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PROJECT MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST (HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE)

USAID Kenya NAIROBI, KENYA

Summary

GENERAL INFORMATION

1.  SOLICITATION NO.: 21-20.

2. ISSUANCE DATE: February 9, 2021.

3. CLOSING DATE/TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: March 2, 2021        (4:30 PM East Africa Time).

4. POSITION TITLE: Project Management Specialist (Humanitarian            Assistance)                     

5. MARKET VALUE: Equivalent to FSN-PSC 10: (Step 1: 3,203,516.00        KSH to Step 13: 5,445,968.00 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 1-year probationary period with      4 additional option years contingent on performance, position need,        and funds availability.

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. 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

USAID’s regional Office of Food for Peace and Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance in Nairobi came together under a unitary team under the new Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) in June, 2020.  Together, BHA supported approximately $2.2 billion of food and non-food humanitarian assistance in Fiscal Year 2019, partnering with public international organizations and non-governmental organizations on relief, nutrition, livelihoods and resilience-oriented activities. Staff in the office monitor the regional and country-specific emergency situation; directly oversee food and non-food assistance programs in countries where there are no BHA staff present; provide technical support to USAID Missions in countries that have BHA staff in-country; represent BHA in regional coordination forums; provide formal and informal training and mentoring for BHA staff in the region; provide surge capacity to respond to new emergencies or cover staffing gaps; and provide program logistics and commodity management support. 

The BHA Office works closely with other offices within the USAID/Nairobi mission, particularly the agriculture and health offices, to ensure that programs are coordinated and effective.  Staff also regularly liaise with inter-agency partners such as the State Department and U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as other humanitarian donors, and United Nations (UN) and non-governmental organization (NGO) partners. 

The Project Management Specialist - Humanitarian Assistance (PMS/HA) is responsible for monitoring and reporting on all aspects of BHA programs within his/her area of responsibility in order to inform decision makers in  relevant USAID Missions and BHA/Washington so that they can ensure effective management and targeting of BHA resources.  

The PMS/HA will collect information from households, partners’ field staff, and local leadership in his/her geographic zone of responsibility about factors that affect their food security, evidence of oncoming natural and manmade shocks and their impacts on lives and livelihoods, the need for emergency assistance, and the effectiveness and quality of implementation of BHA-funded emergency and resilience programs in his/her assigned geographic zone of responsibility, including whether resources are being targeted and distributed effectively and equitably in order to combat hunger and malnutrition and save lives. S/he will prepare reports and verbally brief BHA and other U.S. Government (USG) personnel on conditions of vulnerable communities and individuals.  S/he will also engage with partners in the field to identify ways to resolve operational challenges.

The PMS/HA will work under the direction of the BHA Director, or his/her designee, such as the BHA Kenya Team Leader for his/her area of responsibility. This position requires regular coordination with other BHA team members, representatives from other USAID offices, the humanitarian donor community, and the UN, and therefore requires a highly collaborative work style.

Description

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

The PMS/HA responsibilities will include the following:

A.  PROGRAM/PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND RELATED DUTIES      80%

  1. Devises, in collaboration with BHA colleagues, an annual monitoring plan outlining the sites to be visited and timeline, and conducts regular field monitoring visits, in accordance with the monitoring plan, spending at least 40% of time in the field, often in austere conditions, collecting data on the implementation of BHA programs. Advises on any issues arising that need to be addressed, including immediate reporting of any actual or suspected diversions of USG resources, missed implementation targets, and non-compliance with USAID regulations. Makes recommendations for addressing and solving any problems that are discovered, provides feedback to the implementing partner and concludes with follow-up to ensure improvements.  

    2. Identifies and reviews technical reports and documents related to            humanitarian assistance and resilience to remain current about                general knowledge and advances in the fields of emergency                    assistance and resilience in general, and others’ findings related to          his/her geographic zone of responsibility, in particular.

    3. Participates in multi-agency assessments of food security, nutrition,          markets and emergency assistance and other humanitarian needs,          and assists in the development of funding and programmatic                  recommendations for BHA and USAID Missions.

     4.  Recommends to the BHA team the appropriate response for                    initiating or adjusting emergency and resilience assistance                      programming based on field findings about food and nutrition                  needs, environmental concerns, health and WASH issues, market            conditions, transportation requirements, and the cultural and                  political situation.

     5.  Reports on all field monitoring trips, assessments, etc.  Provides             information for additional reporting to the BHA Director, USAID               Mission Director, and BHA Washington, as necessary.

