USAID Project Management Specialist – Dreams
Recruiter : USAID Southern Africa
REF: 263/HR/SM/USAID Project Management Specialist – Dreams/Lesotho/250419
Advert Details
Recruiter: USAID Southern Africa Updated on: 2019-04-29 00:00:00
Start Date: 2019-04-25 End Date: 2019-05-09
AA/EE: Not Applicable Contract Permanent
Location: Lesotho Available: Immediately
Category: Office Support Offer: FSN 10: 272,496.00 – 435,989.00 (Full Performance- Basic Salary)
Introduction…
POSITION TITLE: USAID Project Management Specialist – Dreams
MARKET VALUE: FSN 10: 272,496.00 – 435,989.00 (Full Performance- Basic Salary)
Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value.
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Two (2) years contract with options for renewal each year, subject to funds availability and need for the position.
PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: US Embassy for USAID- Lesotho, Maseru
AREA OF CONSIDERATION: All Lesotho citizens and Lesotho permanent residence permit holders.
Minimum Requirements…
Education:
Minimum of Bachelor’s Degree of Arts or Science in public health or administration, epidemiology, social work, social or behavior science, the humanities, education, or related field.
Prior Work Experience:
Minimum of five (5) years of work experience with strong preference for experience in public health and/or social welfare programs to mitigate the effects of HIV on children, adolescents, and their families.
At least (2) years of experience working with implementing partners, community-based organizations, and/or other bilateral donors internationally, particularly in resource-challenged settings.
At least two (2) years of experience working directly with host-country governments at the national, district, or sub-district level, especially on relevant public health challenges for AGYW and their male peers, including HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence response and prevention, education, etc.
Post Entry Training:
Introduction to Program cycle – 1 week
AOR/COR Training – 2 weeks
Advanced Project Design/Project Design & Management – 2 weeks
Global Health e-Learning Courses – ongoing
Language Proficiency (List both English and host country language(s) proficiency requirements by level (II, III) and specialization (sp/read):
English language fluency (Level IV English), in oral, reading and written communications, is a requirement for this position.
Job Knowledge:
High-level knowledge and demonstrated application of planning, designing, implementing, and providing technical guidance
Demonstrable understanding of HIV/AIDS prevention and community-based social welfare initiatives, including program design, implementation, and evaluation; preferred understanding of resource-challenged context, particularly at the rural level
Demonstrated capacity to monitor and oversee a health initiative and/or campaign
Demonstrated strong data analysis skills: must have the ability to obtain, analyze, synthesize, and disseminate data and present findings in both oral and written form.
Demonstrated capacity to use data-informed decision-making with regards to programs policies
Skills and Abilities:
Excellent coordination skills with strong attention to detail and follow-through, including balancing competing priorities in a fast paced working environment and working under pressure to meet project or event deadlines
Strong management and analytical skills are required to strategize, develop, and implement effective USG-supported HIV/AIDS programs
Demonstrated facilitation skills with an eye towards presentation, judgment, and diplomacy amongst diverse stakeholder groups
Excellent interpersonal communication and team building skills: must have the ability to engage effectively with others in a multi-cultural team environment and proactively work to achieve consensus on policy, project, and administrative matters
Strong written and verbal skills and ability to communicate technical information clearly and effectively to both technical and non-technical colleagues, including via project briefings, reports, and other communications
Must have the ability to obtain, analyze, synthesize, and disseminate data and present findings in both oral and written form.
Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain relationships and contacts with counterparts in host government from the National AIDS Commission, Ministry of Health (MOH) to the community level, UN Agencies, other bi-lateral/multi-lateral Donor partners (e.g. GF, & GIZ, etc.) and PVO/NGO partners working in HIV prevention among adolescent girls and young women.
Ability to work within other crosscutting areas guiding development work in Lesotho
Advanced capacity in qualitative and quantitative data presentations (e.g. Excel, PowerPoint, and Word) is required.
SUPERVISION RECEIVED:
The incumbent will report to the Lesotho USAID Program Director. The incumbent is expected to be able to exercise considerable independent judgment in carrying out assigned tasks and to be able to function effectively within a multicultural and interagency environment. S/he functions as a part of USG Interagency team.
SUPERVISION EXERCISED:
None
AVAILABLE GUIDELINES:
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR); AID Acquisitions Regulations (AIDAR; AID Automated Directives System (ADS Series); Contract Information Bulletins (CIBs); Office of Procurement Acquisition Memorandum (OPAMS); U.S. Department of State Standardized Regulations; Federal Travel Regulations; Office of Management and Budget (OMB); Circulars and Controller General Decisions, USAID Mission Orders, Project Papers, Mission Strategy, and other documents available, USAID policies and procedures, Technical Documents and Policy Papers.
