Lebanon: OTI Country Representative/Senior Country Representative - Lebanon

The OTI Country Representative/Senior Country Representative is a full-time Personal Services Contract (PSC) position at the GS-14/15 equivalent levels and located in Lebanon. Applications for this position are due no later than April 22, 2016 at 5:00pm Eastern Time. For full information about this position, as well as instructions on how to apply, please read the entire solicitation at www.OTIjobs.net.

INTRODUCTION:

The Country Representative – Lebanon is a member of the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA)/OTI Middle East Regional Team, and is based in Beirut as the senior OTI representative in the country. The Country Representative’s principle responsibility will be the development, oversight and management of DCHA/OTI’s Lebanon country program. The incumbent will be called upon to represent OTI’s mission and programs to senior-level government officials, in-country visitors, senior officials from other international organizations, bilateral donors, and local government officials.

USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI) launched a Lebanon Program in September to 2007 to “protect and expand national democratic space” by addressing political strains of Lebanon’s confessional political dynamic by mitigating tensions that threaten to de-stabilize the country’s democratic system. Working closely with government authorities, non-governmental organizations, formal and informal community groups, and local media, OTI/Lebanon supported inter-confessional cooperation at the local level aimed at mitigating conflict.

In September 2014, OTI/Lebanon extended its program to capitalize on windows of opportunity to strengthen resilience in Lebanese communities. The influx of over 1.2 million Syrian refugees has exacerbated long-standing internal Lebanese sectarian tensions and created new divisions. Working through its extensive network of local partners, OTI has sought to increase social cohesion in vulnerable communities by mitigating tensions in areas most affected by the crisis. The program seeks to strengthen the most vulnerable Lebanese host communities by promoting peaceful alternatives to violence, reducing marginalization and isolation of community groups, strengthening youth empowerment and civic participation and increasing moderate space and supporting moderate actors. Together, these outcomes aim to contribute to increased resiliency and community stability.

OTI cultivates local partnerships with local civil society organizations (CSOs), municipal authorities, and other stakeholders and support moderate organizations to demonstrate themselves as credible, responsive dispute-resolution agents and service providers. OTI’s civil society partners work with local communities to assess and map community needs, dynamics, and sources of tension and engage key stakeholders in solution-oriented dialogue. OTI then addresses immediate resource needs through tangible, highly visible activities to build program credibility, gain community trust and quickly demonstrate immediate impact. These entry activities often provide a basis for conflict management and social cohesion efforts.

OTI will support the development of conflict management mechanisms, uniquely tailored to each community, to enable Lebanese citizens and Syrian refugees to maintain regular lines of communication and manage potential threats to community peace and stability. OTI will also promote accurate, unbiased, and tolerant information dissemination to counteract rumors and stereotypes that exacerbate tensions between Lebanese citizens and Syrian refugees, while also publicizing new methods for conflict management.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

At the GS-14 level:

Note: Duties and responsibilities are listed in order of importance for this position.

· Manage a high-profile program in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. Based on political analysis and U.S. Government policy, conceptualize and design program strategies and objectives with the support of OTI staff, USAID, DoD personnel, the U.S. embassy, and other U.S. agencies and departments, as well as national and local government officials, and local civil society representatives. When necessary, refine strategic objectives and advocate on behalf of new programmatic approaches in country, linked to neighboring country programs, where appropriate;

· Provide managerial and supervisory support including: 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, timesheets, training, travel and program and operations requests;

· Communicate and coordinate OTI’s in-country activities between OTI and its implementing partners, USAID, and other donor organizations;

· Provide day-to-day programmatic, operational, and strategic guidance to OTI’s implementing partners (contractors and/or grantees) ensuring that activities are contributing to OTI’s program objectives;

· Provide recommendations to the Washington-based Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and/or the Regional Team Leader on implementing partner performance, the appropriateness of the partner’s scope to OTI’s country objectives, partner’s budgets, and modifications thereto;

· Provide USAID concurrence on all implementing partner activities, including final approval of grantees for grants under contract, in accordance with the ADS (USAID’s Automated Directives System);

· In collaboration with USAID, prepare operational plans including logistics and property use guidelines, closeout and hand-over, security procedures, contingency and evacuation plans;

· 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;

· Analyze and report on current political developments and security concerns as well as other pertinent information required to achieve OTI's program objectives;

· Ensure appropriate resource allocation among OTI field offices and implementing partners;

· Prepare and maintain OTI program budgets for field operations;

· In close coordination with other DCHA offices and the USAID-Lebanon Mission, develop an exit strategy and operational closeout plan;

· Serve as OTI’s primary liaison with USAID personnel, U.S. Embassy staff, DoD personnel, government officials, bilateral donors, UN organizations, indigenous and international NGOs, and other pertinent agencies and organizations. Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with them in order to ensure close coordination at the field level, identify the widest range of potential partners and opportunities, and achieve maximum synergy with other programs;

· Ensure that all OTI and partner field staff adhere to in-country security guidelines set by the U.S. Embassy Regional Security Officer and other organizations such as the United Nations or host government, as appropriate;

· Prepare and disseminate programmatic, financial and periodic reports to the USAID Mission, OTI/Washington and other organizations as appropriate;

· Oversee a team comprised of a significant number of local and expatriate implementing partner staff. Continuously review and design staffing plans to meet overall program objectives and recruit, train, supervise, and evaluate the performance of in-country OTI staff. Maintain staff morale in a difficult security and work environment

· Perform other duties as required related to this scope of work in order to ensure successful management of OTI’s country program.