 B.  TECHNICAL SPECIALIST AND REPRESENTATIONAL DUTIES             20%

      1.  Represents BHA in working group meetings and other fora with               UN, NGOs, and other humanitarian donors. Represents USAID to             a wide range of government officials at the provincial/district                   level and representatives at the technical and administrative                   levels. Engages with beneficiaries, community members and                   leaders related to BHA’s emergency and resilience programs.  All             representation is performed in line with the overall direction of                 the BHA/Nairobi office and specific country team.

      2.  Exchanges information with Famine Early Warning Systems                     Network (FEWSNET) and reviews and provides feedback on                     FEWSNET reports prior to their release.

      3.  The PMS/HA will be required to assist in creating a supportive                 work environment that values diversity and elicits the highest                 possible level of performance from all team members, including               accomplishment of all other duties as assigned.

POSITION ELEMENTS

A.  SUPERVISION RECEIVED: The incumbent will report to the Kenya Team Leader, or his/her designee. Supervisor will set overall objectives and will work with the PMS/HA to determine deadlines and work priorities. The incumbent is expected to take the initiative, act independently, and perform duties.

B.  SUPERVISION EXERCISED: None

C.  AVAILABLE GUIDELINES: 2014 Food for Peace Act, USAID Regulations, BHA guidelines, warehouse inspection procedures, commodity monitoring reporting requirements.

D.  EXERCISE OF JUDGMENT: Incumbent takes overall direction from the Officer Director or his/her designee, such as the BHA Kenya Team Leader for the country program, but must be able to work independently in an efficient and timely manner, including preparation of reports, identifying issues and suggesting areas of improvement in various aspects of emergency and resilience program implementation and management, and collaborating with USAID colleagues, and other humanitarian donors and partners.

E.  AUTHORITY TO MAKE COMMITMENTS:The position has no authority to commit funds or re-direct the work of partners. The incumbent will speak with authority on BHA and USG project implementation requirements and regulations acting as both an advisor and information source to contacts within and outside of USAID. All work is performed in collaboration with the BHA team.

F. NATURE, LEVEL, AND PURPOSE OF CONTACTS: The incumbent will work closely with the BHA country team, within his/her area of responsibility, with the BHA Director and Deputy Director, and UN partners, other donors, NGOs, and local authorities. These contacts will be for the purpose of collecting and sharing information, participating in coordination meetings and field visits, and representing BHA as appropriate.

G. TIME EXPECTED TO REACH FULL PERFORMANCE LEVEL: 1 Year  

Education
Bachelor’s Degree In A Discipline Pertinent To Humanitarian Assistance, Resilience And Program Management, Such As Agriculture, Nutrition, Or Agricultural Economics.

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.

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree in a discipline pertinent to humanitarian assistance, resilience and program management, such as agriculture, nutrition, or agricultural economics.

POST ENTRY TRAINING:  Rapid familiarization with general U.S. Government policies and specifically the Food for Peace Act and Title II implementing guidelines, Regulations 11 and 22 CFR 216 and 226. Mandatory training includes Introduction to Project Cycle, Project Development and additional training in Food Aid Rules & Regulations/ Commodity management training, Standard BHA onboarding modules, including response readiness, Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), On the job training through mentoring and peer assistance.

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: Level (IV) English and Kiswahili Level 4 fluency, English proficiency will be assessed.

JOB KNOWLEDGE: The incumbent must have operational level understanding of humanitarian assistance programs and modalities, qualitative monitoring methods, and reporting information systems. 

More Details on Experience

PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE:  Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience related to emergency and/or resilience program management, including at least one (1) year of on-the-ground field experience in humanitarian needs assessment and assistance and one (1) year in implementation of humanitarian and/or resilience programs. This experience must show significant engagement with rural communities and the application of qualitative and/or participatory methods of inquiry.  

More Details on Skills

SKILLS AND ABILITIES: The incumbent must have excellent verbal and written communication skills in both English and Kiswahili and a strong working knowledge of MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, and be able to manage databases. The incumbent must also have:

  • Good interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to work collaboratively with a wide range of staff and representatives.
  • Ability to review, evaluate and apply complex policies and regulations.
  • Ability to provide rapid, concise, accurate reporting, both verbally and in written English.
  • Ability to grasp and theorize the complexities of humanitarian assistance and food security, the wide variety of dynamic influencing factors and the potential influence of international assistance.
  • Experience collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data to assess the complexity of factors contributing to food security.
  • Ability to work cooperatively in a multicultural team. 
  • Willingness to regularly undertake extensive field work assignments, spending weeks at a time in often austere conditions, and routinely spending approximately 40% of the time in BHA project areas.
  • A solution-seeking attitude.

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:  Complete the job application questionnaire at www.myjobsinkenya.com  The applicant must answer all the questions in the Questionnaire.

Step 3:  Internal Applicants/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. Upload all the documents 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 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 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.