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PROJECT MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST (BHA SOMALIA)

USAID Kenya NAIROBI, KENYA

Summary

GENERAL INFORMATION

1.  SOLICITATION NO.: 21-129

2.  ISSUANCE DATE: September 14, 2021

3.  CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: October 19,             2021 (4:30 PM East Africa Time).

4.  POSITION TITLE: Project Management Specialist (BHA - Somalia)

5.  MARKET VALUE: Equivalent to FSN-PSC 11 (Step 1: 4,597,211.00 KSH to Step 13: 7,815,239.00 KSH per annum). In accordance with AIDAR Appendix J and the Local Compensation Plan of USAID/Kenya and East Africa. Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value.

6. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Initial six (6) months probationary period, with an additional six (6) months upon successful completion of probation period. Four (4) additional option years contingent on fully successful or better performance rating, funds availability and the continued need to retain the position.

7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Nairobi, Kenya; with possible travel as stated in the Statement of Work.

8. SECURITY CERTIFICATION REQUIRED: Prior to joining USAID, the selected candidate will be required to:

  • Undergo a comprehensive background investigation
  • Undergo a health check to obtain medical clearance and;
  • Obtain and Retain an embassy issued Security Certification.

9. STATEMENT OF DUTIES: (See Below).

10. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Open to qualified Kenyan citizens and current employees of the U.S. Government. USAID provides equal opportunity and equitable treatment for employment of all people without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status or sexual orientation.

11. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The position requirements do not involve rigorous physical demands.

BACKGROUND

The USAID/Kenya and East Africa Mission Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) Project Management Specialist (BHA Somalia) is responsible for overseeing the Mission’s humanitarian portfolio in Somalia in conjunction with the BHA Somalia Team Leader, based in Nairobi, Kenya. The incumbent advises/informs on humanitarian conditions, trends and issues, the mission’s humanitarian assistance strategy, and BHA activities. The incumbent regularly interacts with a broad range of actors, including the Somalia Government, United Nations agencies, non-government organizations (NGOs), and donor counterparts. The incumbent contributes to the formulation of program strategy and provides technical, operational, and management support in order to carry out its lead role in facilitating and coordinating USG humanitarian assistance in Somalia. The incumbent will be involved in the planning, design, monitoring, and evaluation of BHA activities, and will travel; security permitting; to monitor BHA program activities and conduct assessments throughout the country and will also engage extensively in remote monitoring efforts. The BHA Project Management Specialist will actively participate in all aspects of the BHA Somalia portfolio to support emergency response, early recovery, risk reduction, and resilience programs, and will coordinate with BHA and USAID/Somalia colleagues in Nairobi, Mogadishu, and other locations.

Description

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES    

1.  PROGRAM MANAGEMENT                                                     50%

The incumbent is responsible for program oversight, monitoring implementation and all administrative and documentation requirements dealing with the humanitarian assistance portfolio for Somalia, which includes projects funded by BHA. The incumbent will support the development and execution of the Mission's multi-sectoral emergency assistance strategy and implementation plan through responding to humanitarian and food assistance needs of natural and man-made disaster affected populations; building resilience by supporting community-based mechanisms that incorporate disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness; and supporting coherent and coordinated national disaster preparedness and humanitarian response systems. The incumbent will be involved in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of humanitarian assistance projects throughout the country, including assisting in the development and implementation of annual plans and response strategies; review and analysis of program progress reports; identification of achievements as well as problems and, in consultation with the Team Leader or designee, developing strategies to capitalize on successes and rectify problems where they exist.

The incumbent communicates with all BHA partners regarding USAID/ BHA rules and regulations, and on their obligations to USAID/BHA. The incumbent is responsible for tracking results and performance indicators; receives periodic reports to ensure that program benchmarks and goals are being met; regularly meets with partners on their monitoring plans; identifies and assists in resolving problems; prepares reports with findings and recommendations and supplements these with oral briefings to the USAID/KEA Somalia Team Leader, and will serve as Activity Manager for BHA awardees operating in Somalia, communicating with the BHA Agreement Officer’s Representative (AOR) in Washington, DC on any emerging issues.

