USAID
Overview
Global Health Technical Professionals (GHTP) is a US Agency for International Development (USAID) program that offers early- to mid-career global health professionals the opportunity to advance their careers supporting the USAID Bureau for Global Health and its implementing partners. GHTP is helping USAID improve global health outcomes in communities around the world by building a new generation of global health technical professionals who reflect the diversity of the American people.
Credence Management Solutions, LLC (Credence) is seeking Safe Programming/Protection Mainstreaming Advisor within USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA).
Summary Statement
As part of the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance’s (BHA) Office of Technical and Program Quality (TPQ), the Protection and Community Capacities Division (PCC) Division ensures that protection, gender, youth, age, and social dynamics are effectively and sustainably regarded and applied to all dimensions of BHA programming. The combined approaches of PCC will make certain that the protection of vulnerable populations affected by crises is central to BHA strategies, responses, and programs through systematic provision of life-saving services. PCC ensures the application of humanitarian protection principles and the promotion of age, gender, and diversity inclusion to ensure meaningful access, safety, and dignity to the most vulnerable groups. PCC promotes gender equality and Positive Youth Development (PYD) to elevate, integrate and transform the rights of women, men, girls and boys in all stages of a response. For example, PCC provides evidence-based technical leadership, policy, guidance, tools, and capacity building services, including related to child protection (CP), psychosocial support (PSS), prevention of and response to gender-based violence (GBV), protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), and accountability to affected populations (APP). The policy, guidance, and tools provided by PCC support BHA in its mission to save lives, alleviate suffering, and build self- reliance and resilience among the most vulnerable of disaster-affected populations.
The Safe and Accountable Programming (SAP) Team, located within PCC, leads the Bureau’s work to ensure that cross-cutting protection approaches to beneficiary safety, accessibility, and accountability are central to every BHA strategy, policy, and program. The Team focuses on all aspects of humanitarian protection work that are cross-cutting in nature: the protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, accountability to affected populations, humanitarian protection mainstreaming and safe programming; and ensuring that issues of gender, age, disability, and diversity are included in all aspects of BHA humanitarian responses. The Safe and Accountable Programming Team focuses on beneficiary safety, with expertise in the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse. The Team leads the bureau’s efforts in its comprehensive approach to accountability to affected populations. The team also ensures that protection mainstreaming remains central to BHA’s responses. The Team is responsible for ensuring inclusive programming in BHA’s responses. The Team provides BHA staff and partners with guidance, tools, and direct technical leadership and assistance to ensure that the safety and protection of beneficiaries is foundational to every BHA response.
Job Requirements
The Safe Programming / Protection Mainstreaming Advisor will serve as part of the Safe and Accountable Programming Team, along with advisors focusing on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Accountability to Affected Populations, and Community Engagement. S/he will also work with other elements of the PCC Division including advisors in humanitarian protection (child protection, GBV prevention and response, and psychosocial support), and Gender, Age and Social Inclusion to ensure a multidisciplinary protection approach to disaster response and risk reduction. S/he will provide expert analytical and advisory support on BHA’s approach to safe and accountable programming activities within a team and formulate sector strategies and recommendations for both response and disaster risk reduction, and provide technical support for TPQ, other offices within BHA and USAID, and to the interagency.
The Advisor will receive day to day guidance from the Team Lead for Safe and Accountable Programming, and will collaborate closely with other advisors and specialists on the team to ensure that beneficiary safety, accessibility, and accountability are central to every BHA strategy, policy, and programs. The Team will provide BHA staff and partners with guidance, tools, and direct technical leadership and assistance to ensure that the safety and protection of beneficiaries is foundational to every BHA response.
Responsibilities
- Serve as an expert source of information on and analysis of safe and accountable programming (SAP) issues for BHA particularly on issues relating to protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, accountability to affected populations, community engagement, and safe programming/protection mainstreaming.
- Conduct assessments of humanitarian conditions and programming for affected populations and make context specific recommendations on ways to improve response strategy and programming to support and promote beneficiary safety, protect against sexual exploitation, and abuse and improve accountability to affected populations and community engagement in responses.
- When requested by BHA response leadership, contribute to the development of and provide technical advice and support to Humanitarian Country Teams and on the development of Centrality of Protection strategies and /or provide support to response level PSEA networks and task forces or collective AAP initiatives.
- Work with regional teams to develop and implement appropriate and comprehensive SAP strategies, including programming and advocacy recommendations, tailored to their regional context and protection needs in coordination with geographic teams in DC and the field, relevant USAID Offices and Missions, relevant USG agencies and US Embassies, relevant donors and/or relevant host country ministry officials.
