Description
STATEMENT OF DUTIES : Background The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) is responsible for facilitating and coordinating U.S. Government (USG) humanitarian assistance overseas in response to all types of international disasters. The Bureau responds to an average of 82 crises in 68 countries every year. In addition to responding to disasters, BHA helps crisis‐affected communities by building on our humanitarian responses and supporting early recovery efforts that restore and protect basic systems and services. BHA is the largest provider of humanitarian assistance in the world. In FY 2022, USAID provided over $13 billion in emergency humanitarian assistance and non-emergency early recovery and resilience programming, including in Niger. BHA is responsible for planning, coordinating, developing, achieving, monitoring, and evaluating international humanitarian assistance falling into two conceptual areas: Humanitarian Response activities comprise needs-based humanitarian assistance provided to save lives, alleviate suffering, and protect human dignity during and in the aftermath of emergencies. Humanitarian assistance is grounded in humanitarian principles and is directed toward the most vulnerable populations. Early Recovery, Risk Reduction, and Resilience (ER4) activities will set the initial foundations for longer-term recovery as appropriate, and will work in close conjunction with humanitarian assistance. Early recovery is an approach that supports communities impacted by crises to protect and restore basic systems and service delivery. Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is the prevention of new and reduction of existing disaster risk and management of residual risk, which contributes to strengthening resilience and to the achievement of sustainable development. Resilience is the ability of people, households, communities, countries, and systems to mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth. The incumbent is a member of BHA Niger and will work within the USAID Mission in Niamey. This position requires a highly collaborative, proactive work style and work-related travel. The SHA will work under the supervision of the BHA Office Director in Niamey or his/her designee. The incumbent must be proficient in English and French. The job holder is required to perform work-related travel. USAID is committed to fostering an equitable and inclusive workplace with a diverse workforce. USAID encourages qualified candidates of all races/ethnicities, genders, cultural backgrounds, abilities, and socioeconomic statuses to apply. Objective USAID’s Mission in Niger requires the services of a qualified Senior Humanitarian Program Officer / Senior Humanitarian Advisor U.S. or Third Country National Personal Services Contractor (US or TCN PSC) based in the USAID/Niger’s Humanitarian Assistance Office at the US Embassy in Niamey, Niger. With close collaboration and technical support from the BHA West Africa Regional Office in Dakar, Senegal, and various BHA offices in Washington, DC the incumbent will contribute to the effective design, implementation and management of BHA emergency, early recovery, risk reduction, and resilience programs in Niger. As articulated in its five-year Country Development Coordination Strategy, USAID/Niger is committed to supporting more inclusive, peaceful, and resilient communities in Niger. Due to the persistent complex crises in Niger, many social services are being provided through humanitarian assistance. USAID/Niger aims to more intentionally promote layering, sequencing, and integrating between humanitarian assistance, development assistance and peace assistance in target geographic areas to maximize the impact of programs: Duties and responsibilities This position requires an individual to support the management and representation of the humanitarian portfolio for Niger. Reporting to Humanitarian Assistance Office Director (a.k.a. the BHA Country Lead) or their designee, the SHA will be responsible for program analysis and strategy development and work closely with the USAID/Niger staff, the U.S. Embassy, U.S. military representatives, and other USG interagency partners, other donors, Government of Niger officials, international organizations (IOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the United Nations (UN), in responding to humanitarian needs and sudden-onset disasters. Because of the substantial coordination requirements of this position, an individual with a highly collaborative work style is necessary. The SHA must be prepared to function effectively in a challenging and restrictive work environment and be willing to strictly adhere to the U.S. Embassy security guidelines. Working under the direction of the BHA Country Lead, the SHA will join the USAID/Niger’s Humanitarian Assistance Office to closely coordinate with the BHA West Africa Regional Office (WARO) and USAID/BHA staff in Washington, DC. The SHA will sit in USAID/Niger’s Humanitarian Assistance Office (a.k.a. BHA Niger), composed of one U.S. Foreign Service Officer (Office Director), one U.S. PSC (Senior Humanitarian Program Officer / Senior Humanitarian Advisor), and four Cooperating Country Nationals (Deputy Office Director, Agriculture Specialist, Nutrition Specialist, and Project Management Assistant). The incumbent will coordinate and collaborate closely with USAID/Niger Humanitarian Assistance Office colleagues and hold a prominent role in backstopping the Office’s leadership and contributing to the success of