2.  PROGRAM MONITORING                                                     25%

The incumbent is responsible for monitoring BHA projects and identifying implementation achievements, challenges and problems in performance of awardees and initiates appropriate actions in consultation with the USAID/KEA Somalia Team Leader. Through in-person and remote efforts, the incumbent will utilize their highly specialized understanding of humanitarian developments and trends within Somalia to advise/inform on humanitarian needs, conditions, and issues, including the humanitarian coordination, humanitarian space and security/conflict events and liaise with key stakeholders to exchange information on humanitarian assistance, as appropriate.

The incumbent will travel to the scene of actual or potential/anticipated disasters and participate in initial needs assessments to determine damages and humanitarian needs and participate in a broad spectrum of technical and/or needs assessments, including multi-donor/agency assessments, aimed at the identification of existing or emerging “hot spots” to determine humanitarian needs and priorities. He/she will develop and maintain a regular monitoring schedule, to include site visits to insecure, highly volatile areas when feasible as well as remote monitoring efforts to ensure accountability of BHA awards. Through monitoring visits, meetings, and document reviews, the incumbent will ensure projects are being implemented competently, in a transparent manner, in full compliance with all relevant BHA regulations, policies, and procedures, and are achieving targeted objectives.

3.  PROGRAM COORDINATION AND REPORTING                      25%

The Project Management Specialist will coordinate and liaise with high level representatives of other donor governments, host government officials, IOs, NGOs, UN Agencies, USAID Missions, and the U.S. Government inter-agency on humanitarian issues in order to identify critical humanitarian concerns and develop projects and activities for addressing them, advance BHA’s strategic priorities, and help strengthen and coordinate USG and international humanitarian activities.

In close coordination with the Team Leader the incumbent will maintain regular contact with BHA awardees, as well as UN agencies, IOs, and NGOs, and liaise with government ministries at Federal and Member State levels to stay abreast of developing issues and concerns while ensuring government understanding of BHA activities. He/she will also liaise with other USAID and USG staff to ensure mutual programming awareness while actively seeking out new opportunities for resource sharing and collaboration.

The incumbent will participate in humanitarian community working groups in order to remain up to date on emerging issues and initiatives as well as contribute to overall coordination and collaboration within the assistance community as well as among BHA partners. The Project Management Specialist will serve as a critical member of any USG disaster assessment team, Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), D.C.-based Response Management Team (RMT), or backfill for any other staff members in an overseas office as needed in response to crisis situations.

When and where needed, he/she will prepare presentations for use within the Mission and for other stakeholders on specific emergency situations and/or on BHA mandates, responsibilities, and programs, and prepare agendas and briefings for all official USG visitors interested in humanitarian issues. The incumbent will regularly report through official cables and other means on field visit findings, meetings related directly or indirectly to BHA programs, overviews of humanitarian patterns and trends, and other issues that impact humanitarian relief efforts in the area of responsibility.

POSITION ELEMENTS:

A.  Supervision Received: The incumbent is supervised by the USAID/ KEA Somalia Team Leader.      

B.  Supervision Exercised: The incumbent will supervise one CCNPSC employee, USAID PMS (Somalia) FSN-10.

C.  Available Guidelines: Food for Peace Act and ADS Chapter 251.    

D.  Exercise of Judgment: The incumbent must be able to multi-task and prioritize tasks, determine relevance of documents and various sources of information and use judgement in dealing with the public, counterparts, and other donors. Incumbent is expected to be a self-starter and to work independently with minimal guidance.     

E.  Authority To Make Commitments: The incumbent does not have the authority to commit on behalf of the USG or obligate USG funding. Incumbent is expected to exercise initiative in identifying tasks that need to be accomplished and to develop corresponding approaches and methodologies in own work requirement.      

