USAID/Nepal invites applications for employment from all interested and qualified candidates for the position of Project Management Specialist (Democracy and Governance) in the Democracy and Governance Office (DGO), under a Foreign Service National (FSN) Personal Services Contract (PSC) subject to availability of funds.
OPEN TO: All interested and qualified candidates
POSITION: Project Management Specialist- Democracy and Governance, FSNPSC- 11
OPENING DATE: February 24, 2016
CLOSING DATE: March 9, 2016 – 5:00 P.M Kathmandu time
WORK HOURS: Full-time; 40 hours/week
NOTE: ALL ORDINARILY RESIDENT APPLICANTS MUST HAVE THE REQUIRED WORK AND/OR RESIDENCY PERMITS TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR CONSIDERATION.
BASIC FUNCTION OF THE POSITION:
The Democracy and Governance (DG) Program Specialist, Foreign Service National (FSN) Personal Service Contractor (PSC) serves as USAID’s expert and advisor on a range of DG issues such as governance, transparency, anti-trafficking, human rights, civil society, media, elections, political transitions, and conflict prevention. Because of field’s breadth, the Specialist needs a general understanding of DG and its cross-sector applications. The incumbent requires specific technical expertise in more than two of the following: public financial management; legal, regulatory, policy frameworks; public accountability, advocacy and oversight; anti-trafficking in persons; conflict prevention and peace building; local governance and service delivery; elections and legislative processes; and/or gender and social inclusion. The Specialist must be highly motivated, capable of working independently or as part of a team. The incumbent advises the DG Office (DGO) and other technical offices engaging in DG activities. S/he collaborates with other USAID technical and support offices and operates within a complex, fluid political environment and with officials at the highest levels in both the United States Government (USG) and the Government of Nepal (GON).
The incumbent manages DG programs assigned from the DGO portfolio. The Specialist leads the design of new programs while meeting USAID requirements. The position requires the monitoring of programs’ technical assistance and capacity building and provides technical direction and leadership to the contractor/ grantee teams implementing DG programs. The Specialist ensures that these programs are effectively implemented in the field and in accordance with the USAID contract/agreement and the approved annual work plan. S/he will also provide technical advice to other USAID Assistance Objective teams on DG as it relates to other sectors (e.g. health, education, agriculture, environment, etc.).
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
1. EDUCATION: The Specialist is required to have a Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field: such as public administration, public policy, political science, economics, journalism, law, rural/community development or other related social science. A Master's degree is preferred.
2. PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE: The Specialist must have at least five years of progressively responsible managerial and/or project management experience. Demonstrate prior experience effectively managing more than one activity at a time. At least three years’ experience working in the area of providing development assistance in two or more of the following areas (in order of preference): public financial management; legal, regulatory, policy frameworks; public accountability, advocacy and oversight; gender and social inclusion; local governance and service delivery; elections and legislative processes; anti-trafficking in persons; conflict prevention and peace building; or a related field. At least two years required experience in planning, developing or managing donor-funded programs in the relevant fields. Prior experience with writing and designing Statements of Work for donor-funded DG programs, preferred. Demonstrated experience with crosssector application of DG programs is desirable. A minimum of seven years of experience is preferred.
3. KNOWLEDGE: The DG Specialist must demonstrate broad technical knowledge and understanding of DG, methodologies and context. The Specialist must have broad technical knowledge of two or more of the following areas related to USAID’s country strategy: conflict prevention and peace building; public accountability and oversight; civic participation and advocacy; and good governance and service delivery; and gender and social inclusion. S/he must have strong knowledge of project or program management and organizational management, as well as NGO and GON operations. The Specialist must also possess knowledge of existing DG-related policies, procedures and regulations with a demonstrated understanding of how these policies impact other sectors. Preferably, the incumbent will have knowledge in two or more of the following USAID’s current and future program areas: public financial management; legal, regulatory, policy frameworks; public accountability, advocacy and oversight; anti-trafficking in persons; conflict prevention and peace building; local governance and service delivery; elections and legislative processes; and/or gender and social inclusion.
4. LANGUAGE: Demonstrated fluency in both written and spoken English (Level IV) is required. Fluency in both written and spoken Nepali (Level IV) required.
5. SKILLS AND ABILITIES: The Specialist successfully demonstrates the following skills and abilities: ï‚· Strong organizational skills and the ability to work independently with little supervision.
ï‚· Ability to develop and maintain high level contacts (GON, donors, civil society, local bodies) and productive working relationships with other counterparts.
ï‚· Excellent communication, presentation and inter-personal skills.
ï‚· Ability to transfer technical DG knowledge into project designs, project reports, policy papers,etc.
ï‚· Ability to communicate DG recommendations to other sectors for improved programming.
ï‚· Ability to work in a team environment and across USAID offices and the US Embassy’s agencies.
ï‚· Ability to manage large, complex development assistance programs.
ï‚· Capacity to prepare technical documents in English with little editing and translate Nepali documents to English.
ï‚· Ability to work effectively under pressure and demonstrate extreme flexibility to manage more than one activity at a time.
ï‚· Ability to work weekends and/or conduct field visits.
ï‚· Strong computer skills to conduct work using MS Word, Excel and Power Point and the ability to use USAID software and computer programs.
A detailed job description for the position can be obtained by visiting USAID/Nepal website at http://www.usaid.gov/nepal/careers
Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and a resume - not to exceed 3 pages - and any other documentation that addresses the qualification requirements of the position as listed in the full job description. Please provide names of three references and their contact numbers and email addresses as well. Please send your application to the attention of USAID/Nepal Human Resources Office, U.S Embassy Maharajgunj, G.P.O. Box. 295, Kathmandu, Nepal. Applications may be sent electronically to:
USAIDNepalHR@usaid.gov
Only short listed applicants will be contacted to participate in the hiring process.
USAID/Nepal is an equal opportunity employer committed to a staff composition that reflects the social and ethnic diversity of Nepali society. We believe that social inclusion and diversity contribute to excellence. Applicants from disadvantaged castes, under-represented ethnic groups, and women are especially encouraged to apply
USAID plays a critical role in our nation’s effort to stabilize countries and build responsive local governance; we work on the same problems as our military using a different set of tools. We also ease the transition between conflict and long-term development by investing in agriculture, health systems and democratic institutions. And while USAID can work in active conflict, or help countries transition from violence, the most important thing we can do is prevent conflict in the first place. This is smarter, safer and less costly than sending in soldiers.