Program Effectiveness Advisor

DT Global is shaping a future where sustainable development and innovation empower individuals, communities, and nations. We work in partnership with local stakeholders to foster inclusive prosperity, social equity, and environmental stewardship. Our global team of 2,500 staff and experts work in over 90 countries to solve complex problems in the peacebuilding, governance, economic development, environment, and human development sectors. With a track record of technical excellence and more than 60 years of international development experience and relationships, we deliver innovative solutions that transform lives.

Position Overview: DT Global is seeking a Program Effectiveness Advisor to join the Learning and Innovation (L&I) Division. The Program Effectiveness Advisor (PEA) is an important operational resource for providing surge support to DT Global’s field programs and providing input into the continual improvement of DT Global’s systems and processes. The PEA’s primary role is to undertake various short-term technical assistance (STTA) roles on DT Global projects, including as the Start-Up Team Lead (SUTL), Internal Program Reviewer (IPR), Management Reviewer (MR) or Close-Out Manager (COM), in addition to providing surge and coverage support for field office leadership. While serving in these roles, the PEA will provide feedback to the broader Program Effectiveness (PE) team on ways to improve program implementation processes and systems. When not on an STTA assignment, the PEA will assist the Senior Director of Program Effectiveness (SPED) and the rest of the PE team in harmonizing and integrating programmatic and operational best practices and lessons learned, as well as capturing and disseminating these best practices, innovations, and lessons learned across Practice Areas and relevant Support Divisions. This includes updating processes and policies to reflect these best practices and other programmatic and operational standards for project management across DT Global. When relevant, the PEA may also incorporate these best practices and standards into business development processes and support division processes, in coordination with relevant team leads. The PEA must exude a high level of maturity and should demonstrate a wealth of experience and leadership in project operations, implementation, or learning, as well as strong skills in tasking, problem solving, coordination, organization, prioritization, and facilitating processes.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

Support to Program Start-Up (SU)

• Serve as SU Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Point of Contact (PoC) and manage the QA/QC process
• Drive pre-award start-up planning in coordination with proposal team and anticipated PMU
• Facilitate, in coordination with the Program Team, start-up scheduling, communications strategy, administrative, financial, operational, and IT functions for program start-up
• Ensure start-up documentation, including processes, manuals, and templates are up to date and accessible
• Serve as Start-Up Team Leader (SUTL) or Start-Up Specialist on DT Global programs as needed, including supervising and mentoring additional start-up resources in-country. Specific responsibilities will depend on program context
• Train / mentor other DT Global staff on SU and close-out management and implementation
• Refine current SU resources, best practice guides, and training materials based on lessons learned during start-ups and feedback received during After Action Reviews (AARs)

Support to Annual Program, Finance, and Compliance Review (PFCR)

• Serve as QA/QC Point of Contact (PoC) and manage the PFCR process.
• Identify an internal program reviewer (IPR) external to the program’s PMU to carry out the PFCR, or serve as the IPR when required
• Participate in PFCR read-outs and record lessons learned, identifying chronic gaps or shortcoming and developing draft policies or procedures to mitigate future gaps in program management or compliance

Program Closeout

• Serves as close-out QA/QC POC in the HO on program close-out
• Work with the PMU to ensure a comprehensive close-out plan is executed and submitted to the donor and assist the PMU to ensure the closeout plan is executed on-time and according to DT Global policies and procedures
• Serve as Close-Out Manager (COM) in-country as required, overseeing close-out processes and tasks and managing in-country close-out support as applicable. Specific COM SOW will depend on project needs
• Provide remote close-out surge report on an as-needed basis and as time and workload allows
• Work with PMU, FO, and L&I to ensure we have captured all the learning from each program for future programming and BD purposes
• Update Close-out manuals, templates, and resources based on feedback during close-out AARs and best practices identified during the close-out process
• Perform a final audit of all close-out files to ensure that there are no audit risks and all files are in place

Program Support

• Serve as in-country or remote acting Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, or other senior field office positions as required
• Conduct training assignments on areas related to program operations and management
• Provide programmatic surge support and participate in program management reviews

Quality Assurance/Quality Control, Innovation, and Learning

• Ensure best practices and lessons learned from QPRs and AARs are incorporated into DT Global policies and procedures for the future and work with the SPED and PE team to develop and modify overall program best practices and standard policies and procedures across DT Global
• Incorporate best practices and lessons learned into relevant DT Global learning events, when applicable
• Develop detailed learning products and analyses based on program successes and innovations of particular note cited during QA/QC processes to contribute to L&I thought leadership, and seek out ways to codify innovations into standard best practices across programs and integrate into future proposals
• Draft policies and procedures in coordination with SPED and PE team to mitigate shortcomings in project management and implementation practices, as well as amplify impact and adherence to best practices
• Help ensure consistent and standardized use of project management and operational policies and procedures across all Practice Areas for effective project execution
• Provide trainings to PMUs and field teams regarding best practices and DT Global standard policies/procedures for a variety of program and operations management topics
• Assist the VP of L&I in the implementation of the DT Global US Learning Strategy including developing and overseeing a process for capturing and disseminating innovation and learnings across Practice Areas
• Provide support and input into the improvement of DT Global Online as needed. This may include input on functionality based upon user feedback and updates to processes and procedures, as well as testing of said functionality.

Education & Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in international development, international relations, political science, government, economics, business, engineering, or procurement management; or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Master’s degree preferred.
• A minimum of 10 years of experience, including a mix of Field and Home Office program management, specifically on international development programs or in a closely related field
• A minimum of 3 years of experience working overseas on a donor-funded program
• A minimum of 3 years of supervisory experience
• Previous operational experience on at least one USAID project SUs and preferably closeouts
• Working knowledge on program implementation, life cycles, human resources, operations, procurement, and finance
• Proven knowledge and use of FAR/AIDAR policies and procedures, management of USAID contracts, international procurement, and contract reporting requirements
• Strong organizational and communication skills and ability to work calmly under high stress and in a very fast paced environment
• Must be systems and process oriented
• Creative approach to problem solving
• Ability to synthesize and summarize large amounts of complex information so that it can be presented in a simple and easy to understand way
• Ability to work collaboratively across cross-functional teams and between HO and the field and inspire cooperation and buy-in
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both written and verbally
• Strong presentation and training skills
• Ability to travel and work overseas on short term technical assignments up to 75%, sometimes on short notice.
• Ability to take initiative and handle multiple tasks under tight deadlines while maintaining keen attention to detail.
• Fluency in a second language (French, Spanish, or Arabic) a plus

Core Competencies:

• TEAMWORK: Works cooperatively and effectively with others to achieve common goals. Participates in building a culture characterized by inclusion, trust and commitment.
• COMMUNICATION: Effectively conveys information and expresses thoughts professionally. Demonstrates effective use of listening skills and displays openness to other people’s ideas and thoughts.
• ADAPTABILITY: Adjusts planned work by gathering relevant information and applying critical thinking to address multiple demands and competing priorities in a changing environment.
• CUSTOMER/CLIENT FOCUSED: Anticipates, monitors and meets the needs of customers and responds to them in an appropriate and responsive manner.
• DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION: Conveys respect for diverse individuals and perspectives; models inclusive behavior and treats everyone fairly.
• PROFESSIONALISM: Displays appropriate and ethical behavior, integrity and personal presentation in the workplace always; demonstrates respectful communication for others, both verbal and non-verbal.

We thank all applicants for their interest. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

DT Global, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or national origin. DT Global, LLC prohibits discriminating against employees and job applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose the compensation of the employee or applicant or another employee or applicant.