DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Regional Advisor will be responsible for program analysis, strategy development, and coordination with relief agencies, other donors, and USG interagency partners, as well as reporting to OFDA’s ECARO in Nairobi, Kenya and OFDA/Washington. The Regional Advisor will maintain close coordination and collaboration with USAID and Embassy staff across the affected region and in the relevant regional offices.
This position requires substantial coordination with representatives from other USAID offices, the U.S. Embassy, other USG agencies, host country governments, U.S. military representatives, as well as with relevant donor representatives, UN agencies, and NGOs, therefore requiring a highly collaborative work style. The Regional Advisor must be prepared to function effectively in a challenging and restrictive work environment and be willing to strictly adhere to U.S. Embassy security guidelines.
Working directly under the guidance and supervision of the OFDA Senior Regional Advisor for ECARO, the Regional Advisor will work in close collaboration with a program team that may include other Regional Advisors, Senior Humanitarian Advisors, Program Officers, Field Monitors, Regional Team Leaders, Disaster Operation Specialists, and/or Program Assistants. Specifically, the Regional Advisor will be responsible for the following:

Contextual Specialty
• Serve as an expert on humanitarian issues, priorities, lessons learned, and opportunities in the region of responsibility.
• Provide expert guidance on political, humanitarian, organizational, structural and stakeholder interests specific to the region of responsibility.
• Prepare and/or provide substantive guidance in the preparation of, regular strategic and analytical reports on current or anticipated emergencies, as well as comprehensive preparedness documentation on assigned countries.
Portfolio Management
• Develop and maintain a detailed understanding of OFDA’s program strategy and the implementation of the resulting awards in area of assigned responsibility.
• Guide regional team efforts to develop appropriate programmatic strategies for disaster responses and disaster risk reduction efforts in the area of responsibility.
• Review program proposals for conceptual soundness, technical feasibility, and budget for disaster assistance activities and emergency projects.
• Lead/conduct initial assessments to identify humanitarian needs and/or disaster risk reduction opportunities across a broad spectrum of sectors in current disaster sites or locations with high vulnerability.
• Monitor ongoing humanitarian response and disaster risk reduction activities to validate that objectives are met and beneficiaries are served.
• Lead the development of country, issue, or disaster specific strategies across the region of responsibility, as well as timely revision of these strategies as contextual realities shift.
• Re-assess implementation approaches and strategies on an ongoing basis and make recommendations for appropriate shifts approach or resource allocation.
• Participate in the development of field-based recommendations on difficult resource and programmatic trade-offs within the region.
Representation
• Develop and maintain relationships with representatives of host governments, donor governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, U.S. embassies and USAID missions to ensure efficient and coordinated humanitarian response and disaster risk reduction activities.
• Represent USAID in joint efforts to design, develop, and implement humanitarian strategies and intervention with local governments, donor, partner, and UN organizations, as appropriate.
• Advise regional officials, including host country authorities and other USAID officials on disaster response, mitigation, and risk reduction efforts, including the review of sector disaster response and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) plans.
• Work with local and regional institutions and private/public sector organizations to incorporate disaster risk reduction into appropriate programs.

Leadership
• Support regional team efforts to develop current and future strategic direction for the regional office to include programmatic, liaison and representational prioritization, and human and financial resource requirements.
• Participate in a leadership role in office-wide policy initiatives to ensure field perspectives are well-represented.
• Serve as a peer-mentor for program staff working to increase exposure and experience in field-based humanitarian operations.

