Project Officer, Country Programs Team

Project Officer, Country Programs Team
Location: Arlington, VA
Position Category: Direct hire, paid in US
Posting Date: 04/23/2021
Deadline Date: 05/16/2021
Starting Date: 06/07/2021
Description
DESCRIPTION:
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Advancing Nutrition project is the Agency’s flagship nutrition project, led by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI), and a diverse group of experienced partners. Launched in September 2018, USAID Advancing Nutrition implements and provides technical support to nutrition interventions across sectors and disciplines for USAID and its partners. The project’s multi-sectoral approach draws together global nutrition experience to design, implement and evaluate programs that address the root causes of malnutrition. Committed to using a systems approach, USAID Advancing Nutrition strives to sustain positive outcomes by building local capacity, supporting behavior change and strengthening the enabling environment to save lives, improve health, build resilience, increase economic productivity and advance development.

SUMMARY:
The Project Officer sits on the Country Programs Team (CPT) and is responsible for providing backstop, coordination, and operational support to country teams in designated countries. They will work under the direction of the Program Manager and Director of Country Programs to provide day-to-day backstopping support to 4 assigned countries within the country portfolio (the portfolio consists of the following country programs: Mozambique, Kyrgyz Republic, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Uganda). The Project Officer provides operational support to the country program and serves as the main point of contact between the Field Offices and Home Office. They provide administrative and logistical support to the Country Programs Team in support of the successful implementation of assigned country programs and overarching team goals and assignments. The Project Officer will take the lead on supporting activities to meet all contractual deliverables, ensure US government compliance, and monitor the budget. Occasionally, the Project Officer may be asked to provide technical support to country deliverables or draft summaries of country work for external distribution. This position is based in Arlington, VA and will be supervised by the Program Manager. The salary range for this position is $47,500 to $64,865. Please note the JSI office is closed due to the ongoing pandemic and that all project staff are working remotely until the office reopens.

Advancing Nutrition is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Project Officer will:

• Under the supervision of Program Manager, provide operational and technical support to the development and implementation of country activities, including; work plans, detailed implementation plans, technical deliverables, trip reports, and budget monitoring.

• Support the timely completion of country team deliverables by monitoring detailed implementation plans, budget tracking, and developing processes/management tools.

• Monitor activity timelines and keep Program Manager and Director of Country Programs appraised of current status, upcoming deadlines, issues, and/or delays.

• Facilitate the development and review of programmatic reports and communication materials, including annual and quarterly reports, literature reviews, strategy documents, policy briefs, and research reports.

• Manage the document review process to ensure quality and maintain version control; work closely with the Knowledge Management team to coordinate editing, layout, and/or translation, and track deliverable timelines.

• Provide support to secondary documentation reviews and participate in information/data analysis and draft content, as needed, to inform reports, briefs and assessments.

• Ensure web-pages for assigned countries are up to date, and that country documents and deliverables comply with project branding protocol.

• Develop scopes of work (SOW) for qualified consultants and technical assistance (TA) visits, and facilitate the recruitment of appropriate TA providers; supervise consultants as appropriate.

• Assist in the recruitment of in-country leadership and technical staff as necessary, and ensure new staff receive information and policies relevant to their roles.

• Perform other related duties as requested/assigned and carryout overseas assignments as needed and skills allow.

QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Master’s degree or relevant experience in the field of nutrition, health, international development, or a related field.

Experience: 1-3 years of relevant work experience in public health and/or project management. Experience working and living in a developing country highly preferred. Experience with USAID contracts a plus.

Required Skills:

• Exceptionally organized and attentive to detail; able to create and maintain organizational systems for professional collaboration.

• Excellent communicator, able to synthesize and convey complex information clearly.

• Ability to work independently and in groups; manage multiple tasks concurrently; and meet deadlines with attention to detail and quality.

• Solution-oriented and proactive when faced with problems and gaps in information.

• Confident taking initiative within defined scope and driving work independently.

• Proactive and comfortable independently gathering information to complete tasks.

• Ability to interact professionally with culturally and linguistically diverse colleagues

• Ability to work comfortably in the MS Office Suite applications, specifically MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as well as Google applications, e.g. Google Docs, Google Drive.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in planning/coordinating events, travel logistics, and basic financial management.

• Comfortable helping others prioritize and stay organized in a busy, fluid environment.

• Ability to work under pressure.

• Excellent attention to detail.

• Languages: English fluency required. Professional working proficiency in Russian, Spanish, French, or Portuguese is desirable.

Salary commensurate with experience.
Interested candidates should submit their resumes and cover letters online by 05/16/2021.

No phone calls please.
Principals only please.

Job Type: Full-time