EXERCISE OF JUDGMENT:
The incumbent will exercise considerable ingenuity and tact in the coordination of multiple programs addressing AGYW in order to ensure their maximum synergistic impact.
AUTHORITY TO MAKE COMMITMENTS:
The incumbent has no authority to commit USG funds. They will act as an internal DREAMS Specialist for the USG PEPFAR team and interact with implementing partners, and other key stakeholders, in concert with the relevant activity managers, AORs and technical advisors. The position is more of a Specialist and one who reports on DREAMS work, rather than an advisor, so will look to activity managers and others for any guidance/commitments to be given.
NATURE, LEVEL, AND PURPOSE OF CONTACTS:
The incumbent will be expected to accompany the USG agency or Department of State Front Office leadership on occasion to visit GOL officials at the highest levels in government and non-governmental sectors. The incumbent will be expected to dialogue with a wide variety of representation levels—e.g., Ministry leadership, heads of Departments within the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Gender Youth Sports and recreation, district officials and high level visitors from the U.S. and other bilateral and multi-lateral donors, the research community, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the National AIDS Commission. S/he participates in substantive discussions and negotiations of HIV prevention in adolescent girls and young women design/implementation issues and matters of national health and communication policies and strategies.
Evaluation Criteria and Weights:
- Education/Weighted 5% based on initial application review;
- English Language Skills/Weighted 20% based on application review, written assessment, and interview;
- Prior Work Experience/Weighted 15% based on application review and interview;
- Knowledge/Weighted 30% based on written assessment and interview; and
- Skills and Abilities/Weighted 30% based on written assessment and interview.
How the Selection will be made:
The successful candidate will be selected based upon the following:
a preliminary review of the applicant’s submitted package (which includes the cover letter and CV) to establish that minimum educational, work experience, and English writing fluency requirements are met;
tests to include an English writing skills test; a Microsoft Office proficiency test that might include any of the following: Word, Excel, PowerPoint; and any technical skills test that might be deemed appropriate;
a personal face to face interview; and
reference checks.
USAID/SA’s Human Resources Section will perform the preliminary review (Step 1 above) to eliminate those applications that do not meet the minimum educational and written English language requirements before forwarding the rest to the Technical Office or Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) for further review and assessment.
The Technical Evaluation Committee will review each of the forwarded applications against the established evaluation criteria to develop a shortlist of applicants to be tested and possibly interviewed. Applicants will be contacted for testing (Step 2) and interviews.
Following the interview (Step 3) during which the applicant will be evaluated against the established criteria, the TEC will make a preliminary determination of candidates to be considered for employment and forward that list to HR. The TEC will conduct and document reference checks. (Step 4) prior to advising the TEC of the results of these checks. Please note that references may be solicited from current as well as former supervisors in addition to the references you provide in your application package. References will only be solicited for those interviewed applicants who are being considered for ranking.
Based on this final input, the TEC will make its final decision on which candidates to rank order, prepare a selection memo for the review and approval of the Contracting Officer, after which an offer of employment will be made to the successful candidate, and unsuccessful candidates who were interviewed will be contacted and advised of their non-selection.
As positive medical and security clearances are a condition of employment, the selected candidate will undergo stringent investigation prior to employment with the USAID Mission.
Job Specification…
Introduction and background
The Dreams Specialist will serve as the AGYW point person in the coordination of all DREAMS activities and programming across the entire PEPFAR Lesotho portfolio. The DREAMS Specialist will specifically support the implementation of the DREAMS Initiative as the focal point for interagency coordination, ensuring coordinated, harmonized, and strategic coordination within the Interagency. The DREAMS Specialist will be responsible for leading a coordinated effort for DREAMS planning, monitoring, reporting, and communication, including supporting interagency technical assistance visits. The Specialist will be responsible for all DREAMS related reporting requirements to OGAC, and will provide high-level data analysis on DREAMS implementation and achievements for various stakeholders, PEPFAR staff and ad hoc requests for information.
MAJOR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Coordinate DREAMS programming and policy efforts with USG and Multi-Lateral and National Counterparts (50%)
Serve as the PEPFAR Interagency DREAMS Initiative Specialist and provide leadership and oversight for DREAMS activities across the USG PEPFAR portfolio.
Coordinate DREAMS planning, monitoring, reporting, and communications activities, including preparation for and facilitation of Monthly DREAMS partner meetings and Quarterly steering committee meetings. Support for interagency technical assistance visits.
