Job Description
AECOM International Development is seeking a Deputy Director for its Agriculture and Food Security (AFS). The Deputy Director leads AECOM’s project management and proposal development for agriculture and food security program, principally funded by USAID. This team supports AECOM’s field offices in the design, implementation, and evaluation of agricultural development, transitional, and emergency programs in the development context. The Deputy Director will provide technical assistance and leadership in the design and writing of project proposals in the agriculture and food security area, and ensure responsiveness to client requirements and interests. The Deputy Director is further responsible for identifying resources and for ensuring that AECOM’s agriculture and food security programs are technically sound and connected to industry best practice.
In this position, the Deputy Director will provide policy guidance and advice about agriculture, food security and agribusiness to the EGGA Director and Executive Management Team. The Deputy Director will understand the Feed the Future (FTF) Initiative and USAID’s Resilience Agenda, and will be able to articulate AECOM’s work in agriculture and food security in the context of private sector development and crisis response and recovery. The Deputy Director will be a knowledge leader in the AECOM organization and foster opportunities for knowledge sharing throughout AECOM’s headquarters, country offices and project offices.
The Deputy Director, Agriculture and Food Security reports to the Director of the Economic Growth, Governance, and Agriculture practice.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
Deputy Director, AFS will provide leadership and guidance in: (i) agriculture and agronomy; (ii) market systems analysis and development; and (iii) food security and resilience. The AFS Deputy Director is a bold thinker with experience in managing USAID Agricultural programs who will bring expertise to the other components of this plan. General duties are:
- Provide quality assurance on implementation--overseeing and ensuring successful implementation in terms of meeting donor expectations; good quality and timely program reporting; trouble shooting of projects as needed (25%);
- Development of new business with a focus on USAID as the primary client, but also including support to opportunities with other clients such as DFAT, World Bank, EU, DFID (40%)
- Strategy development and execution (5%);
- Development of strong technical partnerships to complement AECOM’s work and help AECOM win new business (5%);
- Working effectively with other departments and as a member of the AECOM Management Team (5%);
- Good stewardship of unit budgets and mobilizing resources (5%);
- Managing people: planning and performance management of unit staff; strategic staffing of technical staff in the field; and development and maintenance of a roster of technical consultants that we can draw on as needed (10%);
- Engage in outreach to spread the word about AECOM’s mission and help AECOM incorporate industry best practices into our work (5%).
Specific duties include
- Engagement Manager (EM) for Economic Growth Projects: Projects under EG supervision are a diverse range of areas within the economic growth, governance and reconstruction portfolio including programs that focus on public and fiscal policy, value chain development, alternative development and finance, agribusiness and private sector development. In the role of Engagement Manager he/she will be expected to:
- Work with the Chiefs of Party in the field to insure all deliverables on projects are of the highest quality in technical content, meeting both clients’ expectations and industry standards.
- Maintain a close relationship with the USAID Mission management in overseeing projects and manage the relationships between the Field staff, Home Office staff and Mission Management.
- Work closely with a Project Manager to monitor financial performance of projects and be prepared to provide innovative solutions to technical delivery within the context of projects’ financial constraints.
- Provide regular guidance on the staffing requirements for AECOM Recruiting, assisting in interviews of candidates.
- Provide regular presentations to Mission Management, USAID, other clients and AECOM Management on the content of projects, their technical contribution to Mission objectives and development in general.
- Build and maintain relationships with counterparts on projects including with senior US and host country government if required
- Be prepared to visit projects’ sites for extended periods and step in to transitionally manage projects as necessary
- Proposal Capture and Management: The individual will be expected to lead proposals for AECOM in the economic growth space. This entails targeting opportunities, building industry and in-country alliances to position for a bid as well as intellectual leadership and overall design of proposal response. The individual must have extensive experience with USAID RFP, TO and IQC responses. In their role as Capture/Proposal Manager he/she will be expected to:
- Source potential RFPs, Task Orders and IQCs (and other major procurements from donors) before they are at the Fed Biz Ops or RFP/TO stage. This entails preparing early with market intelligence, an understanding of current competitor implementation in the target market, tracking and understanding US Government spending priorities to track upcoming procurements.
- Prepare clear pursuit budgets for the practice lead
- Carry out intelligence trips to the market preparing systematic and easy to access capture reports
- Build excellent knowledge of local institutions and implementing partners in the area of the procurement requirements; secure early commitment from both local firms and key individuals critical to winning bids.
- Negotiate with subcontractors in a timely manner in advance of RFP/TO release to insure smooth proposal coordination and cost preparation
- Understand the competitive landscape and when to approve either a “go” or recommend a “no-go” and why, on an upcoming procurement
- Work closely with a Capture/Proposal Team to insure timely delivery of technical materials, detailed input on the construction of the cost volumes for bids.
- Lead bid decision meetings on prospective opportunities with senior management at AECOM
- Corporate Responsibilities:
- Be prepared and comfortable to represent AECOM International Development and the work of Agriculture and Food Security to senior management of AECOM including the Senior VP of Programs and President of ID, but also senior executives in the larger AECOM corporate structure.
- Maintain the highest ethical standards worthy of a publicly traded company in the United States
- Manage a staff of highly motivated mid-level professionals
- Be prepared to evaluate staff and complete professional performance evaluations of his/her staff in accordance with AECOM policies
Minimum Requirements
- Minimum Master’s Degree in Agriculture, Economics, Development Studies, Business Administration or Management
- Minimum fifteen years of progressively increased responsibility in International Development with at least seven years managing programs that include agricultural value chains, food security, health and nutrition, gender, water youth and financing for development interventions
- Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of past and current trends in Agriculture Development and Food Aid. Experience in working with private sector investment projects in agriculture. Demonstrated knowledge of donor community’s intentions and requirements in agriculture, food security, and food assistance
- Documented experience working with large-scale projects funded by USAID or other development agencies, corporations and foundations. Experience in successful development and implementation of large programs is required.
- Substantive experience in managing personnel both in the home office and in the field.
- Substantive experience in budgeting and financial management.
- Documented writing ability. Documented proposal writing and technical writing ability and successful project design experience.
- Fluency in English required, and professional proficiency in French, Spanish, Arabic or another relevant language preferred.
- The position will require approximately 35% travel to field offices, BD sites, and client missions.
Preferred Qualifications
