About Us
International Business & Technical Consultants, Inc. (IBTCI), a U.S. based international development consulting company established in 1987, has worked in over one hundred countries and implemented over three hundred projects. IBTCI serves government agencies, private sector companies and several donor agencies. IBTCI specializes in Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) across many sectors including, but not limited to, conflict and crisis, democracy and governance, economic growth, education, environment, and global health.
Job Title: Senior Advisor Democracy, Rights, Governance, and Conflict (DRGC)
Department/Location: USAID/Niger, Democracy, Rights, Governance, and Conflict Office
Reports To: ISPI Project Manager
Type: Consultancy, 100 days, o/a July – October (critical period for availability: July-August)
Classification: Consultant
Clearance Required: Secret
Overview:
In August 2020, USAID swore in its first Niger Mission Director in 24 years, transitioning the USAID Limited Presence Country Office to a USAID Mission located in Niamey, Niger.
The recently approved 2022-2027 Country Development Cooperation Strategy for Niger guides USAID’s annual budget of approximately $200 million, half of which is humanitarian assistance. USAID programs focus on youth and women with activities in good governance, rule of law, countering violent extremism, conflict prevention and mitigation, health, education, water and land management, community resilience to natural disasters and man-made shocks, food security, and agriculture and economic growth. The Democracy, Rights, Governance, and Conflict (DRGC) portfolio contributes primarily to the DO 1: Communities Strengthened, Empowered, and More Resilient and DO 3: Performance and Responsiveness of Government Institutions Improved.
On behalf of USAID/Niger, IBTCI seeks a highly motivated and experienced technical officer in DRGC programming to provide Short-term Technical Assistance (STTA) in program design, implementation, program management, planning, and evaluation during a period of staff transitions. In close collaboration with the Mission Director, the consultant serving as the Senior Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Advisor will help lead the USAID Niger Mission DRGC Office. They will serve as an expert and help lead on a range of subjects such as local governance, transparency, justice and human rights, civil society, elections and political processes, and conflict prevention.
Responsibilities
Essential Duties/Tasks and Responsibilities:
The STTA advisor will help oversee the existing activities in the Democracy, Rights and Governance / Conflict in the DRGC portfolio and several critical new procurements underway for expanded and new activities. They will assist with the management of existing activities in the DRGC portfolio, mentor new AORs, and support the team in design and preparation of new procurement packages and technical review associated with ongoing procurement actions. The individual will help to ensure that these activities contribute to strategic priorities, are effectively implemented in the field and in accordance with the USAID contract/agreement and the approved annual work plan. They will contribute to overall program management, regular and ad hoc reporting, and office administration. They will coordinate with other USAID Niger technical offices, including Health, Agriculture/Economic Growth, Education, and Humanitarian Assistance on cross-sectoral DRGC issues, as well as liaise with the regional USAID West Africa mission in Accra, the Sahel Regional Office in Dakar, other USAID units, and U.S. Embassy Niamey as needed. They will help advise on project design, planning and implementation, monitoring and evaluation, financial supervision, and other complex issues. They will help maintain working relations with implementing partners and ensure normal functioning of the USAID DRGC programs in Niger in the absence of the designated officer.
NOTE: The consultant will not perform other inherently governmental functions or duties (e.g. will not serve as AOR/COR or supervise staff), but rather will advise, mentor, and facilitate as appropriate on the performance of inherently governmental functions on the part of the Niger Mission.
KEY DELIVERABLES:
- Contribute to award oversight and draft work plan review of the Resilient Governance in Niger (RGN) activity, including Crisis Modifier and Complex Crisis Fund expansion;
- Oversee Complex Crisis Fund evaluation planning and contracting with the DRG Center;
- Oversee completion of RFA technical review and procurement documents for award of the New People-to-People (P2P) Reconciliation Fund activity in coordination with RAAO, DRGC staff and CVP;
- Oversee/advance completion of Program Description and procurement package for the award of a new Defending Democratic Elections (DDE) Fund activity in coordination with the DRG Center;
- Oversee/advance PD drafting and procurement package completion of the cost and time modification of the Sahel Human Voice in Governance Activity (SHIGA) adding new Ukraine Supplemental funds and Nexus expansion;
- Contribute to oversight of OFM financial review and draft work plan technical review of the Access to Justice and Human Rights “Adalci” activity;
- Facilitate communications with RAAO Senegal and OAA specialist(s) as needed to advance procurement processes;
- Prepare for and participate in weekly reporting for Senior Leadership Team, mission-wide updates, and Washington DC ad hoc requests (particularly in the absence of the DRGC Deputy Office Director);
- Coordinate DRGC team contributions related to on-boarding of the anticipated new U.S. Ambassador to Niger;
- Facilitate review/approvals of military projects with relevant technical offices per role of Mission Civil-Military Coordinator (MC2);
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Minimum Requirements:
- Seven (7) years relevant work experience.
- An in-depth technical understanding of Democracy, Rights, Governance and Conflict programming and cross-sector applications, ideally within sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel.
- Familiarity with USG program design and USAID procurement processes from the technical office side for modification of existing awards and procurement of new awards.
- Familiarity with project/program management and/or experience as an Agreement Officer’s Representative (AOR).
- Excellent writing skills and ability to write in a collaborative process; ability to meet deadlines.
- Working knowledge of USAID-funded activity implementation documentation (cooperative agreement and grant documents, quarterly reports, evaluations, and field trip reports); and work plans, context monitoring and monitoring and evaluation plans.
- Academic or practical knowledge of program monitoring and evaluation best practices and methodologies.
- Ability to exercise broad individual judgment in supporting peace and governance priorities.
- Ability to obtain Facilities Access clearance.
- Oral and written fluency in English required.
Education:
- Masters degree in a relevant field such as political science, law, public policy, etc.
Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Work experience with the U.S. Government or international development organization.
- French language proficiency.
- Ability to obtain a secret security clearance.
Working Environment: Work is typically performed in an office environment. The position is embedded within the USAID/Niger Mission.
Physical Requirements: This is largely a sedentary position that requires the ability to speak, hear, see, and lift small objects up to 20 lbs.
Supervisory Responsibility: This position may have supervisory responsibilities.
Travel: International travel may be required and may include travel to fragile and/or conflict-prone zones.
Work Authorization: Candidate must be authorized to work in the USA.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
About the Organization:
IBTCI has been in business since 1987. We specialize in Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL), Institutional Support (IS), Financial & Risk Management (FRM), Supply Chain Management & Procurement (SCMP); Social & Behavior Change (SBC) and Capacity Building. We provide these services across many sectors including, but not limited to, agriculture, resilience & food security, conflict & crisis, democracy & governance, economic growth & trade, education & human capacity development, energy & infrastructure, environment & climate change, global health & WASH and humanitarian and disaster assistance. At IBTCI, our colleagues are encouraged to collaborate and be part of the solution while getting the tools and guidance needed to grow and support our clients’ missions.
IBTCI is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity for all persons without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identification, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, disabled veteran or Vietnam-era veteran, or any other classification protected by applicable anti-discrimination laws. We prohibit and do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment. VEVRAA Federal Contractor.
If you are an applicant with a disability that requires a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the ability, or unable to use the online application system and need an alternative method for applying, you may contact the Talent Acquisition team at TalentAcquisition@ibtci.com (Do not send your resume to this account, for consideration please apply in our career page, https://careers.ibtci.com/jobs).