Reference No.: AID-16-04
Position/Salary Range: Project Management Specialist (Nutrition and WASH); FSN-10
Additional benefits include allowances for Housing, Transportation,
Meals, Family, and Miscellaneous; 13th and 14th month bonuses;
annual and sick leave and medical coverage
Open To: All DRC citizens
Location: USAID/Democratic Republic of Congo
Kinshasa, DRC
Opening: September 15, 2016
Closing: October 7, 2016
Work Hours: Full-Time; 40 hours/week
USAID/Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), an equal opportunity employer, seeks applicants for the above position.
Completion of a University/Bachelor’s degree in Medicine, Public Health, Nutrition, Water and Sanitation, Urban Planning, International Development, Agriculture and its sub-categories (such as Food Science), or a related field and good working knowledge of English (Level III) and fluency in French (Level IV) both in oral and written communication is a requirement for this position.
Basic Function of Position:
The Project Management Specialist (Nutrition and WASH), under the supervision of the Maternal and Child Health Program Management Specialist, the MCH Team Leader, and the Health Office Deputy and Director, provides technical expertise to USAID/DRC Mission for the design, development, and management of Nutrition and WASH-related programs and activities for improving nutritional status and WASH indicators towards improved maternal and child health outcomes.
The Nutrition and WASH Program Management Specialist will identify, develop, and manage activities in the area of WASH and nutrition within USAID/DRC Health Office’s programs relating to health service delivery, health systems strengthening, and community-based strategies towards improved health outcomes. Although s/he will be seated in USAID/DRC’s Health Office in the Maternal and Child Health sub-Team, s/he will also work closely with other USAID/DRC Mission technical teams (eg. The USAID/DRC Offices of Economic Growth, Food for Peace, Education, Eastern Congo Transition Office, etc.) to assist efforts to improve Nutrition and WASH-related indicators in the context of humanitarian emergency relief, resilience-building and stabilization, and food security.
Primary responsibilities include: the design, procurement, management and evaluation of USAID-funded Nutrition and WASH programs; provision of technical guidance and inputs related to WASH and nutrition; the integration of nutrition and WASH elements, activities and indicators into other programs, and representation of USAID on technical working groups, coordination panels, and in other multi-donor and stakeholder groups. The incumbent will be the main point of contact for USAID/DRC’s Nutrition and WASH activities, and responsible for engaging and working with high-level Congolese government counterparts as well as other stakeholders in the sector. The incumbent will undertake other duties as assigned.
This position will be located in the Maternal & Child Health Team of USAID/DRC’s Health Office in Kinshasa, DRC. The majority of the incumbent’s time will be spent in Kinshasa with regular field monitoring activities in the provinces, as well as possible travels to Washington, DC and other locations for training or other professional continuous learning purposes.
Major Duties and Responsibilities:
The incumbent shall perform the following functions: A) Program Development, Management and Coordination; B) Technical Guidance; C) Representational Duties; D) Monitoring and Evaluation; and E) Other Duties as Assigned. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
A. PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT
Play a lead role in designing, operationalizing and executing USAID/DRC's strategies for WASH and nutrition, both under health objectives and coordinating closely with other Mission offices. This will be based on priorities and strategies identified in the Country Development Cooperation Strategy and related strategy documents, as well as funds available.
Manage and monitor USAID-funded activities to ensure implementing partners are on track to achieve the agreed-upon results of potential contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements. The degree of involvement depends upon the type of funding mechanism and stipulations therein, but responsibilities typically include technical review of annual work plans, budgets, reports, other program/project tools, and routine required monitoring and evaluation of any given activity.
Work closely with all support offices within USAID, including the Office of Procurement, Office of Financial Management, Executive Office/HR and Program Office, on program management.
Draft official USAID documentation such as annual reports, action memos, waivers, justifications, Acquisition Documents (GLAAS), and other written documents as required or requested.
Perform other duties as assigned.
B. TECHNICAL GUIDANCE
Provide high-quality technical guidance and inputs to ensure Nutrition and WASH-related activities are effectively achieving desired objectives and goals. This includes USAID/DRC-funded activities as well as centrally-funded WASH and nutrition activities being implemented in Congo.
Lead the coordination of Mission inputs into all strategy and technical documents on Nutrition and WASH.
Keep updated on relevant WASH and nutrition-related information, research, and activities in DRC and worldwide. This includes national and global policies, guidelines, strategies, research findings, and other technical information.
Identify and support opportunities to integrate evidence-based best practices across USAID/DRC programs, including: health, energy, economic growth, women's empowerment, education, disaster management, and other areas. Identify learning and research opportunities in WASH and nutrition, as well as new technologies which may warrant USAID investments.
Work collaboratively with consultants and/or other partners to prepare findings for publication, technical journals, USAID technical, advocacy, and outreach materials, and conference/workshop dissemination.
C. REPRESENTATION AND COORDINATION
Serve as the lead USAID/DRC technical staff member for WASH and nutrition, representing the U.S. Government to counterparts, stakeholders and partners in this capacity.
Engage and maintain close working relationships with relevant counterparts in the Ministry of Health (MOH), as well as other donors, stakeholders, U.S. government agencies, and USAID partners in the WASH and nutrition sectors. Coordinate closely with these stakeholders to ensure USAID-funded programs contribute in an effective, efficient and sustainable manner to achieving common goals.
Assist senior Embassy, Mission, and Office staff in representing the U.S. Government to other stakeholders in WASH and nutrition-related issues.