At the GS-15 level:

Note: Duties and responsibilities are listed in order of importance for this position.

· Manage a high-profile program in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. Based on political analysis and U.S. Government policy, conceptualize and design program strategies and objectives in close coordination with OTI staff, USAID, DoD personnel, the U.S. embassy, and other U.S. agencies and departments, as well as national and local government officials, and local civil society representatives. When necessary, refine strategic objectives and advocate on behalf of new programmatic approaches in country, linked to neighboring country programs, where appropriate;

· Provide managerial and supervisory support including: 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, timesheets, training, travel and program and operations requests;

· Communicate and oversee OTI’s in-country activities between OTI and its implementing partners, USAID, the U.S. Embassy, and other donor organizations;

· Manage and provide day-to-day programmatic, operational, and strategic guidance to OTI’s implementing partners (contractors and/or grantees) ensuring that activities are contributing to OTI’s program objectives;

· Ensure that OTI strategic direction of programming remains in close coordination with larger USG foreign policy imperatives through regular consultations with all principal stake holders at post;

· Monitor local and regional political developments and regularly brief OTI and partner staff on their potential programmatic impact;

· Provide recommendations to the Washington-based Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and/or the Regional Team Leader on implementing partner performance, the appropriateness of the partner’s scope to OTI’s country objectives, partner’s budgets, and modifications thereto;

· Provide USAID concurrence on all implementing partner activities, including final approval of grantees for grants under contract, in accordance with the ADS (USAID’s Automated Directives System);

· Create operational plans in collaboration with USAID, including logistics and property use guidelines, closeout and hand-over, security procedures, contingency and evacuation plans;

· 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;

· Analyze and report on current political developments and security concerns as well as other pertinent information required to achieve OTI's program objectives;

· Ensure appropriate resource allocation among OTI field offices and implementing partners;

· Prepare and maintain OTI program budgets for field operations;

· In close coordination with other DCHA offices and the USAID-Lebanon Mission, develop an exit strategy and operational closeout plan;

· Serve as OTI’s primary liaison with USAID personnel, U.S. Embassy staff, Ambassadors, DoD personnel, government officials, bilateral donors, UN organizations, indigenous and international NGOs, and other pertinent agencies and organizations. Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with them in order to ensure close coordination at the field level, identify the widest range of potential partners and opportunities, and achieve maximum synergy with other programs;

· Work closely with Mission leadership to advise on potential follow on activities which will help guarantee greater sustainability of the OTI program post-closeout;

· Ensure that all OTI and partner field staff adhere to in-country security guidelines set by the U.S. Embassy Regional Security Officer and other organizations such as the United Nations or host government, as appropriate;

· Prepare and disseminate programmatic, financial and periodic reports to the USAID Mission, OTI/Washington and other organizations as appropriate;

· Oversee a team comprised of a significant number of local and expatriate implementing partner staff. Continuously review and design staffing plans to meet overall program objectives and recruit, train, supervise, and evaluate the performance of in-country OTI staff. Maintain staff morale in a difficult security and work environment;

· Perform other duties as required related to this scope of work in order to ensure successful management of OTI’s country program.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

At the GS-14 equivalent level:

(1) Bachelor's degree and a minimum of nine (9) years of progressively responsible work experience;

OR

Master's degree and a minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible work experience;

AND

(2) Minimum of six (6) years of project management experience with a USG foreign affairs agency, international or domestic assistance organization, or non-governmental organization, in community development, stabilization programming, economic development, mediation/arbitration, conflict resolution, democracy and governance, international law, human rights activities, and/or political analysis;

(3) Minimum of three (3) years of overseas field experience working in one or more developing countries undergoing political transition;

(4) A minimum of three (3) years of supervisory experience (including mentoring, training, and guiding staff), of which at least one (1) year must include supervisory management experience (defined as supervising at least one other supervisor within an office, division, or team).

At the GS-15 equivalent level:

(1) Bachelor's degree and a minimum of eleven (11) years of progressively responsible work experience;

OR

Master's degree and a minimum of nine (9) years of progressively responsible work experience;

AND

(2) Minimum of seven (7) years of project management experience with a USG foreign affairs agency, international or domestic assistance organization, or non-governmental organization, in community development, economic development, mediation/arbitration, conflict resolution, democracy and governance, international law, human rights activities, and/or political analysis;

(3) Minimum of five (5) years of overseas field experience working in one or more developing countries undergoing political transition;

(4) A minimum of five (5) years of supervisory experience (including mentoring, training,

and guiding staff), of which at least two (2) years must include supervisory management experience (defined as supervising at least one other supervisor within an office, division, or team).

Please direct questions about this position or the application process to the OTI Recruitment Team at otijobs@usaid.gov.

For full information about this position, as well as instructions on how to apply, please visit www.OTIjobs.net.