USAID’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) in Niger, upholding the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. Supervision of other BHA staff may be required. The individual will perform the following duties: At the GS-13 Equivalent Level Contextual Specialty Develop and maintain knowledge of the key humanitarian, resilience, and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) issues within Niger. Maintain an in-depth understanding of political, humanitarian, organizational, and stakeholder interests specific to Niger. Monitor incipient disasters, international disaster response plans and efforts, and major humanitarian issues and challenges in the area of responsibility through a wide range of USG and international sources. Identify humanitarian issues, priorities, lessons learned, and opportunities within and relevant to Niger and apply those to program strategy development and implementation. Provide substantive assistance in the preparation of regular strategic and analytical reports on current or anticipated emergencies, as well as comprehensive preparedness documentation on Niger. Portfolio Management Primary focus is to provide full time in-country coordination and management of USAID humanitarian emergency and resilience programming in Niger. This will be achieved through regular coordination and consultation with BHA Niger leadership and WARO. Serve as a point of contact for BHA programming in Niger. With strong coordination and collaboration with the BHA Niger, the incumbent will support efforts to identify and assess new humanitarian assistance requirements, target beneficiary groups and locations, oversee the general direction of existing relief and transition and resilience oriented programs, and broadly recommend the types of interventions and budget levels required in Niger. Closely collaborate with Mission colleagues on program coordination to share information, avoid overlap, and explore opportunities for synergies and resilience efforts. Maintain ongoing dialogue with WARO and BHA/Washington Team Leads for Niger on these efforts. Monitor ongoing humanitarian assistance efforts in Niger. Liaise with partners and other donors, and join BHA Niger to coordinate closely with WARO to provide coordinated field feedback to the partners. Coordinate collection of information and provide updates and recommendations through written reports on issues related to the humanitarian situation, including the following: Capacity and ability of UN, International Organizations, NGOs, and local institutions to carry out programs; Capacity of the logistics infrastructure to support programs; Security situation of beneficiaries, personnel, convoys, and relief operations in general; Role of in-country UN leadership and the UN Mission in Niger in facilitating humanitarian assistance; Contributions by other donors, problems arising from implementation of relief and reintegration programs, and any other issues that require the attention of BHA and USAID/Niger; and Humanitarian coordination issues and any recommendations for change. In consultation and collaboration with the Dakar-based humanitarian team, provide guidance to organizations that are developing proposals for BHA, based on “BHA’s Emergency Application Guidelines,” as appropriate. In collaboration with the Dakar-based humanitarian team, review concept papers and applications, and provide timely recommendations/comments to BHA/Washington and WARO. In collaboration with the Niamey-based humanitarian team, ensure reporting on a timely basis to BHA Washington and WARO on the quality of grantees’ work, noting deficiencies, attributes, and evolving operational conditions. Along with the Niamey-based humanitarian team, maintain regular, close coordination and communication with WARO and BHA headquarters in Washington, D.C. Participate in discussions on the current and future directions of BHA’s Niger portfolio to include programmatic, budgetary, and human resource requirements. Representation Work closely with WARO on developing BHA Niger’s policy and program positions, seeking BHA Niger Team Lead guidance, input, and clearance wherever possible. Provide regular situation updates to USAID/Niger’s Front Office, and ensure the Front Office remains abreast of any major changes, shocks, or challenges with the humanitarian programming in Niger. Consult with WARO prior to senior level meetings with USG and other humanitarian stakeholders. Based on these consultations, represent USAID’s humanitarian portfolio in-country at senior level meetings within the USG and with humanitarian stakeholders, and convey humanitarian concerns and priorities from the BHA perspective through oral and written briefings. Participate in policy development meetings such as: Meetings with individual and groups of implementing partners discussing programmatic priorities, objectives, progress, results, and challenges; Discussions, meetings, and papers informing USG foreign policy in areas with humanitarian concerns or impacts; and Donor and implementing partner coordination forums. Serve as a point of contact in-country for BHA for humanitarian issues and serve as a liaison on program issues among USAID/Niger staff, the U.S. Embassy and other USG agencies, military representatives, BHA/Washington and the overall humanitarian community. Present USAID’s humanitarian perspectives to NGOs, IOs, and UN agencies relating to humanitarian assistance strategies and priorities, including USAID’s approach to sustainable, resilience-oriented humanitarian programs. Work