General Duties
• Supervise relevant USPSC and foreign national program staff in assigned program offices.
• Serve in leadership, planning, or program positions on response teams, assessment teams, or to provide coverage for field offices within and outside the region.
• Serve in leadership, planning, or program positions on Washington-based RMTs, which provides services and support to DARTs deployed in response to disasters, for up to 45 days. The duties on RMTs will be varied.
• Ensure timely reporting of OFDA’s activities in the region through written cables, analyses, strategies, and other requests for written information and/or oral briefings.
• Maintain regular communications with the regional (and/or sub-regional) office in their area of responsibility and with OFDA/Washington.
• Serve on DARTs which may require immediate (within 24 hours) deployment overseas for an extended period of time.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION
(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.)
Bachelor’s degree with study in, or pertinent to, the specialized field of, but not limited to, international relations, economics, food policy, African studies, or a related field or country; and nine (9) years of progressively demonstrated experience in emergency relief, disaster risk reduction and/or disaster preparedness programming and management, which should include five (5) years of overseas field experience as demonstrated by short-term deployments or assignments in emergency situations. Substantial overseas field experience is highly preferred.
OR
Master’s degree with study in, or pertinent to, the specialized field of, but not limited to, international relations, economics, food policy, African studies, or a related field or country; and seven (7) years of progressively demonstrated experience in emergency relief, disaster risk reduction and/or disaster preparedness programming and management, which should include five (5) years of overseas field experience as demonstrated by short-term deployments or assignments in emergency situations. Substantial overseas field experience is highly preferred.
SELECTION FACTORS
(Determines basic eligibility for the position. Applicants who do not meet all of the selection factors are considered NOT qualified for the position.)
• Applicant is a U.S. Citizen.
• Complete resume submitted. See cover page for resume requirements. Experience that cannot be quantified will not be counted towards meeting the solicitation requirements.
• USPSC Application form AID 302-3. Applicants are required to complete and sign the form.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret up to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information level clearance as provided by USAID.
• Ability to obtain a Department of State medical clearance.
• Satisfactory verification of academic credentials.
APPLICANT RATING SYSTEM
The applicant rating system factors are used to determine the competitive ranking of qualified applicants in comparison to other applicants. Applicants must demonstrate the rating factors outlined below within their resume, as they are evaluated strictly by the information provided. The rating factors are as follows:
Professional Experience (10 points)
• Experience managing humanitarian interventions in an international disaster context across the entire disaster management cycle to include emergency response, early recovery and transition, disaster risk reduction, and resilience.
• Specific experience managing humanitarian interventions including needs assessment, strategy development, budget management, resource prioritization, program development, and program management.
Skills and Abilities (10 points)
• Demonstrated diplomatic, interpersonal, and representational skills in order to work effectively with host governments at senior levels in the midst of humanitarian crisis situations.
• Demonstrated diplomatic, interpersonal, and representational skills in order to work effectively with other donors and diplomatic missions at senior levels in the midst of international humanitarian crisis situations.
• Demonstrated diplomatic, interpersonal, and representational skills in order to work effectively with international and national non-governmental humanitarian partners at senior levels in the midst of humanitarian crisis situations.
• Demonstrated diplomatic, interpersonal, and representational skills in order to effectively achieve humanitarian objectives within the USG at senior levels, including with DOD, Embassies, Members of Congress, and senior executive branch staff the midst of international humanitarian crisis situations.
Leading Teams Experience (10 points)
• Demonstrated experience leading teams of varied nationalities and cultural backgrounds working in a constant state of complex, international humanitarian crisis.
• Experience leading a diverse team of program, technical, and administrative staff, including senior U.S. professionals, working in a constant state of in complex, international humanitarian crisis.
Interview Performance (40 points)
Timed Writing Test (15 points)
Satisfactory Professional Reference Checks (15 points)
Total Possible Points: 100

BASIS OF RATING: Applicants who meet the Education/Experience requirements and Selection Factors will be further evaluated in accordance with the Applicant Rating System. Those applicants determined to be competitively ranked may also be evaluated on interview performance and satisfactory professional reference checks.
Applicants are required to address each factor of the Applicant Rating System in their resume, describing specifically and accurately what experience, training, education, and/or awards they have received as it pertains to each factor. Be sure to include your name and the announcement number at the top of each additional page. Failure to address the selection factors and/or Applicant Rating System factors may result in not receiving credit for all pertinent experience, education, training and/or awards
The most qualified candidates may be interviewed and required to provide a writing sample. OFDA will not pay for any expenses associated with the interviews. Professional references and academic credentials will be evaluated for applicants being considered for selection. Note: Please be advised that references may be obtained independently from other sources in addition to the ones provided by an applicant. OFDA reserves the right to select additional candidates if vacancies become available during future phase of the selection process.

HOW TO APPLY:
APPLYING:
Applications must be received by the closing date and time at the address specified in the cover letter.
Qualified individuals are required to submit:
1. Complete resume. In order to fully evaluate your application, your resume must include:
(a) Paid and non-paid experience, job title, location(s), dates held (month/year), and hours worked per week for each position. Dates (month/year) and locations for all field experience must also be detailed. Any experience that does not include dates (month/year), locations, and hours per week will not be counted towards meeting the solicitation requirements.
(b) Specific duties performed that fully detail the level and complexity of the work.
(c) Names and contact information (phone/email) of your current and/or previous supervisor(s). Current and/or previous supervisors may be contacted for a reference.
(d) Education and any other qualifications including job-related training courses, job-related skills, or job-related honors, awards or accomplishments.
(e) U.S. Citizenship

Your resume should contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the experience requirements as stated in this solicitation. This information should be clearly identified in your resume. Failure to provide information sufficient to determine your qualifications for the position will result in loss of full consideration.
2. USPSC Application form AID 302-3. Applicants are required to complete and sign the form.
Additional documents submitted will not be accepted.
By submitting your application materials, you certify that all of the information on and attached to the application is true, correct, complete, and made in good faith. You agree to allow all information on and attached to the application to be investigated. False or fraudulent information on or attached to your application may result in you being eliminated from consideration for this position, or being terminated after award, and may be punishable by fine or imprisonment.
To ensure consideration of applications for the intended position, please reference the solicitation number on your application, and as the subject line in any email.
DOCUMENT SUBMITTALS
Via email: recruiter@ofda.gov o