- Provide technical feedback on the SAP aspects of funding applications grant proposals submitted to BHA particularly on the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of their programs as they relate to beneficiary safety and accountability. Monitor BHA funded activities and provide recommendations to partners and BHA staff on ways to better support safe programming, protection from SEA and accountability to affected populations.
- Travel to the field, sometimes at short notice and for extended periods of time, to advise regional teams on safe and accountable programming issues. It is expected that this position will require travel up to 25 percent of the time, providing support on safe programming, beneficiary safety, and community engagement interventions during disaster responses.
- Coordinate with teams in BHA’s Office of Global Policy, Programs, Partnerships and Communication, (G3PC) BHA’s geographic offices and other relevant offices within BHA and USAID on the development and implementation of clear and concise policy inputs, responses to Congressional inquiries, internal briefing documents, and public communications materials related to safe and accountable programming issues for BHA and USAID in general. Assist with decisions and guidance that significantly affect BHA and USAID protection policies.
- Prepare TQP senior management and BHA senior leadership, when necessary, to speak on safe and accountable programming issues before UN bodies, NGOs, Congress, the interagency, media, and academic institutions.
- Develop and maintain cooperative working relationships with UN agencies, NGOs, coordination bodies, and relevant USG offices.
- Coordinate and collaborate with the various BHA and key USAID offices as well as other relevant parts of the parts of the US Government, including the USAID’s Offices of Transition Initiatives, the Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance, Conflict Management and Mitigation, Program, Policy, and Management and the US State Department’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration on SAP issues.
- Coordinate with TPQ and PCC colleagues to develop internal protection policies, strategies, and program standards.
- Articulate relevant protection policies to personnel within TPQ and BHA, USAID Missions, and other USAID Bureaus, and to other USG agencies, donors, and implementing partners by participating in conferences, speaking engagements, and field visits.
- Increase the capacity of BHA staff to understand protection principles and best practices, international humanitarian law related to; safe programming, protection from sexual exploitation, abuse, other cross cutting issues, and appropriate humanitarian protection interventions through contributing to development, refinement, and delivery of BHA’s Humanitarian Protection Training (a required training for all deployable staff).
- Participating in assessment teams, Disaster Assistance Response Teams, Response Management Teams, and other office duties as requested.
- In collaboration with the team, provide informal learning opportunities for BHA staff presentations to USAID and BHA staff on current and agency-specific PSEA, AAP, and safe programming policies and priorities.
- As appropriate, for cross-training purposes to enhance operational awareness, may serve on temporary details, not to exceed three months, within the office. Duties performed, while on-detail, will be directly related to the duties and responsibilities outlined in the scope of work.
Professional Development:
- Participate in professional continuing education, skills training, and professional meetings to enhance relevant technical skills and career development.
- Complete and execute an Individual Learning and Training Plan and Annual Work Plan.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualification Requirements
- Master’s degree and 7+ year relevant experience or Bachelor’s degree and 9+ years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, international development, or similar field. With at least 2 years working in an international setting.
- At least 5 years of professional experience with two or more technical disciplines (such as, social work, community engagement or development, social justice, and international humanitarian law); job duties/responsibilities specifically related to SOW requirements.
- Recent experience working in a technical capacity for an international nongovernmental organization, public international organization, or USG agency working in humanitarian relief and response in emergency protection response or risk mitigation, protection from SEA, accountability to affected populations or safe programming, Demonstrated fluency in critical concepts of safe programming, beneficiary safety and safeguarding, or accountability to affected populations in humanitarian contexts, and ability to develop program strategies or guidance to reflect those standards.
- US Citizenship with the ability to obtain and maintain a secret level clearance and Department of State medical clearance is required.
Other qualifying factors
- Understanding of key protection, beneficiary safety, and accountability issues related to displaced and other vulnerable populations
- Ability to represent humanitarian and protection principles.
- Demonstrated ability to interpret strategy; to analyze, develop and present work products; and to monitor and evaluate implementation of programs.
- Background in implementing and managing operational research in humanitarian protection, safe programming, beneficiary safety or accountability to affected populations in humanitarian contexts desirable.
- Experience with design, implementation, and technical oversight over humanitarian programming desirable.
- Demonstrated flexibility and openness in responding to changing work priorities and environments.
- Strong written and oral communications skills, including the ability to write technical documents and speak about protection mainstreaming/ safe and accountable Programming to colleagues in and outside of USAID.
- Strong interpersonal skills and experience working effectively independently and as a member of a team.
- Computer proficiency in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as well the Google Office Suite.
- Ability to travel internationally up to 25% of the time, sometimes on short notice.