closely with the Regional Humanitarian Advisor and BHA technical advisors to consult on and understand sectoral priorities. Coordinate the representation of USG humanitarian interests at national and international meetings and conferences with WARO. Facilitate travel and briefings for official USG visitors to Niger interested in humanitarian issues. General Duties Serve in planning or program positions on response teams and assessment teams within and outside the region. Sign up for and serve as needed on Washington-based Response Management Teams (RMTs), which provide services and support to Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) deployed in response to disasters. The duties on RMTs will vary. Serve as the BHA after-hours duty officer on a rotational basis for approximately one week every six months. As needed, serve on DARTs which may require immediate (within 24 hours) deployment overseas for an extended period of time. As needed, may serve on temporary detail within the office to meet operational needs during staff shortages, not to exceed six months. Duties performed while on detail will be aligned with the Team’s existing duties and responsibilities and will be directly related to the scope of work provided. Become certified and serve as an Agreement Officer’s Representative/Contracting Officer’s Representative (AOR/COR), as assigned. The AOR/COR provides financial and programmatic oversight of all aspects of managing the agreement or contract; this includes but is not limited to reviewing invoices, requests for approvals, program/project deliverables (i.e. work plans, annual reports, month status reports), travel requests, key personnel requests, and financial/budget reports. They are responsible for drafting and submitting the annual contractor performance evaluation in the Contract/Assistance Performance Assessment Review System (C/APARS). They prepare and review contract/assistance modifications documentation and assist the Contracting/Agreement Officer to ensure performance is compliant with the terms and conditions of the contract/agreement, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and USAID policy. AOR/CORs are responsible for all related requirements set forth in the COR designation letter and the AOR designation letter. At the GS-14 Equivalent Level Offeror’s selected at the HA (GS-13) may have an opportunity for advancement to the SHA (GS-14) equivalent after at least two years at the GS-13 level if the individual receives a recommendation from the supervisor for advancement along with an Exceeds Fully Successful performance evaluation. Advancement to the GS-14 level is not guaranteed. Contextual Specialty Develop and maintain knowledge of the key humanitarian, resilience, and DRR issues within Niger. Maintain an in-depth understanding of political, humanitarian, organizational, and stakeholder interests specific to Niger. Monitor incipient disasters, international disaster response plans and efforts, and major humanitarian issues and challenges in the area of responsibility through a wide range of USG and international sources. Identify humanitarian issues, priorities, lessons learned, and opportunities within and relevant to Niger and apply those to program strategy development and implementation. Prepare and/or provide substantive assistance in the preparation of regular strategic and analytical reports on current or anticipated emergencies, as well as comprehensive preparedness documentation on Niger. Portfolio Management With strong coordination and collaboration with the Niger humanitarian team based in Dakar, the incumbent will lead efforts to identify and assess new humanitarian assistance requirements, target beneficiary groups and locations, oversee the general direction of existing relief and transition and resilience oriented programs, and broadly recommend the types of interventions and budget levels required in Niger. Closely collaborate with Mission colleagues on program coordination to share information, avoid overlap, and explore opportunities for synergies and resilience efforts. Maintain ongoing dialogue with BHA WARO Regional Office and Washington Team Leads for Niger on these efforts. Monitor ongoing humanitarian assistance efforts in Niger. Liaise with partners and other donors, coordinate closely with WARO Regional Office, and provide coordinated field feedback to the partners. In consultation and collaboration with the Dakar-based humanitarian team, coordinate collection of information and provide updates and recommendations through written reports on issues related to the humanitarian situation, including the following: Capacity and ability of UN, IOs, NGOs, and local institutions to carry out programs; Capacity of the logistics infrastructure to support programs; o Security situation of beneficiaries, personnel, convoys, and relief operations in general; Role of in-country UN leadership and the UN Mission in Niger in facilitating humanitarian assistance; and Contributions by other donors, problems arising from implementation of relief and reintegration programs, and any other issues that require the attention of BHA and USAID/Niger. Humanitarian coordination issues and any recommendations for change. In consultation and collaboration with the Dakar-based humanitarian team, provide guidance to organizations that are developing proposals for BHA. In collaboration with the Dakar-based humanitarian team, review concept papers and proposals and provide timely recommendations/comments to BHA Washington and the WARO Regional