F.  Nature, Level and Purpose of Contacts: The incumbent will be in regular contact with government officials, UN agencies, NGO’s, other donors, as well as USAID employees at all levels. S/he will work closely with technical offices, up to the Office Director level, on humanitarian assistance related activities. The incumbent will be in regular contact with USAID/RDMA and USAID/W as s/he liaises with the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance counterparts in Bangkok and Washington.     

G.  Time Expected to Reach Full Performance Level: One year.

Education
Bachelor’s Degree In International Development, International Disaster Management, Emergency Management, International Relations, Public Administration, Medicine, Public Health

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

Any application that does not meet the minimum requirements stated below will not be evaluated. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. If you have not been contacted within one month from the closing date of this advertisement, please consider your application unsuccessful.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education: A Bachelor’s degree in International Development, International Disaster Management, Emergency Management, International Relations, Public Administration, Medicine, Public Health, or related field is required.        

Post Entry Training: Introduction to Program Cycle, Project Development and Collaborating, Learning and Adapting. Additional Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance training as recommended.

Language Proficiency: Level IV (Fluent) spoken/written English and Kiswahili is required.

More Details on Experience

Prior Work Experience: A minimum of five years of experience in Somalia, of which a minimum of three years must have been in humanitarian relief, recovery, or resilience work with the United Nations, International Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations or Embassies. At least two years of project management experience in sectors such as health, nutrition, food security, protection, livelihoods, or water/sanitation, is required.   

Job Knowledge: Knowledge of the structure of the international humanitarian system, knowledge of the function and operation of foreign aid programs, and familiarity with humanitarian relief operations. In depth knowledge of disaster response and humanitarian assistance mechanisms in a complex emergency. The incumbent must be able to travel and interact independently with local decision makers, communities, and implementing partners.    

More Details on Skills

Skills and Abilities: Demonstrated capability for perceptive analysis and the ability to write and speak effectively are required. S/he should be able to function well in an intense, high stress, close-security environment with limited movement and high workload. A high degree of professionalism, discretion, teamwork and demonstrated outstanding interpersonal skills is a must, in addition to sound judgement.   

Terms And Conditions

EVALUATION AND SELECTION FACTORS

Applicants must submit a resume/cv which describes how their relevant professional experience and education has prepared them to meet the specific challenges of the duties and responsibilities described above.  As part of the interview process, those applicants ranked highest may be required to submit a timed writing sample on a topic provided.  The selection committee may conduct reference checks at any time during the selection process.

Applications that do not meet the required minimum qualifications will not be scored. 

  • Prior work experience (30 points)
  • Job Knowledge (40 points)
  • Skills and abilities (30 points)

Total possible points:  100

Candidates meeting the above required qualifications for the position will be evaluated based on information presented in the application and reference checks.   References will be asked to assess the applicant’s technical knowledge, work performance, communication skills, and group dynamics, using the above criteria.   USAID reserves the right to conduct interviews with the top ranked short-listed applicants.  The interview will be one of the determining factors in the final selection.

HOW TO APPLY

Step 1: Register in MyJobsInKenya at www.myjobsinkenya.com

Step 2: Qualified Current USG Employees: Attach an updated curriculum vitae/resume (no more than five pages), a copy of your most recent Performance Evaluation Report, and copies of all relevant certificates. Scan and attach all the documents and upload to MyJobsInKenya.

                                                       OR

External Applicants/Not Current USG Employees: Attach an updated curriculum vitae/resume (no more than five pages) and copies of all relevant certificates. Scan and attach all the documents and upload to MyJobsInKenya.

NOTE TO APPLICANTS

1. Applications must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section I, item 3, and submitted through myjobsinkenya.com as stated in Section IV.

2.  Submissions will only be accepted through myjobsinkenya.com/usaid. Late and Incomplete applications (those that do not contain the applicant’s most current and up to date detailed CV and relevant education certificates) will not be considered for the position. The closing date for receipt of applications is indicated above.

3. USAID provides equal opportunity and equitable treatment for employment of all people without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status or sexual orientation.

4. Only short-listed candidates shall be contacted. Any form of canvassing will lead to automatic disqualification.

5.  USAID DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING) AND DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS' BANK ACCOUNTS.