Development Assistance Specialist (LCD)/USAID

US Embassy is recruiting a Development Assistance Specialist (LCD)/USAID, to be based in Maputo, Mozambique.

Duties

• The incumbent will support USAID/Mozambique’s efforts in developing long-term capacity in Mozambique, in both individuals and organizations These efforts will promote and support USAID’s local capacity development (LCD) objectives of strengthening accountability, transparency and sustainability of the local private and public sectors As the LCD effort is cross-cutting and complementary to all Mission activities, the LCD Specialist will engage with all the Technical Teams to provide support in LCD-related activities and to identify synergies, best practices, and opportunities for collaboration among local implementing partners The LCD Specialist will also coordinate with other relevant offices and teams, including, but not limited to, the Office of Financial Management, the Office of Acquisition and Assistance Once certified as a COR/AOR, the incumbent will be the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) on the LCD indefinite quantity contract (IQC), which is managed directly by the Program Office, and may also serve as COR on one or more Task Orders issued under the IQC. S/he may also serve as COR and/or Activity Manager for evaluation contracts related to the technical office which s/he supports
• The LCD Specialist will also serve as backstop to a USAID/Mozambique technical office by providing support to activity design and approval, review of development challenges and opportunities for USAID support, strategy formulation, preparation of annual plans and reports, and implementation of U.S. foreign assistance priorities in accordance with foreign assistance initiatives and priorities The incumbent will engage with the assigned technical office at all levels and establish a strong relationship to allow for effective support
• The LCD Specialist will serve as the Program Office point-person for gender, through which s/he will advocate for inclusion of gender analysis and for gender integration in designs, implementation, and reporting in activities across the Mission’s portfolio

Requisites

• Bachelor Degree in science, social science, education, business management, public administration, international development, or related area.
• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible, professional–level experience in international development assistance. The work requires experience which provided the opportunity for project design, program planning, and/or implementation, in areas related to work that ideally involved capacity-building. At least one year of this experience in development work, or related fields, for US Government, other donor agencies, host-country organizations, or private-sector institutions which included project design, performance monitoring, and/or the analysis and interpretation of large amounts of data.
• In-depth understanding of program design, implementation, financial management, monitoring and evaluation, and gender issues in the international assistance arena is required Potential to quickly acquire knowledge of USG and USAID operations, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, as set forth in the FAR, AIDAR, USAID/Forward and ADS Superior knowledge of general development principles and approaches, the Mozambican development environment, and Government of the Republic of Mozambique development priorities, especially those outlined in the Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty (PARPA) is required Detailed knowledge of Local Capacity Development.
• Level IV English and Portuguese (fluency proficiency), both oral and written is required
• Ability to facilitate mapping of local organizations and organizational capacity, assessments of local organizations, and capacity building for local organizations. Ability to facilitate training of local organizations and USAID staff on matters related to local capacity development Excellent written and oral communication skills Strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills and ability to recommend solutions in complicated situations, taking into consideration different factors and variables such as organizational capacity gaps among local partners. Ability to evaluate, and interpret policy directives and regulations, produce technical documents and to effectively communicate to internal and external stakeholders and produce technical documents is required. Proficiency in standard operating and application software (Windows, Microsoft Word, Excel) is required
• Selection Process:
• Candidates will be evaluated based on education, experience, job knowledge, language, skills and abilities demonstrated in their application materials, recommendations from references, previous employers, tests and interviews. This is a local position and compensation will be in accordance with the Local Compensation Plan
• If there are no qualified candidates that meet the minimum required qualifications at the stated grade level (FSN 10), a candidate may be hired at a lower grade level

Notes

• Only short listed applicants will be contacted