USAID Benin Advisor / Program Officer

About Us

International Business & Technical Consultants, Inc. (IBTCI), a U.S. based international development consulting company established in 1987, has worked in over 100 countries and implemented over 300 projects. IBTCI serves government agencies, private sector companies, and several donor agencies. IBTCI specializes in monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) and institutional support across many areas and sectors including, but not limited to, conflict and crisis, democracy and governance, agriculture, economic growth, food security, education, environment, and global health.

Job Title: Advisor / Program Officer

Department/Location: USAID/Benin Office of Program Coordination (OPC)

Reports To: ISPI Project Manager

Type: Consultancy

Classification: Consultant / 235 working days

Clearance Required:Facilities Access

Overview:

On behalf of USAID/Benin’s Office of Program Coordination (OPC), IBTCI is seeking the services of a Short Term Technical Advisor to serve as a Program Advisor. The incumbent will provide services related to strategy, activity design, budget, and outreach and communications functions. The incumbent will support oversight of USAID/Benin’s $270 million five-year strategy’s annual reporting responses; application of Agency guidance and priorities; and support management of the program budget. The incumbent may also attend Senior Management Team meetings to report on OPC activities, work closely with the Country Representative, and regularly collaborate with colleagues at the USAID/West Africa Regional Mission.

USAID/Benin’s development efforts are focused on health, governance, stabilization, and economic growth activities. In health, USAID/Benin focuses on malaria prevention, expanding family planning, and saving the lives of mothers and children. In governance, USAID/Benin works closely in support of human rights, electoral processes, and social cohesion. In economic growth, USAID/Benin is developing its first activity in support of the Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability.

The incumbent will carry out a range of Program Office tasks aimed at supporting these country specific activities to reach their objectives. They will work closely with the Country Representative, U.S. Embassy Cotonou officials, and regularly collaborate with colleagues at the West Africa Regional Mission and USAID/Washington. The incumbent is expected to work independently and will take direction from the USAID/Benin Country Representative.

Responsibilities

Essential Duties/Tasks and Responsibilities:

• The incumbent’s primary purpose is to support the USAID/Benin office with the broad range of Program Office related tasks and responsibilities. The incumbent will support the USAID/Benin Country Representative and other staff regarding issues affecting USAID/Benin’s current portfolio including programming, planning, budgeting, procurement, implementation, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL). The incumbent will support the USAID/Benin office through a variety of other assigned tasks and will respond to urgent information requests and action items as needed. The incumbent will facilitate program budget formulation, tracking, and reporting.
• The incumbent will provide guidance to the OPC and mentor three OPC staff. They will provide input to the supervisor of OPC staff concerning day-to-day oversight, direction, and monitoring of OPC staff’s work progress, deliverables, and quality of work. This may include input toward the goal of delegating tasks, supporting OPC staff meetings, reviewing documents produced by staff, providing feedback on documents, and advising on Agency best practices, guidance, and regulations.
• They may also attend Senior Management Team meetings, work closely with the Country Representative, and regularly collaborate with colleagues at the USAID/West Africa Regional Mission, particularly the Regional Program Office (RPO).
• Overall the incumbent is expected to apply a broad knowledge of the U.S. Government and USAID regulations and procedures; and, program and sector planning and design based on a comprehensive understanding of Agency objectives and requirements.
• They will prepare and contribute to reports and other presentations on strategy development, program planning, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning. They will provide guidance on the application of the Agency and the mission program planning procedures and requirements to USAID staff members and assist with the analysis, design, planning, and procurement of program/project/activity proposals.
• The incumbent will participate in broad development assistance assessments, program design, results framework development, and MEL planning. They will advise technical teams and/or other groups; coordinate information and build consensus from various offices, bureaus, and USAID staff; provide support in the preparation for Congressional briefings and draft responses to congressional inquiries; review and analyze quantitative and qualitative data and perform other related duties as assigned.
• The incumbent will apply critical thinking and detailed analysis in contributing to reports, strategic planning documents and evaluations for internal and external audiences, including operational plans and performance reports.

NOTE: The consultant will not perform other inherently governmental functions or duties (e.g. will not serve as AOR/COR or supervise staff), but rather will advise, mentor, and facilitate as appropriate on the performance of inherently governmental functions on the part of the Office or Mission.

