Country Technical Lead | Nairobi, Kenya | 2024

Chemonics seeks a Country Technical Lead (CTL) in support of the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) 8 Decision Support (DS) project and who will be based in Nairobi, Kenya. The CTL serves as the technical analysis lead for the country and is responsible for supporting and supervising all staff within the country office as well as providing quality control for national and sub-national level project deliverables and ensuring that activities and products for the country are delivered in a high-quality and timely manner. The CTL is directly supervised by the Regional Technical Lead (RTL) for their region. The CTL will be required to travel regularly within the country, and some regional and international travel may also be required, security permitting. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

FEWS NET is an integrated set of activities funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is intended to provide timely, accurate, evidence-based, and transparent food security early warning information and analysis. FEWS NET supports local and regional food security networks with the global objective of achieving food security for all.

The eighth phase of FEWS NET includes the Decision Support (DS) project which is charged with providing integrated monitoring and analyses of current and forecast acute food insecurity in countries worldwide to support the USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) policy and programmatic decisions. Based on an in-depth understanding of local livelihoods, the FEWS NET DS Team members monitor information and data on factors that affect food security, such as conflict, weather conditions and climate, crops, pasture, markets and trade, and nutrition. The work of the FEWS NET DS Team relies on close collaboration with international, regional, and national partners on food security data and information gathering and analysis. Major activities include joint monitoring and assessments, data sharing and exchanges, collaborative analysis and reporting, and technical capacity strengthening. FEWS NET DS maintains six regional offices which coordinate and oversee the technical and administrative management of over 40 country offices.

Responsibilities include:

• Oversee the fulfilment of monthly reporting requirements, including providing writing and providing critical inputs to part or all the Food Security Outlooks (FSOs), FSO Updates, Price Watch, and key messages; contributing to Food Assistance Outlook Brief reports; and providing regular briefings to USAID and other partners.
• Reach out monthly to USAID Mission counterparts to offer and, upon agreement with the USAID Mission, delivering food security briefings and/or updates to relevant Mission staff. Overseeing the capture and transfer of meeting notes from these engagements within two days of the event.
• Ensure the integrated food security analyses (FSOs, FSOUs, FAOB input) classify and communicate the severity of acute food insecurity in line with the globally recognized Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) scale. Where IPC compatibility is not possible, the CTL will ensure analyses remain globally comparable.
• Support the DS Team in meeting USAID’s expectations on timely delivery of decision support products, which include, but are not limited to: delivery of monthly reporting for all presence countries no later than 7 days after the last day of the reporting month; responding to urgent questions on acute food insecurity within one day; providing briefings within one week of request; and assessing acute food insecurity in Expanded Global Early Warning (EGEW) countries within one week of request.
• Maintain a knowledge base comprised of, at a minimum, livelihood zone profiles, commodity trade flow maps, sub-national seasonal monitoring calendars, commodity price data, nutrition data, security monitoring, conflict data, migration, remittances, labor, humanitarian food assistance, and other technical data covering rainfall, agricultural production, population, etc., in collaboration with other FEWS NET 8 implementing mechanisms, as applicable
• Maintain and transferring relevant national technical databases built from primary and secondary data sources, from national and sub-national partners, and through inputs entered into the FEWS NET Data Warehouse
• Develop and updating national seasonal monitoring plans and participating in national acute food insecurity monitoring, as applicable
• Provide proactive, high quality, and effective early warning of acute threats to food security in the country and supporting efforts to mitigate acute food insecurity and prevent food crises through effective communication of actionable food security analysis
• Provide strategic leadership in the planning and execution of technical activities in the country, including working closely with the Regional Technical Lead and the relevant home office Food Security Analyst(s), to develop annual workplans that ensure that the in-country team is capacitated to carry out high-quality early warning analysis that produces IPC-compatible analyses
• As part of ensuring high quality decision support, the CTL will support collaboration with Regional Technical Senior Specialists (RTSSs) to improve the integration of thematic technical areas (e.g., conflict, markets and trade, livelihoods, nutrition and agroclimatology) into regular and ad hoc decision support (including briefings) and facilitate interaction among regional and country office technical staff to further integrate sub-national and national technical and thematic analyses into decision support

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a discipline relevant to the work of FEWS NET, such as economics, agricultural economics, agronomy, nutrition, climatology, anthropology, or social geography is required; advanced university degree (master’s degree or higher) is desirable.
• At least 10 years of relevant experience (with master’s degree), or 12 years of relevant experience (with bachelor’s degree) is required.
• Relevant experience includes working on food security information systems, food security analysis, early warning, or other related fields; experience working with UN agencies and/or NGOs is desirable.
• Demonstrated experience setting the strategic direction for or otherwise leading and managing a team of colleagues, including an ability to mentor and coach staff.
• Excellent planning, organizational, analytical, and report writing skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with others at all levels, including an ability to effectively liaise with host governments, UN, NGO, and other relevant stakeholders and an ability to coordinate effectively with remote colleagues.
• Excellent computer skills, GIS applications. and mapping skills are desirable.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English is required; other local language skills relevant to the country are desirable.