Country Representative/Senior Country Representative – Iraq (GS-14/15)(Tandem)

The Country Representative/Senior Country Representative is a member of the Bureau of Conflict Prevention and Stabilization (CPS) Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) Southern and Eastern Regional Team, reports to the OTI Regional Team Lead or their designee, and is based in Erbil, Iraq and/or Baghdad, Iraq. The incumbent may be required to travel regionally as necessary. The Country Representative/Senior Country Representative principal responsibility will be development, oversight and management of CPS/OTI’s Iraq country program. The incumbent will be called upon to represent OTI’s mission and programs to senior-level government officials, in-country visitors, senior officials from other international organizations, bilateral donors and local government officials.

The OTI Iraq program supports the larger objectives of the U.S. Government to support a more stable, unified, and democratic Iraq. In close coordination with State Department representatives and other USG actors, OTI’s rapid and targeted program addresses emerging issues and empowers local partners such as local and national government offices, non-governmental organizations, civil society groups, and media outlets to leverage timely and locally driven activities that increase credibility and confidence in national and local governance.

CORE FUNCTIONAL AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The work of the Country Representative/Senior Country Representative requires teamwork, the exercise of discretion, judgment, and personal responsibility. As a member of a highly operational office, you are willing and able to perform a wide range of administrative functions to help ensure programmatic success. You have a high level of integrity and attention to detail to ensure the use of OTI systems and procedures to maintain effective and efficient management of funds, programming, and monitoring and evaluation. You are highly flexible and willing to work under conditions of ongoing change, and remain professional and respectful of colleagues and authority in a diverse workforce. You place a premium on the building of positive relationships with your respective team in Washington, D.C., colleagues in the field, and with key stakeholders both in and outside of USAID. You are able to prioritize and complete tasks without follow-up by the supervisor, while also filling in gaps as needed to ensure the responsiveness of the team. You are a strategic thinker, articulates innovative ideas, presents solutions, and are a positive role model for colleagues both in and outside of OTI. You are also committed to upholding USAID/OTI’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility’s (DEIA) Vision and Values as outlined in the background.

Under the direct supervision of the Washington-based CPS/OTI Regional Team Leader for the Middle East team or their designee, you will perform the following duties:

At the GS-14 Country Representative level:

Note: Duties and responsibilities are listed in order of importance for this position

• Manage a high-profile program in a dynamic environment and provide strategic, programmatic, and operational guidance to OTI’s implementing partners (contractors and/or grantees) while leveraging critical local staff input, and the partner’s role in strategy co-creation, to ensure that activities are contributing to OTI’s program objectives;
• Conceptualize and design program strategies and objectives in close coordination with OTI staff in Washington and in the Field, the Embassy, Host Country Government, implementing partner staff and local civil society actors based on political and context analysis and U.S. Government policy; Initiate strategy reviews as needed in line with changes in context and policy;
• Analyze, synthesize and report on current political developments, security concerns, and other pertinent information required to achieve OTI’s program objectives; Monitor local and regional political developments and regularly brief OTI and partner staff on their potential programmatic impact;
• Responsible for managing program effectiveness; ensuring strategic accountability; setting realistic intended program results and program achievements by utilizing OTI’s programming principles and processes and regularly engaging with the resources available to support and measure program effectiveness;
• Articulate program strategy, as well as communicate and coordinate OTI’s in-country activities between OTI and its implementing partners, USAID, the Embassy and other donor organizations; prepare and disseminate programmatic, financial and periodic reports to the USAID Mission, OTI/Washington and other organizations as appropriate;
• Serve as OTI’s primary liaison with USAID Mission personnel, U.S. Embassy staff, Host-Country Government Officials, UN Organizations, Indigenous and International Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholder organizations. Develop and maintain collaborative relationships to ensure close coordination at the field level, identify the widest range of potential local partners and opportunities, and achieve maximum synergy with other programs;
• Build, lead, supervise, and motivate a team composed of USPSCs, institutional contractors and/or a significant number of implementing partner staff in Iraq. In close coordination with the Implementing Partner, continuously review and design staffing plans to meet overall program objectives; Recruit, train, supervise, and evaluate the performance of in-country OTI staff. Maintain staff morale in a difficult security and work environment;
• Provide recommendations to the Washington-based Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and/or the Regional Team Leader on implementing partner performance, budgets, contract modifications, among other partner related issues;
• Provide USAID concurrence on all implementing partner activities, including final approval of grantees for grants under contract, in accordance with the USAID’s Automated Directives System (ADS);
• Ensure the use of OTI systems and procedures to maintain effective and efficient management of funds and programming;
• Ensure that OTI’s programs and activities are monitored and evaluated and that lessons learned are applied to ongoing or future activities;
• Prepare operational plans in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy, including logistics and property use guidelines, closeout and hand-over, security procedures, and contingency and evacuation plans; Review and concur on OTI program budgets for field operations;
• Ensure that all OTI field staff adhere to in-country security guidelines set by the U.S. Embassy Regional Security Officer and other organizations such as the United Nations or host government, as appropriate; Coordinate closely with Implementing Partner senior management to provide relevant security related information from the Embassy;
• Travel within the country/region to monitor and assess political conditions, implementing partner operational platforms, meet with potential grantees, senior host-country government and other program counterparts, and develop recommendations to respond to evolving dynamics; and,
• Serve on temporary details within OTI, other USAID bureaus/offices, or other U.S. Government (USG) agencies under this scope of work for a period not to exceed six (6) months. Duties performed while on detail must be directly related to the scope of work. Contracting Officer (CO) approval is required for the temporary detail. Any extension past the six (6) months requires CO approval.

