The work of the Senior Transition Specialist requires teamwork, the exercise of discretion, judgment, and personal responsibility. As a member of a highly operational office, the incumbent is willing and able to perform a wide range of administrative functions to help ensure programmatic success. The incumbent has a high level of integrity and attention to detail to ensure the use of OTI systems and procedures to maintain effective and efficient management of funds, programming, and monitoring and evaluation. The incumbent is highly flexible and willing to work under conditions of ongoing change, and remains professional and respectful of colleagues and authority in a diverse workforce. She or he places a premium on the building of positive relationships with his or her respective team both in the field and in Washington, and with key stakeholders both in and outside of USAID. The incumbent is able to prioritize and complete tasks without follow-up by the supervisor, while also filling in gaps as needed to ensure the responsiveness of the team. The Senior Transition Specialist is a strategic thinker, articulates innovative ideas, presents solutions, and is a positive role model for colleagues both in and outside of OTI.
Initially assigned to the DCHA/OTI Program Learning and Innovation (PLI) Division, under the direct supervision of the Division Chief, or his/her designee, including other DCHA/OTI Division Chiefs, the Senior Transition Specialist will perform the following duties:
Note: Duties and responsibilities are listed in order of importance for this position
• Assist with the development of information management products and improved business practices for OTI based on research and personal field experience lessons learned;
• Provide training and mentoring on OTI program implementation for OTI staff both in Washington and the field as required;
• Conduct, in collaboration with the relevant OTI regional team, assessments for possible new country programs, and visits to field sites in areas where OTI has projects;
• Execute, if required, closeout activities related to OTI programs, recommend strategic courses of action, facilitate closeout meetings, and provide ongoing evaluations of OTI programs in the field;
• When required, negotiate, within the guidelines provided by the OTI supervisor, or his/her designee, program and project agreements with governmental and non-governmental counterparts;
• Conceptualize and design country program strategies and objectives in close coordination with OTI staff, USAID and U.S. Department of State personnel, and other governmental and non-governmental actors, based on political analysis and U.S. Government policy. When necessary, assist in refining strategic objectives and advocate on behalf of new programmatic approaches in-country, possibly linked to neighboring country programs if considered appropriate;
• Represent and articulate OTI’s mission and global programs to visitors, senior officials from international organizations, bilateral donors and national and local foreign government officials;
• Identify or seek out NGOs, international donors, U.S. Government (USG) agencies and other organizations of importance to OTI programs in Washington and the field, and develop and maintain professional relationships with them;
• Advise and/or assist in drafting documents outlining future planning and vision in the development and implementation of OTI programs, and assist in developing and improving country program monitoring and evaluation systems, providing guidance on designing and managing final evaluations;
• Advise Senior Management and Team Leaders on budget processes and reviews, preparing justification documentation when necessary;
• Update and revise, as needed, program management guides, including strategic planning and field operations materials;
• Serve as a liaison with other DCHA offices, other USAID divisions and the State Department on program and policy direction;
• Help ensure that OTI’s programs and their activities are monitored and evaluated and that lessons learned from the activities feed into ongoing or future activities;
• Ensure appropriate resource allocation among OTI field offices and implementing partners;
• When required, supervise staff as delegated by the OTI supervisor (e.g. Technical Advisors, Program Managers, Program Assistants, Program Admin Assistants, etc). Provide orientation, training, and mentoring for staff supervised; assign work, explain how duties are to be performed to meet expectations and communicate how the successful performance of those duties will be measured; evaluate staff performance; recognize good performance; communicate where performance needs to be improved; resolve complaints; and approve leave requests and timesheets as well as training, travel and program and operations requests;
• Fill critical program implementation staffing needs in Washington, D.C. and the field including the provision of ad hoc support to new OTI country program start-ups and on-call technical assistance, including providing supervisory support;
• As required, perform services under this scope of work at physical locations other than Washington OTI headquarters, including within other USAID offices, bureaus or other USG agencies;
• Analyze and report on current political developments and security concerns as well as other pertinent information required to achieve OTI’s program objectives;
• When required, act as Division Chief, or in other team roles;
• Provide other services as required to fulfill OTI’s program objectives as related to this scope of work.