Office. In collaboration with the Dakar-based humanitarian team, ensure reporting on a timely basis to BHA Washington and WARO Regional Office on the quality of grantees’ work, noting deficiencies, attributes, and evolving operational conditions. Along with the Dakar-based humanitarian team, maintain regular, close coordination and communication with the WARO Regional Office and BHA headquarters in Washington, D.C. Representation Represent USAID’s humanitarian portfolio in-country at senior level meetings within the USG and with humanitarian stakeholders and convey humanitarian concerns and priorities from the BHA perspective through oral and written briefings. Coordinate policy development meetings such as: Meetings with individual and groups of implementing partners discussing programmatic priorities, objectives, progress, results, and challenges; Discussions, meetings, and papers informing USG foreign policy in areas with humanitarian concerns or impacts; and Donor and implementing partner coordination forums. Serve as the principal point of contact in-country for BHA for humanitarian issues and serve as a liaison on program issues among USAID mission staff, the U.S. Embassy and other USG agencies, military representatives, BHA/Washington and the overall humanitarian community. Present USAID’s humanitarian perspectives to NGOs, IOs, and UN agencies relating to humanitarian assistance strategies and priorities, including USAID’s approach to sustainable, resilience-oriented humanitarian programs. Work closely with the Regional Advisor and BHA’s technical advisors to discuss and understand sectoral priorities. Represent USG humanitarian interests at national and international meetings and conferences, and facilitate, as requested, travel and briefings for official USG visitors to Niger interested in humanitarian issues. As the humanitarian specialist in Niger, engage in U.S. Embassy policy conversations, remaining available to provide timely reporting and clearances in response to high-level USG queries originating from the region or from Washington, D.C. Leadership Provide recommendations on current and future directions of BHA’s Niger portfolio to include programmatic, budgetary, and human resource requirements. Serve in a leadership role within USAID/Niger, in coordination with Mission senior leadership, to incorporate humanitarian and resilience concerns into Mission activities and identify opportunities to leverage USAID interventions. General Duties Serve in leadership, planning, or program positions on response teams and assessment teams within and outside the region. Sign up for and serve as needed on Washington-based RMTs, which provide services and support to DARTs deployed in response to disasters. The duties on RMTs will vary. Serve as the BHA after-hours duty officer on a rotational basis for approximately one week every six months. As needed, serve on DARTs which may require immediate (within 24 hours) deployment overseas for an extended period of time. As needed, may serve on temporary detail within the office to meet operational needs during staff shortages, not to exceed six months. Duties performed while on detail will be aligned with the Team’s existing duties and responsibilities and will be directly related to the scope of work provided. Become certified and serve as an Agreement Officer’s Representative/Contracting Officer’s Representative (AOR/COR), as assigned. The AOR/COR provides financial and programmatic oversight of all aspects of managing the agreement or contract; this includes but is not limited to reviewing invoices, requests for approvals, program/project deliverables (i.e. work plans, annual reports, month status reports), travel requests, key personnel requests, and financial/budget reports. They are responsible for drafting and submitting the annual contractor performance evaluation in the Contract/Assistance Performance Assessment Review System (CPARS/APARS). They prepare and review contract/assistance modifications documentation and assist the Contracting/Agreement Officer to ensure performance is compliant with the terms and conditions of the contract/agreement, the FAR, and USAID policy. AOR/CORs are responsible for all related requirements set forth in the COR designation letter and the AOR designation letter. Position Elements Supervisory Relationship: The incumbent will report directly to the Humanitarian Assistance Office Director (a.k.a. BHA Country Lead) or their designee in Niger and collaborate and consult with other USAID and U.S. Embassy staff. If designated as the Acting BHA Country Lead for any period of time, the incumbent will have reporting responsibilities to the BHA Africa Office in Washington and BHA WARO, as well as serve as a member of USAID/Niger’s Senior Leadership Team, reporting regularly to the Mission Director or their designee. Supervisory Control: Supervisor provides administrative directions in terms of broadly defined missions or functions. The employee independently plans, designs, and carries out programs, projects, studies, or other work. Results are considered authoritative and are normally accepted without significant change. If a third country national (TCN) is selected for an award, during the period of this contract, the TCN personal services contractor must provide at least 20 days /40 hours of training to a cooperating country national (CCN) designated by USAID. The PSC Supervisor will establish a training plan with benchmarks to measure the TCNPSC’s progress toward achieving this training deliverable.