USAID Democracy Specialist

Job Title: Democracy Specialist

Agency: U.S. Agency for International Development

Job Announcement Number: 13-0125-DOT

SALARY RANGE: $105,211.00 to $136,771.00 / Per Year

OPEN UNTIL: Friday, May 03, 2013

SERIES & GRADE: GS-0301-14

POSITION INFORMATION: Full-time appointment in the Competitive Service - Permanent

PROMOTION POTENTIAL:14

DUTY LOCATIONS: 1 vacancy - Washington DC Metro Area, DC, US

WHO MAY APPLY: USAID employees in current, permanent, competitive service positions.

JOB SUMMARY:

USAID is an independent Federal Government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., USAID fosters transformational development around the world. Our work supports economic growth and trade; agriculture and the environment; education and training; democracy and governance; global health; global partnerships and humanitarian assistance. 

We operate in four regions of the world: Sub-Saharan Africa; Asia and the Near East; Latin America and the Caribbean; and Europe and Eurasia. USAID employees in the Civil Service and Foreign Service, as well as individuals employed through Personal Service Contracts, must adhere to our Counter Trafficking in Persons Code of Conduct. For information on the effort to counter all forms of human trafficking, including the procurement of commercial sex acts and the use of forced labor, visit http://www.state.gov/g/tip.

Within USAID, the Bureau for Democracy Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA), brings together the wide-ranging technical expertise and global operational capabilities essential to crisis prevention, response, recovery, and transition efforts. The Bureau may establish a Crisis Working Group, led by the Assistant Administrator or a Deputy Assistant Administrator, for a specific crisis or political opening when increased DCHA coordination and management is needed to support high-level USAID and U.S. government engagement.

The Democracy Specialist position is located in DCHA's Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG).... He/She will provide strategic and technical leadership, advice, and support for the implementation of the Local Solutions (LS) initiative as well as other democracy, human rights and governance and cross-sectoral programs to the Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance as well as other parts of the Agency.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

Relevant experience (See Qualifications below) Must be able to maintain a security clearance.

DUTIES:

Incumbent serves as the Democarcy Specialist in the Office of Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance. Serves as an expert advisor and technical authority on complex and precedent-setting policy and program issues, develops policies, strategies, guidance and plans for democracy, human rights, governance and democratic development, projects and programs for agency-wide application and incorporation relating to local capacity development and reform and DRG integration, particularly with respect to civil society’s role in development assistance contexts. Serves as a technical liaison with other USG Agencies, donor organizations, multilateral banks, PVOs, U.S. universities, and professional organizations to coordinate their efforts with USAID programs, policies, and approaches in the sector.

Provides expert advice and state of the art technical assistance and support to Missions, PVOs/NGOs, and partner countries on incorporating research and best practices into the design, implementation, management and evaluation of democracy strategies and programs relating to local capacity development and reform and DRG integration, particularly with respect to civil society issues in development assistance contexts. Leads the design and development of new democracy, human rights and governance programs/projects, including initial reconnaissance of projects; preparation of statements of work for assessments; selection of assessment teams; and review and approval of completed assessments.

Provides leadership and direction in implementing training programs of major size and complexity. Serves as the Cross-Sectoral Programs (CSP) lead curriculum development expert on local capacity development and DRG integration. Considers various differences among client Missions and the types of factors that influence the implementation and design of training programs and projects. In addition to surveying the needs of field staff, provides leadership and expert advice in areas of training and facilitation to DRG and LS staff, Regional and Pillar Bureaus, especially those working on Presidential Initiatives. Provides expert analysis to senior management on how to better incorporate democracy, human rights, and governance principles and best practices in proposed Agency-wide training programs. Develops long-range program plans, goals, objectives, and milestones for evaluating and measuring the effectiveness of major agency local capacity development training programs and initiatives. 

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the next grade level. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. Examples of qualifying specialized experience at GS-13 level for this position includes responsibility for designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating democracy, human rights and governance projects and programs in support of USAID goals and objectives; providing strategic and technical leadership, advice, and support for the implementation of the Local Solutions (LS) initiative as well as other democracy and governance programs to the Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance as well as other parts of the Agency.

Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date. This means that you must have served at least 52 weeks at the next grade level (or equivalent) below the grade advertised on this vacancy announcement.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:

We use a multi-step process to evaluate and refer applicants: Qualified applicants receive a score of 70 to 100. You will be rated on your qualifications for this position as evidences by the education, experience, and training you report on relative to this positions that show the degree to which you possess the competencies listed on this vacancy announcement. In order for your application to be considered, you must meet the following competencies by the closing date of this announcement. 

Please be advised that a narrative is not required, but the competency must be displayed within your resume. 

Technical Competence-Depth of work experience in civil society capacity development sector with emphasis on applying such knowledge to international development work. 

Influencing/Negotiating-Examples of significant/ or large civil society capacity development programs or work where they had to persuade others to accept recommendations, cooperate, or change their opinions in order to help the group/team find mutually acceptable solutions.

Planning & Evaluating-Examples of how they organize their work in regard to leading a team or project that involves multiple completing demands and competencies. Organizes work, sets priorities and determines resource requirements; determines short or long term goals and strategies to achieve them.

Interpersonal Skills-Demonstrates through past work experience that they have an ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships/relates well to people from varied backgrounds and in different situations;is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.

Written Communication-Provide examples that demonstrates ability to effectively communicate about civil society capacity development problems/issues/ideas/information in a succinct, highly professional and organized manner.

Oral Communication-Demonstrated ability to expresses information orally to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately; experience speaking to large groups, and to high level officials.

How to Apply:

For more details about this job and to apply online please follow the link: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/342517700.