Strategic Planning and Activity Design Advisor

The Office of Technical and Program Quality (TPQ) leads the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance’s (BHA) efforts to ensure high quality programmatic and technical leadership, oversight, and guidance. TPQ captures, applies, and strengthens capacity in technical best practices and contextually appropriate programmatic approaches focused on all dimensions of BHA programming from humanitarian response and transition into longer-term resilience programming, as well as risk analysis and early warning. TPQ is responsible for providing policy, normative guidance, tools, facilitation, and capacity building to assist the Bureau in achieving optimal humanitarian outcomes through strategic planning, activity design, consistent and effective performance monitoring, comprehensive and appropriate evaluation, and purposeful learning across the full spectrum of BHA responses and programming. The Office promotes USAID’s humanitarian voice through active participation and technical leadership in

interagency and global fora, including leading the Bureau’s technical engagement with academia and thought leaders. TPQ designs, supports, and coordinates research to advance the effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of BHA programming. TPQ leads BHA in meeting the increasing demand for technical support and guidance in all facets of the Bureau’s work as the geographic and topical areas of coverage expand, and as the Bureau seeks increased technical

and programmatic standardization, integration, and oversight to meet Agency, Congressional, and other demands.

The Design, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Applied Learning Division (DMEAL) leads the BHA’s efforts to ensure high-quality programming, rigor, and innovation through strategic planning and activity design, consistent and effective performance monitoring, comprehensive and appropriate evaluation, and purposeful learning across the full spectrum of BHA responses and programming. DMEAL is responsible for providing policy, normative guidance, tools, facilitation, and capacity building to assist the Bureau in achieving optimal humanitarian and resilience outcomes. DMEAL focuses on building the capacity of BHA and partner staff, as well as knowledge capture, sharing, and application of learning for adaptive management. More Information on BHA is available at: https://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/organization/bureaus/bureau-humanitarian-assistance

INTRODUCTION

USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) seeks Strategic Planning and Activity Design Advisor(s) to support the BHA Strategic Planning and Activity Design (SPADe) Team, which is a part of the DMEAL Division and the Office of TPQ. The purpose of BHA’s SPADe Team is to support and facilitate high quality strategic planning and activity design processes across the breadth of BHA programming. As part of this effort, the SPADe team works across

multiple teams, sectors, divisions, offices, bureaus, and USG and non-USG stakeholders to facilitate high quality planning processes that strengthen strategic alignment, collaboration, and integration of programming objectives and resources with BHA and USAID priorities, and maximize programmatic impacts. The SPADe team also supports and facilitates the activity design process to develop solicitations and programming to address the humanitarian assistance needs of those impacted by emergencies, and the resilience and development needs of the extremely poor and vulnerable populations.

The work of SPADe Advisors requires facilitation, teamwork, extensive collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, and personal responsibility. In support of multi-year humanitarian assistance and resilience activities through a wide variety of work tasks, the incumbent is required to be collaborative, results-oriented, data driven, facilitative and a critical thinker that thrives on unpacking complex humanitarian and development issues. The incumbent must have an interdisciplinary background that will be able to collect, synthesize, and translate information.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The SPADe Advisor will work across Washington bureaus and offices, and with Missions to build project design capacity and promote key principles of adaptive management and sustainability. The incumbent will promote technical collaboration in the project design process.

Under the direct supervision of the Team Leader or his/her designee, the SPADe Advisor will perform the following duties:

Develop and Support BHA Strategic Planning

• Using organizational design principles, create and support strategic planning processes and procedures appropriate to the BHA’s vision, strategies, and organizational culture.
• Integrate change management strategies into design work to ensure that approved processes are communicated, understood, and applied.
• Provide BHA’s Senior Management Team and Offices with strategic planning and associated operational support.
• Provide direct operational support and technical assistance to support the development of strategic planning processes.
• Support the collection, analysis, and distillation of data and evidence related to the new strategies and plans.
• Facilitate and support the development of visions, goals, strategic frameworks, guidance, and plans.
• Facilitate briefings, meetings and workshops with internal and external stakeholders related to strategic planning. Examples include but are not limited to strategic planning briefings, strategy or planning development workshops, consultations, and learning events.
• Develop written products, tools, and/or communication tools related strategic planning. Examples of written products include but are not limited to statements of work, terms of reference, options papers, desk reviews or summaries, action memos, and strategic planning guidance.
• Ensure strategic planning quality, efficiency of strategic planning methodology, adequacy of technical design, and compliance with applicable Agency regulations and policies.

Design BHA multi-year activities

• Using organizational design principles, create and support activity design processes and procedures appropriate to the BHA’s vision, strategies, and organizational culture.
• Streamline design workflow, procedures, structures, and systems to meet BHA goals.
• Integrate change management strategies into design work to ensure that approved processes are communicated, understood, and applied.
• Provide direct operational support and technical assistance to support the development of activity design processes.
• Support the gathering, analysis, and distillation of data and evidence related to the new activity designs.
• Facilitate briefings, meetings, and workshops with internal and external stakeholders related to activity design. Examples include but are not limited to activity design briefings and workshops, consultation and learning events, solicitation briefings, and co-creation workshops.
• Facilitate and support the development of goals, objectives, strategic frameworks, theories of change, activity design principles, and programmatic approaches.
• Develop written products, tools, and/or communication tools related activity design. Examples of written products include but are not limited to solicitations, statements of work, options papers, action memos, and activity design guidance.
• Provide support to geographic divisions, as requested, in implementing projects and activities in accordance with BHA guidance and international best practices.
• Ensure activity design quality, efficiency of design methodology, adequacy of technical design, and compliance with applicable Agency regulations and policies.