Provide support and coordination for the USG PEPFAR team in its partnership with GOL efforts addressing AGYW, including implementation of the Lesotho’s National HIV Prevention Strategy, National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan, Health Sector Policy on Comprehensive HIV Prevention, and National Behavior Change Communication Strategy.
Support and advise the coordination of partners involved in the multi-sectoral response to gender-based violence (GBV), especially related to the DREAMS initiative, and Gender Based Violence funding through Ministry of Gender Youth Sports and Recreation.
Work directly with other USAID and CDC related HIV Technical leads.
Leverage DREAMS and Innovation Challenge activities with other USG-supported interventions and other projects targeting AGYW and implemented across different development sectors.
Engage key stakeholders including traditional authorities, UN organizations, the Global Fund, and other donors on AGYW activities and seek opportunities for joint programming, and on behalf of the USG, participate in quarterly Prevention Technical Working Groups meetings hosted by National AIDS Commission or Ministry of Health with an aim to ensure transparency and harmonization of USG investments with other in-country investments.
At the request of the Chief of Mission, provide briefing, progress reports, memoranda, and other Front Office communications materials.
Document and share success stories and best practices, and disseminating all to local audiences, Global and USAID/Pretoria
Provide technical expertise in HIV prevention among adolescent girls and young
Women (25%)
Lead USG effort to monitor, provide TA and analyzing data trends and also highlighting successes in implementation of Dreams core package of evidence-based interventions—related to adolescent-friendly reproductive health, strengthening the family, strengthening the community, and decreasing the risk of partners— that address HIV risk behaviors, HIV transmission, and gender-based violence among the target population; and
Review work plans and progress reports and create data review forums with the Technical Advisory Group and DREAMS partners to use data for program quality improvement.
Project Financial Management (25%)
Support the development of the Country Operational Plan (COP), PEPFAR Oversight and Accountability Review (POART), and Annual Performance Review (APR) with targeted focus on issues related to AGYW, including: sexual risk avoidance and reduction, violence prevention, DREAMS programing, engaging men and boys, and other HIV prevention and treatment programming.
Maintain DREAMS activities financial tracking;
Assume responsibility for the financial management of assigned activities, including ensuring that obligations, expenditures, and budget pipelines conform to action plans.
Guide annual budget allocation and work plan development for DREAMS programming
Facilitate/prepare information sheets, presentations, and other documents about US government funded AGYW programs in Lesotho.
Physical condition:
The successful candidate will be required to pass a medical certification exam, paid for by the U.S. Government and security clearance. USAID prohibits discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of physical or mental impairment. USAID promotes, with reasonable accommodation, the full realization of equal employment opportunities for the disabled in recruitment, promotion, assignment, and training.
Methods of application submissions:
To Apply:
All interested and eligible candidates should visit USAID.pnet.co.za to apply for this position. Applicants with pnet accounts can log-in from the above website to apply and first time users will be required to register on the site before they can apply. For an application to be considered complete include a high quality cover letter, explaining why you are qualified for the position, with the advert reference #, position title, and a CV of no more than 4 pages.
Failure to comply with these instructions may result in your application being considered “non- responsive” and eliminated from further consideration.
APPLYING
Applicability: This position is open to all Lesotho citizens and Lesotho permanent resident permit holders. USAID/Lesotho management will consider nepotism/conflict of interest, budget, section need for continuity and residency status in determining successful applications. Current USG employees on probationary status (i.e., within their first year of employment) are not eligible to apply.
Compensation: The USAID Project Management Specialist – DREAMS will be compensated in accordance with the U.S. Mission to Lesotho’s Local Compensation Plan (LCP). The plan includes basic salary, miscellaneous allowance, pension fund and medical aid subsidy. Subject to qualification, compensation for dependents’ education assistance is also available. The successful candidate’s salary level will be based on prior job-related experience and salary history.
References: Three (3) references, who are not family members or relatives, with working telephone and e-mail contacts. The references must be able to provide substantive information about your past performance and abilities. USAID reserves the right to contact your previous employers for relevant information concerning your performance and may consider such information in its evaluation of the application.
Security Clearance: Prior to signing a contract, the selected individual will be required to obtain an “employment authorization” if a US Citizen or US Green Card Holder. This temporary security clearance will be requested while a personal background investigation is conducted. Instructions for obtaining the security clearance will be forwarded to the selected individual once negotiations have been concluded.
Offers must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section I, item 3, and submitted to the Point of Contact in Section I, item 12.
Closing date: 09 May 2019
Apply here!