Innovation Advisor

Amentum / Macfadden is seeking an Innovation Advisor to support the Office of Global Policy, Partnerships, Programs and Communications (G3PC) under the Humanitarian Assistance Support Contract (HASC) to the U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA) in Washington, DC.

USAID/BHA leads and coordinates the U.S. Government (USG) humanitarian assistance efforts overseas in response to natural disasters, protracted crises, and other complex emergencies. The bureau also supports early recovery efforts that restore and protect basic systems and services and invests in risk reduction programs that prevent or reduce risks associated with chronic and recurrent hazards. Macfadden serves as an Institutional Support Contractor to USAID/BHA under the HASC, where day-to-day work assignments and oversight are provided by USAID/BHA office directors, deputy office directors, or technical leads, with formal supervisory and evaluation functions performed by a Macfadden contract supervisor.

The Innovation Advisor will:

• Support the development and implementation of sector-specific innovation platforms, strategies and programs to encourage the integration of innovative approaches to humanitarian response across USAID’s global humanitarian portfolio.
• Assist in the development of annual work plans and implementing strategies for the Innovation Team.
• Conduct analyses to identify the evidence of gaps, priorities and opportunities for humanitarian innovation and research. Work in close collaboration with internal technical expert divisions.
• Maintain working relationships with the UN and other donor countries in order to coordinate innovative disaster response activities. In close coordination with other teams within USAID/BHA, work with counterparts in other donor organizations to exchange information, establish meetings on specific issues, and contribute to publications. Collaborate to jointly advance the humanitarian sector’s effectiveness through innovation. Coordinate these activities with relevant USAID offices.
• Reach across the bureau, including to USAID missions and bureaus, to engage, inform and educate about humanitarian innovation. Develop and conduct innovation training for USAID and BHA D.C. and field-based staff to become Humanitarian Innovation Champions.
• Communicate and share thought leadership and best practices on innovation in the field of humanitarian assistance through the compilation and sharing of lessons learned.
• Identify and maintain awareness of internal prioritized innovation areas, external innovation trends, and potential partnerships.
• Liaise closely with other USAID bureaus to access innovation tools and resources and customize them, when possible, for a humanitarian response context. Provide input in USAID annual and special reporting and lessons learned on Agency humanitarian innovation projects.
• Work with other USAID stakeholders to ensure complementarity, including participation in sector or geographic focused innovation programs and projects as is timely and appropriate.
• Sustain a cooperative working relationship with relevant USG interagency offices and serve as an expert point of contact for these groups in the area of innovation, specifically related to humanitarian response and outreach.
• Anticipate the needs of the organization regarding developments in humanitarian innovation, and prepare analyses, briefings, documents and meetings as required.
• Organize and/or attend various meetings with innovative partners, NGO, UN, other donors, and members of various diaspora communities, to provide authoritative information and views related to innovation opportunities.
• Serve as an outreach coordinator or other role supporting the humanitarian coordination needs of USAID/BHA D.C.-based Response Management Teams (RMTs) and/or Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) overseas
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Education, Experience, and Skills Requirements

• Must have at least 6 years of directly related experience with a Master’s degree, 8 years of directly related experience with a Bachelor’s degree, or 10 years of directly related experience without a degree. Additional advanced degrees may be used to replace years of experience.
• Experience managing innovation programs and initiatives, including budget management experience, or working with PIOs/NGOs on humanitarian innovation programming is strongly preferred.
• Experience with human-centered design and systems thinking.
• Detailed understanding of the international humanitarian assistance environment, operations, related policies, regulations, and inter-relationships among the USG, donor and other stakeholders is preferred.
• Strong applied knowledge of the MS Office Suite (Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint) and Google applications are required.

Qualified candidates should:

• Possess strong communication and organizational skills;
• Be able to multi-task in a fast-paced environment with multiple, overlapping deadlines;
• Work well with others to ensure that tasks are completed well and on time;
• Be able to problem-solve and think critically;
• Have strong attention to detail;
• Be flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances;
• Be willing to go the extra mile; and
• Be able to obtain and maintain a minimum of a USG-issued Secret-level Security Clearance for the duration of your employment on this contract.

Amentum is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our hiring practices provide equal opportunity for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, gender, national origin, age, United States military veteran’s status, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, family structure, medical condition including genetic characteristics or information, veteran status, or mental or physical disability so long as the essential functions of the job can be performed with or without reasonable accommodation, or any other protected category under federal, state, or local law.