that face various forms of fragility or crisis as well as an increase in demand for OTI’s experience and programming methodology. As USAID’s lead operational unit for crisis intervention programming, OTI has evolved to carry out more assessments, provide more experientially-based technical advice and analysis, and closely monitor countries that face possible political crises in order to deepen understanding, identify opportunities and constraints, and prepare programming when necessary.

The Senior Regional Advisor will be based in Nairobi, Kenya at the USAID/Kenya and East Africa (USAID/KEA) Mission and will report to the Washington-based OTI Southern and East Team Leader while also maintaining a close line of day-to-day coordination with the Nairobi-based USAID/KEA Mission Director. As the senior OTI representative in the field, the Senior Regional Advisor will represent and serve as a liaison between OTI and a wide array of individuals and institutions including USAID Field Missions, other DCHA and Conflict Prevention and Stabilization (CPS) Bureau office representatives, regionally based officials from the State Department, the Department of Defense, and other agencies of the U.S. Government, international organizations, and the non-government community abroad on political transition, conflict and post-conflict issues in the region. The position will augment technical capabilities at USAID/KEA on thematic issues relevant to OTI programming including, but not limited to, complex crisis response, political transition, and stabilization. The Senior Regional Advisor will visit, as necessary, ongoing OTI programs in the region as well as proposed and potential country program sites, serving as OTI’s senior official in the region, and may be called upon to support other regions as needed. The Senior Regional Advisor will serve as the agent of the OTI Team Leader and, when designated, will have supervisory authority when working with OTI country teams. This position will include extensive travel, particularly within Southern and East Africa.

As OTI takes its place within the new Conflict Prevention and Stabilization (CPS) Bureau, the new bureau’s leadership envision this position more broadly representing CPS equities and capabilities. The Senior Regional Advisor will train, mentor, backstop, and support OTI country teams, including Country Representatives, Deputy Country Representatives, and other staff on the OTI business model, procedures, minimum program requirements, and best practices. He or she will help to determine the learning and training needs of in-country staff, and contribute to broader office policy and process discussions to promote state-of-the-art transition programming. Through coordination with OTI’s home office, the Senior Regional Advisor will stay abreast of current thinking, policy determinations, lessons learned and best practices from other regions, while at the same time cultivating and sharing best practices found in the field. Through on-the-ground knowledge of OTI country programs, the Senior Regional Advisor will contribute to the refinement of OTI’s learning and training strategy, training regimes, and materials for staff in country programs as well as office surge staff known as the Bullpen.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the direct supervision of the Washington-based DCHA/OTI Regional Team Leader for Southern and East Africa and while closely maintaining a line of day-to-day coordination with the USAID Senior Development Advisor, the OTI Senior Regional Advisor will perform the following duties:

● Ensure effective and well-managed OTI country programs by performing independent analysis of program operations, and helping to mentor, train, and advise the Country Representative, Deputy Country Representative, and other members of in-country Senior Management Teams (including implementing partner staff where appropriate) on OTI’s business model, programming methodology, applicable historical references, and observed personal and corporate lessons;

● Advise at strategic, programmatic and activity levels to ensure the overall success of OTI programs in the region;

● Provide high-level support to U.S. Embassies and USAID Missions for the design and execution of programs that follow OTI’s quick-impact programming model;

● Monitor regional developments related to CPS and OTI’s mission and mandate. Provide ongoing analysis and regular reporting to the Regional Team Leader on current political developments, security concerns and other pertinent information from the region for informed decision-making;

● Provide high-level advisory support and participation in policy development, strategy sessions, or special projects and initiatives for the Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization (CPS), regional bureaus, and/or other USAID offices;

● Travel to current or potential OTI field locations and Washington, DC to conduct new country assessments, provide strategy guidance, and/or assist in the design of a new or existing programs. Travel will also be required to attend relevant regional conferences and workshops;

● As requested, support management of ongoing OTI programs in the region on a temporary duty (TDY) or remote basis, including but not limited to serving as Acting Country Representative or Acting Deputy Country Representative;

● Actively manage learning and training in CPS/OTI by linking, contributing to, and refining observed lessons and best practices from the field, program, and personnel requirements to OTI’s knowledge management team;

● Serve as OTI’s representative, regional expert and liaison for new country start-ups, strategic analysis and dialogue with senior U.S. Government officials and representatives throughout the region; and

● Provide strategic advice to the OTI Regional Team Leader about the direction and implementation of country programs, and the performance of in-country staff. Guide the Regional Team Leader and relevant country teams to devise strategies for the improvement and success of OTI programs.

SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP:

The Senior Regional Advisor will be supervised by the Washington-based OTI Regional Team Leader for Southern and East Africa) or his/her designee as part of OTI’s Field Programs Division.

SUPERVISORY CONTROLS:

The supervisor will provide administrative directions in terms of broadly defined missions or functions. The employee will independently plan, design and carry out programs, projects, studies or other work assignments. The employee’s work will be considered technically authoritative and normally accepted without significant change, and will be reviewed in terms of fulfillment of program objectives or influence on the overall program.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

At a minimum, the applicant must have:

(1) A Master’s Degree with nine (9) years of work experience;

OR

A Bachelor’s Degree with eleven (11) years of work experience;

AND

(2) Minimum of nine (9) years of recent project management experience with a USG foreign affairs agency, international assistance organization, or non-governmental organization, in political transition, complex crises, community development, stabilization programming, economic development, mediation/arbitration, conflict resolution, democracy and governance, international law, human rights activities, and/or political analysis;

(3) Minimum of six (6) years of overseas field experience working in one or more developing countries;

(4) Minimum of six (6) years of supervisory experience. In addition, the offeror must satisfy the following Selection Factors:

Please direct questions about this position or the offer process to the OTI Recruitment Team at [email protected].