Prosper Africa Trade Advisor (USAID/AFRICA)

  • Full-time staff position
  • Posted on 3 January 2025

Job Description

Prosper Africa is a Presidential-level national security initiative to increase two-way trade and investment in the United States and Africa. Prosper Africa will mobilize and coordinate the U.S. Government’s full range of capabilities, influence, and assistance to substantially increase trade and investment while supporting jobs at home and abroad. The initiative aims to improve the U.S. government’s ability to encourage and facilitate engagement by U.S. businesses in Africa, accelerate African economic competitiveness and the growth of the continent’s middle class, and improve the business environment in promising African economies. Importantly, Prosper Africa is a strategic investment by the U.S. Government, it will be responsive to the interests and direction of the private sector.

The Prosper Africa Executive Secretariat (PAES), supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Africa Bureau, seeks a trade advisor for a full-time assignment. The Trade Advisor will be a critical member of the Prosper Africa trade team. The incumbent will work under the supervision of the Regional Director for Trade. The Trade Advisor will be the key point of contact for Prosper Africa’s trade team on assigned technical matters and coordinate between field, USAID and other stakeholders as necessary and will provide general outreach and trade support to Prosper Africa.

Currently Prosper Africa is achieving substantial success in Africa through its trade and investment strategy, focusing on sectors that promote mutual benefit to the U.S. and African nations. Key objectives include more fully integrating African producers and suppliers into U.S. supply chains; tracking and growing U.S. consumer and retail demand for African goods, particularly through engagement with the US PanAfrican Diaspora; improving trade performance at key U.S. and African promotional events such as the Sourcing at MAGIC and Summer Fancy Food shows through innovative marketing and the increased use of sector-specific short term technical expertise; further capacitating a network of Trade Promotion Service Providers (TPSP) comprised of private sector actors able to help scale trade and investment; and, leveraging treaties and trade preference programs such as African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

In addition to promoting the export of U.S. goods and services into Africa, Prosper Africa is pioneering an innovative demand-led strategy for linking African producers and suppliers to over 20,000 U.S. retail outlets. Exports from Africa to the U.S. primarily occur under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Prosper Africa would also like to increase awareness among U.S. businesses of opportunities for trading, investment and partnerships in the above activities with African partners. Prosper will continue to leverage events, platforms and training programs to increase the technical capacity of African producers and suppliers to meet market access requirements under AGOA. The incumbent will support the Prosper Africa Trade team in realizing these goals.

The position requires strong working knowledge of AGOA and other tariff policies impacting US-Africa trade, with knowledge of the legislative policies and processes surrounding AGOA as a plus. The position requires a high level of technical and technical writing skills as well as a high degree of collaboration both within Prosper Africa and USAID, and with the 17 interagency partners who contribute to U.S.-African trade and investment The incumbent may represent Prosper Africa in discussions with international partners and stakeholders, particularly African institutions and the private sector.

Location: Washington, DC (Ronald Reagan Building)

Hybrid: 3 days on site

Salary: $115,000 - $135,000 (starting salary determined based on candidate’s knowledge, skills, experience, and education)

Clearance: Eligibility to obtain a Secret-level clearance (US citizenship required)

About the Organization

ZemiTek, LLC is a Woman-Owned, SBA-certified 8(a) Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) based in the Washington, DC metro area. We have a strong record delivering innovative and high-quality solutions. Since 2007, ZemiTek has provided technical assistance, project management, information technology (IT), knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation, training and learning development, and institutional support services.

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