OTI Country Representative at USAID Ethiopia

Location: Ethiopia

Deadline: 3 Apr 2023

Job Description

The OTI Country Representative – Ethiopia is a full-time Personal Services Contract (PSC) position at the GS-14 equivalent level and located in Ethiopia. Offers for this position are due no later than April 3, 2023 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:

Country Representative is a member of the Conflict Prevention and Stabilization (CPS)/OTI South and East Africa (SEA) Regional Team, reports to the OTI South and East Africa Regional Team Lead or designee, and is based in Ethiopia. The incumbent may be required to travel regionally as necessary. The Country Representative’s principal responsibility will be development, oversight and management of CPS/OTI’s Ethiopia country program. The incumbent will be called upon to represent OTI’s mission and programs to senior-level government officials, in-country visitors, senior officials from other international organizations, bilateral donors and local government officials.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

● Manage a high-profile program in a dynamic environment and provide strategic, programmatic, and operational guidance to OTI’s implementing partners (contractors and/or grantees) while leveraging critical local staff input, and the partner’s role in strategy co-creation, to ensure that activities are contributing to OTI’s program objectives;

● Conceptualize and design program strategies and objectives in close coordination with OTI staff in Washington and in the Field, the Embassy, Host Country Government, implementing partner staff and local civil society actors based on political and context analysis and U.S. Government policy; Initiate strategy reviews as needed in line with changes in context and policy;

● Analyze, synthesize and report on current political developments, security concerns, and other pertinent information required to achieve OTI’s program objectives; Monitor local and regional political developments and regularly brief OTI and partner staff on their potential programmatic impact;

● Responsible for managing program effectiveness; ensuring strategic accountability; setting realistic intended program results and program achievements by utilizing OTI’s programming principles and processes and regularly engaging with the resources available to support and measure program effectiveness;

● Articulate program strategy, as well as communicate and coordinate OTI’s in-country activities between OTI and its implementing partners, USAID, the Embassy and other donor organizations; prepare and disseminate programmatic, financial and periodic reports to the USAID Mission, OTI/Washington and other organizations as appropriate;

● Serve as OTI’s primary liaison with USAID Mission personnel, U.S. Embassy staff, Host-Country Government Officials, UN Organizations, Indigenous and International Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholder organizations. Develop and maintain collaborative relationships to ensure close coordination at the field level, identify the widest range of potential local partners and opportunities, and achieve maximum synergy with other programs;

● Build, lead, supervise, and motivate a team composed of USPSCs and a significant number of implementing partner staff in Ethiopia. In close coordination with the Implementing Partner, continuously review and design staffing plans to meet overall program objectives; Recruit, train, supervise, and evaluate the performance of in-country OTI staff. Maintain staff morale in a difficult security and work environment;

● Provide recommendations to the Washington-based Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and/or the Regional Team Leader on implementing partner performance, budgets, contract modifications, among other partner related issues;

● Provide USAID concurrence on all implementing partner activities, including final approval of grantees for grants under contract, in accordance with the USAID’s Automated Directives System (ADS);

● Ensure the use of OTI systems and procedures to maintain effective and efficient management of funds and programming;

● Ensure that OTI’s programs and activities are monitored and evaluated and that lessons learned are applied to ongoing or future activities;

● Prepare operational plans in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy, including logistics and property use guidelines, closeout and hand-over, security procedures, and contingency and evacuation plans; Review and concur on OTI program budgets for field operations;

● Ensure that all OTI field staff adhere to in-country security guidelines set by the U.S. Embassy Regional Security Officer and other organizations such as the United Nations or host government, as appropriate; Coordinate closely with Implementing Partner senior management to provide relevant security related information from the Embassy;

● Travel within the country/region to monitor and assess political conditions, and implementing partner operational platforms, meet with potential grantees, senior host country government and other program counterparts, and develop recommendations to respond to evolving dynamics; and,

● Serve on temporary details within OTI, other USAID bureaus/offices, or other U.S. Government (USG) agencies under this scope of work for a period not to exceed six (6) months. Duties performed while on detail must be directly related to the scope of work. Contracting Officer (CO) approval is required for the temporary detail. Any extension past the six (6) months requires CO approval.

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION (Determines basic eligibility for the position. Offerors who do not meet all of the education and experience factors are considered NOT qualified for the position. See detailed instructions for demonstrating Education/Experience under “Submitting an Offer”)

At a minimum, the Offeror must have:

(1) A Master’s Degree with seven (7) years of work experience;

OR

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

OR

An Associate’s Degree with ten (10) years of work experience;

OR

A High School diploma/equivalent with eleven (11) years of work experience; AND

(2) Six (6) years of project management experience with a U.S. Government foreign affairs agency, domestic or international assistance organization, or non governmental organization in community development, economic development, mediation/arbitration, conflict resolution, democracy and governance, international law, political analysis, and/or human rights activities;

(3) Two (2) years of overseas field experience (in person or virtual). A virtual temporary duty (TDY) is defined as work that would have been conducted in an overseas location if not for the COVID pandemic;

(4) Three (3) years of supervisory experience with at least one direct report.

Please direct questions about this position or the offer process to the OTI Recruitment Team at otijobs@usaid.gov.