Home Office Technical Manager/Director

Job Description

Home Office Technical Manager/Director Scope of Work, Ukraine Cybersecurity Activity

Estimated Level of Effort: Year 1 (100 percent); Year 2 (75 percent); Year 3 (50 percent); Year 4 (50 percent)

Background

The purpose of the USAID/Ukraine Cybersecurity Activity is to help transition Ukraine to being a proactive cybersecurity leader, and to improve the overall resilience of its critical infrastructure to cyberattacks. Ukraine’s energy sectors (oil and gas, nuclear, electricity, and hydroelectric systems) are a target of Russian cyber-aggression. These and other attacks pose complex and novel challenges that require Ukraine to respond rapidly, deploy effective countermeasures, and build new defenses against future attacks from a range of potential internal and external malicious actors.

The Activity works across government, the private sector, academia, and civil society, to strengthen Ukraine’s enabling environment and address legal, policy, institutional, workforce, and market gaps that continue to make Ukraine vulnerable to attacks. The Activity has three mutually reinforcing components: 1) Strengthening Ukraine’s Cybersecurity Enabling Environment, 2) Developing Ukraine’s Cybersecurity Workforce and Leadership, and 3) Building a Resilient Cybersecurity Industry. Together, interventions across these components leverage Ukraine’s experience as the testbed of Russia’s cyberattacks into an opportunity to innovate solutions that rapidly mature Ukraine’s cybersecurity posture and enable it to be a trusted source for solutions, services, and talent.

Rationale for position

The USAID/Ukraine Cybersecurity Activity is a complex and multifaceted activity and is one of USAID’s first bilateral programs in the cybersecurity space. Given the dynamic nature of the cybersecurity arena and the fluid political environment in Ukraine, the Activity requires a HO Technical Manager/Director—who possesses a solid understanding of digital development and cybersecurity, preferably combined with a knowledge of Ukraine—to provide technical oversight, due diligence, and risk management for the Activity and DAI. Moreover, this is DAI’s first cybersecurity program, and without a deep bench of HO cyber experts on staff, the Activity will need a go-to cyber expert to support its technical deliverables and to help manage the relationships with its partners. Risk management and ongoing, daily communication with the HO and field to support informed decision making by Chief of Party and senior leadership as their thought partner, will be a key part of this role.

The Activity’s organizational chart for the field team includes three technical leads aligned to the components of the Activity (Enabling Environment, Workforce Development, and Market/Industry Development), as well as a Deputy Chief of Party. Together, these key roles in the field work to implement an integrated work plan dependent largely on subcontracts, develop and manage strategic relationships with counterparts, and pursue new and effective partnerships. Implementing partners (subcontractors) are responsible for the bulk of implementation efforts, creating a complex coordination scenario. The HO Technical Manager/Director, in conjunction with the Chief of Party when appropriate, will provide leadership and essential support to the field team to ensure quality implementation and oversight. S/he will support the Chief of Party and Deputy Chief of Party in ensuring ongoing coordination and communications with the Activity’s implementing partners, many of which are based in the US. In addition, the HO Technical Manager/Director will develop and maintain strategic relationships with cybersecurity stakeholders in the US, including USAID, State Department, CISA, NIST, etc.

Select responsibilities

• Serve as the Activity’s main technical counterpart and partner based in the HO, facilitating communication between DAI senior leadership and the field team on all technical matters;
• Support the field team with development of high quality deliverables across all components;
• Travel to Ukraine on an as-needed basis;
• Support the Chief of Party and Activity senior leadership in managing each of the unique partner relationships, including fielding partner concerns and ensuring seamless communication about ongoing priorities and needs;
• Develop relationships and engage cybersecurity stakeholders in the US including USAID HQ, State Department, CISA, NIST, MITRE, and others – focusing on keeping these stakeholders briefed on the Activity, and identifying opportunities for collaboration and joint investment;
• Ensure that cybersecurity best practices from the US are considered and effectively integrated into the Activity efforts such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.
• Liaise between the Activity, and DAI resources and initiatives, such as DAI Capital, the INVEST project, the Center for Digital Acceleration and others as appropriate.

About the Organization

DAI is an international development company. For more than 45 years, we have worked on the frontlines of international development, tackling fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. Currently, DAI is delivering results that matter in some 80 countries. Our development solutions turn ideas into impact by bringing together fresh combinations of expertise and innovation across multiple disciplines. Our clients include international development agencies, international lending institutions, private corporations and philanthropies, and national governments.