Country Representative – DRC

BACKGROUND

The USAID Africa Trade and Investment (ATI) Activity is designed to bolster the U.S. Government’s ability to boost trade and investment to, from, and within the African continent. The continent-wide program is USAID’s flagship effort in support of the Prosper Africa initiative and will expand and accelerate two-way trade and investment between African nations and the United States.

Driven by market demand, ATI embraces innovative approaches to achieve its goals. ATI is designed as a small, core set of centrally coordinated technical and institutional support activities, and a large, flexible performance-based subcontracting and grants under contract facility designed to support the needs and opportunities that USAID Missions and the private sector identify.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Country Representative will have three principal roles in-country: (a) representation and high-level liaison with USAID DRC, private sector, Representatives of the Government of DRC and other donor programs, (b) development, and oversight, and (c) technical delivery and reporting.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Country Representative-DRC shall also conduct the following tasks:

• Provide input for conceptualization, development, planning, coordination, and implementation of the Project in-country.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key local stakeholders (private sector, public, donor/development agencies, in-country U.S. Government agencies, etc.) to build and nurture country-level partnerships, solicit interest, obtain buy-ins, and mobilize resources, as appropriate.
• Monitor progress of activities against the approved workplan, flagging delays or challenges with suggested resolutions to the Activity Manager and the Monitoring and Evaluation (MEL) team.
• Act as the senior interlocutor between the project and key stakeholders, including USAID DRC, government ministries, private sector organizations and firms.
• Actively communicate with stakeholders across Activity interventions to ensure their needs and accomplishments are widely known and understood.
• Convene and manage the private-public working partnerships.
• Ensure that all Project activities are closely coordinated with the USAID DRC Activity Managers, including drafts of all technical reports and other deliverables, such as separate work plans and discrete reports, and ensure they are shared with the USAID DRC Activity Manager for review and comment in good time in coordination with the Activity Manager and USAID DRC.
• Coordinate any deployment of human resources for the program utilizing short term technical assistance (STTA).
• Monitor and report on the status of all donor and government activities related to trade, investment, and commercial agricultural developments in the country.
• Responsible for overall risk management in the host country, which includes identifying, monitoring, and reporting political/implementation/security, etc. risks in accordance with the Project risk management procedures and USAID standards.
• Coordinate capacity building efforts with relevant partner organizations, and support stakeholder consultations and trainings.
• Provide input to annual work plans, weekly reports, quarterly and annual reports, success stories, briefs, and any other communication needs requested by the project, within the prescribed timeline; and
• Produce at least one weekly highlight report on a successful activity in DRC per fortnight.
• Travel within country as required.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, business administration, public policy, international trade, trade law/policy, political economy, or related area, with international experience preferred.
• 10+ years of experience working in economic growth programming or business management with a focus on trade and investment, trade facilitation, agribusiness, or related field.
• Demonstrated experience in conceptualizing, negotiating, and closing trade or investment deals.
• Demonstrated experience establishing and maintaining relationships with a range of clients and counterparts, including donor agencies (USAID preferably), government, private sector partners, and multilateral organizations, to implement trade facilitation-focused activities and procedures.
• Previous working experience, knowledge of the Congolese economy and a strong private sector network in the priority sectors in DRC.
• Demonstrated experience in developing an implementation strategy and workplan management.
• Must be residing in the DRC and with excellent English and French speaking and writing skills including drafting clear and concise documents with minimal supervision.

REPORTING

The Country Representative will be report to the Activity Manager.

ABOUT DAI

DAI is a global development company with corporate offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine and project operations worldwide. We tackle fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. DAI works on the frontlines of global development. Transforming ideas into action—action into impact. We are committed to shaping a more livable world.

DAI and its employees are committed to confronting racism and holding ourselves accountable for positive change within the company and in the communities, cultures, and countries in which we live and work. DAI is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees from all races and backgrounds in our continued effort to become a better development partner.

DAI upholds the highest ethical standards. We are committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment as well as other ethical breaches. All of our positions are therefore subject to stringent vetting and reference checks.