Contract Specialist for USAID/Kosovo

This position is located in the Regional Contracting Office (RCO) in USAID/Kosovo. The primary purpose of the Contract Specialist is to provide guidance and support to projects in the USAID/Kosovo Mission and other Missions in the region including Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro. These responsibilities include providing support on all aspects of contract management relating to and affecting USAID's acquisition and assistance programs in Kosovo and the Balkan region, including providing policy guidance, project planning, project design, and implementation and evaluation of programs. The Contract Specialist reports directly to the Office Director who serves as the RCO Contracting and Agreement Officer. This position will execute and administer procurements in support of regional USAID programs. The Personal Services Contractor (PSC) will be responsible for planning, developing, carrying out, managing, and advising on all aspects of procurement and contract management relating to and affecting USAID's acquisition and assistance programs, policy and project planning, design, implementation, and evaluation in the region. The PSC will participate in projects, mission policy formulation, and project design. The PSC will develop and execute plans for the procurement and provide contract management support to achieve program objectives. Given the sensitivity, scope, and purpose of the role and the position of the PSC and the critical nature and complexity of the Mission programs that are being implemented in a very fluid political environment, it is essential that the PSC be able to function as an expert in all technical areas of the assignment and fulfill the position responsibilities with the complete confidence of the supervisor in the PSC's understanding of the assignment and ability to integrate issues, conflicts, continually changing working requirements, creative problem solving, and the introduction of new theories and methods to resolve unique problems. The PSC will be responsible as a team leader for participating in the supervision of FSN Acquisition and Assistance staff working on the assigned portfolios. The PSC will be responsible for the training, mentoring, and development of Development Leadership Initiative (DLI) foreign service officers and local staff as a necessary part of the assignment.