Project Management Specialist (Democracy, Governance & Accountability)

USAID/Uganda is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Personal Services Contractor (PSC) – Project Management Specialist (Democracy, Governance & Accountability).

ELIGIBLE OFFERORS:“Cooperating Country National” shall mean the individual engaged to serve in the Cooperating Country under this contract.

“Cooperating Country” shall mean the foreign country in or for which services are to be rendered hereunder.

Opening date: October 3, 2022

Closing date: November 1, 2022

USAID/Uganda is seeking for qualified individuals to fill the Project Management Specialist (Democracy, Governance & Accountability) position.

The Project Management Specialist (Democracy, Governance and Accountability) (DGA) position is located in the Democracy, Rights, and Governance (DRG) office, USAID/Uganda. The primary responsibility of the senior PMS is to oversee high profile DRG activities on anti-corruption and accountability, and provides strategic implementation guidance to Mission staff in successfully integrating DRG principles and approaches in the design and implementation of Mission’s overall portfolio. The senior PMS manages the complex democracy and governance portfolio, serves as program manager of multiple activities to advance DRG goals in the country, and combat corruption and improve accountability.

As a senior professional on the Government of Uganda (GoU) dynamics in the technical area and the key players in the field, the senior PMS provides strategic advice to the Mission senior leadership and interagency leaders on policy and programmatic decisions for foreign assistance in Uganda. These activities entail bringing together high-level Government of Uganda (GoU) stakeholders including the Auditor General, Inspector of Government, Permanent Secretaries of Ministries of Local Government and Health, Members of Parliament, and Members of the District Public Accounts Committee. In this capacity, the senior PMS provides a full range of consultative and analytical evaluation and analysis to inform management decisions. The senior PMS operates both strategically and programmatically when analyzing complex situations to assist in the development of the USAID mission’s strategic vision and strategic plans including the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS).

The senior PMS is the lead on continuous coordination within the US Embassy’s interagency, with USAID/Washington, with the GoU, with other donors, and other relevant stakeholders outside of Uganda. The senior PMS leads and represents USAID at the Mission Anti-Corruption Working Group and the Donor Accountability Working Group, which are both high level processes. The Donor Accountability Working Group is mandated to provide a core rolling scripts every two months and the senior PMS leads this process at the national level. The senior PMS produces high quality technical reports, documents, briefers for the internal and external audience including the interagency management, Congress, GoU, and others as needed. The senior PMS advises and briefs the Mission Senior Management Team on corruption and accountability; provides guidance and advises the new CDCS development process to elevate accountability in the Mission to a Development Objective and a cross-cutting objective. The senior PMS advises the Agency’s Anti-Corruption Taskforce. The senior PMS meets and consults regularly with all stakeholders, including the interagency, donor community, civil society organizations, and GoU, leads, and participates in technical working groups. The senior PMS establishes and maintains high-level contacts with senior GoU officials, including at the Minister and Permanent Secretary levels and works closely with Members of Parliament and local government officials such as city Mayors. The senior PMS also serves as a main point of contact with academic institutions, religious and tribal leaders, international development partners, and civil society leaders. These relationships ensure collaboration and agreement, and help maintain support from key partners and stakeholders.

The senior PMS manages and leads activity designs on local governance, accountability, and anti-corruption, leads their implementation, and assesses their impact. The senior PMS initiates and actively participates in the design of concept papers and activities; arranges meetings, and facilitates discussions with the GoU on USAID programming; and proactively identifies and pursues opportunities working with other donors on combating corruption, increasing accountability, and improving service delivery in Uganda. Through the design process, the senior PMS works strategically to ensure and leading the integration of democracy and governance approaches and best practices into USAID/Uganda health, education, and agriculture sectors and interagency assistance across all sectors. The senior PMS directly manages, monitors, and evaluates selected high profile ongoing democracy and governance activities and provides technical direction on DRG approaches to Implementing Partners (IPs) and Agreement/Contracting Officer’s Representative (A/CORs) across all sectors.

The senior PMS serves as the Acting Office Director and/or Deputy Office Director as needed, in their absence. In these capacities, the senior PMS supports a variety of management tasks, coaches, and mentors DRG office staff including the first tour Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) and Cooperating Country National Personal Services Contractors (CCNPSCs). As a professional and senior PMS, the senior PMS assists the DRG Office Director in all aspects of program design, management, evaluation, and administrative oversight of the portfolio as required. The senior briefs USAID leadership and U.S. Embassy leadership, including the U.S. Ambassador as needed. The Senior PMS reports to the DRG Office Director or designee.

1. EDUCATION

Masters’ degree or equivalent in such fields as: law, social, and policy sciences, such as political science, economics, public administration, organizational development, cultural anthropology, international relations is required.

1. PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE

–Minimum seven (7) years of professional experience in related areas, with demonstrated accomplishments is required. Experience must include: analysis, planning and budgeting, program and activity evaluation, design, and implementation.

–Strong experience managing coordination with high level government counterparts, donors, and local organizations.

–Demonstrated experience handling complex and competing demands.

–Minimum of three (3) years of experience in managing and guiding teams to advance objectives. This can include serving as a lead in design and implementation processes, and providing direction and guidance to others to achieve team objectives.

–Specific experience related to political development and legal institutions in Uganda is required.