Ensure collaboration among cooperating agencies working on U.S. government-funded WASH and nutrition activities.
Coordinate Mission’s Nutrition and WASH-related activities in order to facilitate implementation in a wide variety of circumstances, ensuring high-quality results are achieved in accordance with Mission standards, following best practices and procedures.
D. MONITORING AND EVALUATION
Monitor and analyze progress and results of program implementation. This includes routine monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities, routine assessment of data quality as well as related scientific and operations research.
Conduct regular monitoring visits to USAID-funded project sites to verify reliability of reported information, identify potential problems, and assist partners in conducting problem-solving.
Incorporate results, evidence and lessons learned into programmatic activities in order to improve impact and achievement of results.
Lead the planning and execution of project-level and sector evaluations for WASH and nutrition in coordination with the Mission and Health Office M&E Advisor.
E. Other Duties as Assigned
Provide support to USAID/DRC in a wide variety of assigned tasks, under the direction of the MCH Team Leader. There are a number of duties which do not fall under the above categories, but which are integral to USAID Mission operations in DRC. These may include but not be limited to: providing assistance and support for high-level visits, responding to urgent Washington requests for information, assisting with USAID events, and other duties.
Build and maintain a productive professional relationship with all categories of Mission employees (e.g., USAID/DRC, cooperating agencies and their partners); local government officials at the central and provincial level, USAID/Washington’s Bureau for Global Health, Bureau of Food Security, and the Africa Bureau; and the general public (health workers, consultants, etc.).
Required Qualifications at the Full Performance Level:
Education:
University/Bachelor’s degree in Medicine, Public Health, Nutrition, Water and Sanitation, Urban Planning, International Development, Agriculture and its sub-categories (such as Food Science), or a related field is required.
Prior Work Experience:
A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible, professional-level experience in program/project design, planning, and/or implementation work. A minimum of three (3) years of experience working with WASH and nutrition stakeholders in DRC (e.g.: the MOH, US Government agencies, other donors and international/local NGO). (Candidates with only a University degree must have a minimum of five years’ experience in WASH and nutrition). Prior experience and technical knowledge of DRC’s Nutrition and WASH strategies and interventions are required
Language Proficiency:
Strong written and oral proficiency in French (Level 4) and English (Level 3) is required. Must be able to translate and/or interpret from English to French and vice-versa with emphasis on technical and scientific vocabulary. Must be able to read, write, and communicate verbally in French and English on wide range of technical topics.
Knowledge:
In-depth knowledge of public health and health systems in DRC is required. The incumbent must have a comprehensive knowledge of the specific challenges as well as the concepts, principles, techniques, strategies and practices related to WASH and nutrition that are most effective in promoting better health in DRC. Incumbent should also be knowledgeable in the broad field of public health.
Evaluation Criteria and Weights:
Education/Weighted 20% based on initial application review;
English Language Skills/Weighted 15% based on application review, written assessment and interview;
Prior Work Experience/Weighted 20% based on application review and interview;
Knowledge/Weighted 25% based on written assessment and interview; and
Skills and Abilities/Weighted 20% based on written assessment and interview.
How the selection will be made:
The successful candidate will be selected based upon
A preliminary review of the applicant's submitted package to establish that minimum educational 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 skill test that might be deemed appropriate.
A personal or telephone interview.
Reference checks.
USAID/DRC’s Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) and 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.
The TEC will review each of the applications which meet the minimum qualifications 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. Based on the results of the tests, however, an applicant otherwise identified for interview could be dropped from the interview list.
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. HR will conduct and document the 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 review and approval by 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 USAID/DRC.
USAID/DRC reserves the right to hire an applicant who does not meet the required experience level at a trainee level. However, an applicant who does not meet the minimum educational requirements cannot be hired at either a trainee or full performance level.
Compensation:
The position will be compensated in accordance with the U.S. Embassy’s Local Compensation Plan (LCP). The successful candidate’s salary level will be based on prior job-related experience and salary history.
To Apply:
ONLY applicants who meet the minimum educational and good working knowledge of English requirements as stated in the solicitation document will be considered. Interested applicants who do not meet these requirements are encouraged NOT to apply since these applications will not be considered.
A complete application package consists of the following:
Application for U.S. Federal Employment, DS-174 - Job Application Form. The form can be found in the US embassy website (http://kinshasa.usembassy.gov/opportunities/jobs.html)
A cover letter demonstrating how prior experience and/or training address the minimum qualifications and selection criteria,
A current resume or curriculum vitae (CV), and
Names and contact numbers of three professional references.
Ensure that all communications (including your Cover Letter) include the Announcement Reference Number (AID-16-04) and the Title of the Position(s) for which you are applying (Project Management Specialist-Nutrition & WASH).
Submit the complete application package via email, to [email protected]
Failure to comply with these instructions may result in your application being considered “non responsive” and eliminated from further consideration.
Point of Contact:
Sandra Kiyanga: [email protected]
Only short-listed candidates will be acknowledged.
DEFINITION:
Foreign Service National (FSN): A host country national employed at a U.S. Mission abroad, who is not a U.S. citizen, nor a family member of a direct-hire Foreign, Civil, or uniformed service member under Chief of Mission authority.
Closing date for this position: October 7, 2016.
The U.S. Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo provides opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status or sexual orientation. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) also strives to ensure equal employment opportunity in all personnel operations. Women and members of minority groups are encouraged to apply.
