(US/TCN PSC) – Regional Advisor, Bureau For Humanitarian Assistance (BHA)

The Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) in the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is the largest provider of humanitarian assistance in the world, reaching the world’s most vulnerable and hardest-to-reach people with life-saving assistance, including food, water, shelter, emergency healthcare, sanitation and hygiene, and critical nutrition services. In 2020, BHA was established to streamline USAID humanitarian responses, bringing together the expertise and resources of the former USAID Offices of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and Food for Peace (FFP). BHA has a holistic perspective on humanitarian aid, providing assistance before, during and after a crisis—from readiness and response, to relief and recovery. In the West Africa region, BHA is responding to ongoing complex crises and sudden-onset emergencies, and strengthening readiness and regional resilience. In FY 2019, BHA legacy offices FFP and OFDA provided over $745 million in combined emergency and development assistance in the West Africa region. BHA’s emergency response activities work across multiple sectors in response to needs. The majority of BHA assistance in West Africa is emergency food and nutrition assistance, provided in response to high levels of acute food and nutrition insecurity in the region. BHA provides emergency food assistance through a range of modalities adapted to the contexts in which it works, including Title II in-kind food assistance; local, regional and international purchase of food outside the United States; and market-based approaches to facilitate access to food such as cash transfer or food voucher programs. BHA programs combat hunger and malnutrition using state of the art early warning systems, a changing in-kind food assistance basket that includes more nutritious products, and a modern supply chain management system that allows for rapid movement of commodities. Programming approaches are evolving to focus increasingly on building the resilience of chronically vulnerable populations, especially those in arid lands who face increasing cycles of drought, and improving nutrition with a special focus on women and children under two. BHA programs combine food and non-food assistance where appropriate to meet emergency needs. The BHA West Africa Regional Office in Dakar is part of the USAID/Senegal mission and BHA. The office provides technical support services to 21 client missions throughout the region and directly manages programs in non-presence or limited-presence countries. Given the significant resources invested by BHA in West Africa, USAID requires the services of a Regional Advisor (RA), based in Dakar, Senegal, to improve, monitor, and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of BHA programs, particularly emergency assistance programs; coordinate with UN Agencies, NGOs, and the international humanitarian assistance community; conduct and provide assessments on humanitarian issues; coordinate with and provide guidance to other U.S. government units engaged with humanitarian assistance efforts; and make program funding recommendations to BHA/Washington. It is expected that approximately 30 percent of the Regional Advisor’s time will be spent traveling throughout the region to monitor program activities and assess humanitarian issues and emergency assistance needs. This may also include travel to Washington to inform programming, engage in technical exchanges, and coordinate and share information and best practices.