Food Security Specialist - RDAP (Disaster Relief)

Job Description

Job Description

The purpose of this effort is to support Amentum Macfadden to position to provide professional oversight and training for all RDAP emergency food assistance and/or food security and nutrition activities for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Humanitarian Affairs (BHA) Regional Disaster Assistance Program (RDAP) in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region.

The BHA/LAC division seeks to incorporate food security into the RDAP to: 1) gain a deeper understanding of countries’ emergency food assistance response readiness and needs, particularly during and after natural disasters or social conflicts crisis, and 2) leverage relationships with hosts nations related institutions and leaders to improve their capacity to provide emergency food assistance or support emergency food assistance operations before and during humanitarian emergencies and strengthen relationships with relevant government offices.

One deliverable of this consultancy is to develop a milestone-based, 5-year framework for the integration of food assistance into the RDAP. The construction of this framework will be progressive,

focusing on internal assessments and capacity building first, build in a mid-way point to evaluate successes and lessons learned to that moment, and, finally, determine key recommendations for providing local partner capacity building during the last years of the 5-year framework term.

To accomplish this, BHA approved an Emergency Food Security Thematic Specialist position to provide professional oversight and training for all RDAP emergency food assistance and/or food security activities; update information for the USAID/BHA regional team in Costa Rica; evaluate activities in country; and manage and assess training needs. The Emergency Food Security Thematic Specialist reports to the Technical Coordinator.

Major Responsibilities

• Conduct a desktop review of existing and/or required educational tools and training materials from internal and external sources related to emergency food assistance response;
• Provide internal training and capacity building to at least 26 other RDAP country consultants and additional surge staff on emergency food assistance. Provide mentoring and guidance to other RDAP staff on issues related to emergency food assistance
• Develop internal trainings or tools to support RDAP’s work in emergency food assistance
• Identify other key players and stakeholders in emergency food assistance at the regional and country levels to coordinate and share valuable information;
• Conduct regional and country analyses, as requested, including but not limited to: food assistance response readiness and vulnerability to potential emergency food assistance needs.
• Revision and review of the RDAP country plan with the DRMS to determine the applicability of food assistance activities or considerations in such plans;
• To develop pilot capacity building activities to potentially include training or technical assistance in emergency food assistance;
• Conduct a review of existing RDAP trainings to determine if any adjustments related to emergency food assistance are required; and
• Other activities as defined
• Can live and work from Caribbean Region: Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago,Jamaica, and Haiti;
• Central America: Costa Rica, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama; and
• South America: Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Guyana, Paraguay, Argentina, Ecuador, Suriname, and Uruguay.

Required Qualifications

• Professional technical experience in emergency food assistance. Professional experience in training and/or capacity building strongly preferred.
• A minimum of 5 years international humanitarian experience.

• Bachelor’s degree in international development, political science, nutrition, or other relevant area.

• Experience working with a range of stakeholders, such as the UN, host nations, regional organizations, NGOs, and other emergency response organizations.

• Previous experience working in the LAC region and in multi-cultural teams.

• Proficiency in Spanish and English is required.

Note: The application link is managed by MacFadden, and applications will be received until this position is filled.

About the Organization

Macfadden is now part of PAE. Founded over 30 years ago, Macfadden has provided federal agencies with critical on-the-ground support to U.S. government humanitarian missions around the world as well as financial and IT system support. Through program management, human resources services, financial management systems support, information technology solutions, knowledge management, travel coordination and communications support, Macfadden enables effective U.S. government humanitarian response to international disasters. Macfadden’s workforce includes approximately 300 employees primarily located in the Washington, D.C. area.