At the GS-15 Senior Country Representative level:

Note: Duties and responsibilities are listed in order of importance for this position

• Manage a high-profile program in a dynamic environment and provide programmatic, operational, and strategic guidance to OTI’s implementing partners (contractors and/or grantees) while leveraging critical local staff input, and the partner’s role in strategy co-creation, to ensure that activities are contributing to OTI’s program objectives. Effectively respond to and manage the scrutiny of a large program that is a top US foreign policy and/or OTI priority;
• Based on a mastery of political analysis and US Government policy, conceptualize and design program strategies and objectives in close coordination with OTI staff in Washington and in the Field, the Embassy, Host Country Government, implementing partner staff and local civil society actors based on political and context analysis and U.S. Government policy; initiate strategy reviews as needed in line with changes in context and policy. Demonstrate through leadership on political transition, conflict and stabilization by inputting to policy as it relates to OTI programs;
• Analyze, synthesize and report on current political developments, security concerns, and other pertinent information required to achieve OTI’s program objectives; Monitor local and regional political developments and regularly brief OTI and partner staff on their potential programmatic impact; Keep abreast of new thinking and trends related to political transition, conflict and stabilization approaches and lessons learned; Identify implications of political and context analysis beyond OTI programs;
• Responsible for managing program effectiveness; ensuring strategic accountability; working to achieve program results and achievements by utilizing OTI’s programming principles and regularly engaging with the resources available to support and measure program effectiveness; Stay abreast of innovations in the OTI model/approach and support application of innovation to own country program and elevates best practices/approaches/notable results for office and CPS bureau-wide learning;
• Articulate program strategy, as well as communicate and coordinate OTI’s in-country activities between OTI and its implementing partners, USAID, the Embassy and other donor organizations; prepare and disseminate programmatic, financial and periodic reports to the USAID Mission, OTI/Washington and other organizations as appropriate; Effectively respond to and manage scrutiny of large and/or high profile OTI and USG program;
• Serve as OTI’s primary liaison with USAID Mission personnel, U.S. Embassy staff, Host-Country Government Officials, UN Agencies, Indigenous and International Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other pertinent organizations. Develop and maintain collaborative relationships to ensure close coordination at the field level, identify the widest range of potential local partners and opportunities, and achieve maximum synergy with other programs;
• Expertly build, lead, supervise, and motivate a team comprised of multiple USPSCs, institutional contractors and/or a significant number of implementing partner staff in Iraq. Continuously review and design staffing plans to meet overall program objectives as well as recruit, train, supervise, and evaluate the performance of in-country OTI staff. Maintain staff morale in a difficult security and work environment;
• Provide recommendations to the Washington-based Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and/or the Regional Team Leader on implementing partner performance, budgets, contract modifications, among other partner related issues;
• Provide USAID concurrence on all implementing partner activities, including final approval of grantees for grants under contract, in accordance with the USAID’s Automated Directives System (ADS);
• Ensure the use of OTI systems and procedures to maintain effective and efficient management of funds and programming;
• Ensure that OTI’s programs and activities are monitored and evaluated and that lessons learned are applied to ongoing or future activities;
• Prepare operational plans in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy, including logistics and property use guidelines, closeout and hand-over, security procedures, and contingency and evacuation plans; Review and concur on OTI program budgets for field operations;
• Ensure that all OTI field staff adhere to in-country security guidelines set by the U.S. Embassy Regional Security Officer and other organizations such as the United Nations or host government, as appropriate; Coordinate closely with Implementing Partner senior management to provide relevant security related information from the Embassy ensure all partner field staff are following similar protocols;
• Travel within the country/region to monitor and assess political conditions and implementing partner operational platforms, meet with potential grantees, senior host-country government and other program counterparts, and develop recommendations in response to evolving dynamics; and,
• Serve on temporary details within OTI, other USAID bureaus/offices, or other U.S. Government (USG) agencies under this scope of work for a period not to exceed six (6) months. Duties performed while on detail must be directly related to the scope of work. Contracting Officer (CO) approval is required for the temporary detail. Any extension past the six (6) months requires CO approval.