Build Strategic Planning and Activity Design Capacity

• Work with Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E), learning, and technical staff to encourage review of program information and learning throughout the program cycle to improve program outcomes.
• Assess the effectiveness of strategic planning and activity design processes to inform future guidance and process development, through after-action reviews, feedback sessions, consultations, and evaluations.
• Identify and socialize new ways of designing strategies and integrated activities using systems thinking tools and approaches.
• Research new design concepts and tools to address identified challenges in program quality and implementation.
• Work with other USAID activities and partners to amplify development impact through joint design and strategic planning.
• Identify new opportunities for collaboration with global non-profit, multilateral, bilateral, and private sector partners.
• Develop communication tools to disseminate new and existing design tools and thinking to BHA and the partner community.
• Develop, lead, and coordinate elements of SPADe’s learning and capacity building agenda, platforms, and training efforts.
• Create on-going channels to discuss strategic planning and activity design news to BHA staff in Washington and the field.

Supervisory Controls

The incumbent will take direction from and report to the SPADe Team Leader in BHA/Washington. The incumbent’s supervisor will set the overall work objectives and the incumbent will consult with the Team Leader to develop deadlines, projects, and work to be performed. The incumbent is expected to take initiative and act independently with little direction, but will have no authority to make financial commitments on behalf of the U.S. government.

The supervisor sets overall objectives and works with the incumbent to develop deadlines, methodology, and work to be accomplished. The incumbent carries out assignments and consults with the supervisor on policy interpretations. The incumbent keeps his/her supervisor informed of progress in the achievement of objectives and advised of potentially controversial matters. The supervisor will evaluate work for technical soundness and effectiveness in advancing USAID’s Global Food Security Strategy, Resilience Policy, and BHA’s Vision as enunciated in the BHA’s relevant strategies and activity designs for multi-year activities.

Guidelines

The pertinent sources of information consist of the Food for Peace Act, the Foreign Assistance Act, and other legislation; USAID Agency, DCHA Bureau, and other USG rules and regulations; and BHA rules, policies, guidelines, and information bulletins.

The incumbent exercises considerable independent judgment in determining the application of guidelines to assigned responsibilities. The incumbent is expected to identify and recommend solutions to inefficiencies or inconsistencies that serve as barriers to the accomplishment of assigned tasks and report them to the SPADe Team Leader. The incumbent is expected to collaborate with USG partners, bilateral donors, multilateral organizations, foundations, and private sector partners to design integrated activities using systems thinking tools and approaches. The incumbent will integrate change management strategies into design work to ensure that approved processes are communicated, understood, and applied.

Complexity

The incumbent undertakes a wide range of duties that require the exercise of judgment, the interpretation of policies and practices and their relevance to new problems or situations. The incumbent must work with a range of people from the Technical Program Quality Office, Geographic Offices, along with field personnel and other bureaus within USAID.

The incumbent applies his/her depth and breadth of knowledge and experience in the gathering, analysis, and distillation of data and evidence related to new activity designs. The incumbent engages with the Geographic offices in implementing projects and activities in accordance with BHA guidance and international best practices. The recommended changes will be consistent with existing legislative, regulatory, and policy guidelines, but may require the formulation and application of new approaches and/or methodologies. The incumbent will be responsible for researching new design concepts and tools to address identified challenges in program quality and implementation.

Scope and Effect

The work typically includes providing design support to promote efficient and effective design timelines and processes. The incumbent is responsible for ensuring activity design quality, efficiency of design methodology, adequacy of technical design, and compliance with applicable Agency regulations and policies. The incumbent will work with staff to encourage review of program information and learning throughout the program cycle to improve program outcomes.

The incumbent provides BHA’s Senior Management Team with strategic and operational support by establishing annual plans and timeline for country selection process and design and approval of new activities. The incumbent develops communication tools to disseminate new and existing design tools and thinking to BHA and the partner community.

Personal Contacts

The contacts are with individuals or groups outside of USAID in a moderately unstructured setting. Contacts may include a variety of staff, specialists, managers, officials, or groups from outside of USAID where the purpose and extent of each contact are usually different. The role and authority of each party is identified and developed during the course of the contact.

The contacts are with individuals or groups in context relating to strategic planning and activity design. The incumbent coordinates closely with bilateral donors, multilateral organizations, foundations, and private sector partners. The incumbent also works with the USAID Missions to discuss new and existing strategic planning and activity design tools for the field.

Purpose of Contacts

The incumbent must justify, defend, negotiate, and settle matters involving controversial issues among decision makers involved with information products applied to emergency food assistance and project design initiatives. The people contacted by the incumbent typically have diverse viewpoints, goals and objectives including U.S. Government agencies (State Department, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Security Council, etc.).

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE POSITION

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

A. Minimum Qualifications: Determines basic eligibility for the position. Applicants who do not meet all of the education and experience factors are considered NOT qualified for the position.

• A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. or internationally recognized institution with significant study in, but not limited to agriculture, human nutrition, economics, political science, sociology, anthropology, international development, or other related field, plus minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian assistance and/or international development, of which five (5) years must be related to strategic planning or activity design. Three (3) years of overseas professional experience is required.

OR

• A Master’s degree from an accredited U.S. or internationally recognized institution with significant study in, but not limited to agriculture, human nutrition, economics, political science, sociology, anthropology, international development, or other related field, plus minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian assistance and/or international development, of which five (5) years must be related to strategic planning or activity design. Three (3) years of overseas professional experience is required.

Ability to obtain and maintain a US Government issued Secret clearance for the duration of your employment. Only applicants who currently hold an active Secret or higher-level security clearance or who are eligible to receive a Secret security clearance will be considered for this position.