KEY DELIVERABLES:

1. Creation and implementation of step-by-step plans for technical sector activity designs: including health, democracy, stabilization, and economic growth sectors as needed.
2. Preparation of annual reports including: Congressional Budget Justification, Mission Resource Request, Operational Plan (OP), Performance Plan and Report (PPR) per Washington timelines.
3. Successful execution (including planning, organizing, and implementation of) an Implementing Partners meeting, to be conducted during the second half of CY 2024.
4. Preparation of briefers, decision memos, and event planning protocols and plans for specific meetings and events during the task order time frame. In achieving this deliverable, consultant will:
   1. Review documents drafted by other teams, where requested, to ensure they are ready for approval for internal or external distribution.
   2. Review communications materials produced by the Development Outreach Communications and technical teams.
   3. Prioritize and plan for as needed and recurring delivery of these key documents.
5. Quarterly review the Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP). Plan and execute MEL tasks ex. DQAs, DIS data entry, CLA meetings, Performance Indicator Reference Sheet (PIRS) development, related to the USAID/Benin Performance Monitoring Plan.
6. Weekly delivery of briefings to Senior Staff and the Country Representative on the status of OPC related responsibilities; additional updates to the Country Representative as needed in tracking the portfolio by ensuring that he/she is well informed of issues arising.
7. Completion of (lead, plan, organize, and implement) the Mid-Course Stocktaking (MCST) of the 2022-2027 Benin Strategic Framework in early 2025.

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements:

• Specific knowledge of US Government laws, policies, ADS regulations and procedures related to international development assistance.
• Working knowledge of development project/activity design as well as the principles of sound program oversight, budgeting and reporting, monitoring and evaluation, and assistance and acquisition.
• Sound expertise and knowledge of development projects in Africa.
• Broad knowledge of the economic and political environment in Benin.
• Demonstrated ability to work across multiple technical sectors.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; ability to work in a dynamic team environment with a diverse set of partners and stakeholders.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; ability to write in a collaborative process and meet deadlines.
• Strong analytical and management skills.
• Organizational skills and computer skills, including the development and management of spreadsheets, tracking systems, etc., and the ability to interpret, organize and present data to a variety of audiences.
• Proven ability to mentor staff in program development and management skills.

Education:

• GS13: Bachelor’s degree plus 7 years of relevant experience in strategy and activity design, project management and implementation and monitoring and evaluation for a US Government Agency, OR master’s degree in relevant field plus 5 years of relevant experience as described above.
• GS14: Bachelor’s degree plus 10 years of relevant experience in strategy and activity design, project management and implementation and monitoring and evaluation for a US Government Agency, OR, master’s degree in relevant field plus 7 years of relevant experience as described above.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Level II (medium) French.
• A working knowledge of the West Africa region, its institutions, and peculiar development challenges.

Working Environment: Work is typically performed in an office environment. Currently the company is allowing for hybrid work in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia (DMV) area. This can be updated by the company.

Physical Requirements: This is largely a sedentary position that requires the ability to speak, hear, see, and lift small objects up to 20 lbs.

Supervisory Responsibility: This position does not have supervisory responsibilities.

Travel: International travel may be required and may include travel to fragile and/or conflict-prone zones.

Work Authorization: Candidate must be authorized to work in Benin.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

About the Organization:

IBTCI has been in business since 1987. We specialize in Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL), Institutional Support (IS), Financial & Risk Management (FRM), Supply Chain Management & Procurement (SCMP); Social & Behavior Change (SBC) and Capacity Building. We provide these services across many sectors including, but not limited to, agriculture, resilience & food security, conflict & crisis, democracy & governance, economic growth & trade, education & human capacity development, energy & infrastructure, environment & climate change, global health & WASH and humanitarian and disaster assistance. At IBTCI, our colleagues are encouraged to collaborate and be part of the solution while getting the tools and guidance needed to grow and support our clients’ missions.

IBTCI is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity for all persons without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identification, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, disabled veteran or Vietnam-era veteran, or any other classification protected by applicable anti-discrimination laws. We prohibit and do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment. VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

If you are an applicant with a disability that requires a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the ability, or unable to use the online application system and need an alternative method for applying, you may contact the Talent Acquisition team at [email protected] (Do not send your resume to this account, for consideration please apply in our career page, https://careers.ibtci.com/jobs).