A -- DEMOCRACY SPECIALIST

1. SOLICITATION NUMBER: 9/20042. ISSUANCE DATE: 03/26/2004 3. CLOSING DATE/TIME SPECIFIED FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS: 04/19/2004 (6 p.m. Almaty Time) 4. POSITION TITLE: DEMOCRACY SPECIALIST 5. MARKET VALUE: $62,905 - $81, 778 per annum (GS-13 equivalent) with 25% Post Differential 6. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Two years (renewable) 7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: USAID/CENTRAL ASIA, Tashkent, Uzbekistan 8. JOB DESCRIPTION: A) Background Central Asia is bordered by Russia, China, Iran and Afghanistan. Due to its substantial oil and gas reserves, it is a region of considerable geopolitical and strategic interest to the United States. With a total population of 55 million, and dozens of ethnic groups, the five new nations of the region are emerging from 150 years of Russian domination. A recent civil war, threats of religious extremism, ethnic rivalries, authoritarian governments, and lack of viable institutions make Central Asia a particularly difficult challenge for USAID. The region is considered a Foreign Service hardship post - 25% post differential for Tashkent, Uzbekistan. USAID's Regional Mission for Central Asia (USAID/CAR) is responsible, in close consultation with the five U.S. Ambassadors in the region, for the design and the management of USAID assistance programs. The central office is located in Almaty, Kazakhstan with offices in Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; Osh, Kyrgyzstan; Ashgabat, Turkmenistan; and Dushanbe, Tajikistan. USAID/CAR is responsible for approximately $90 million of assistance annually, with activities totaling $400 million in the areas of energy and environment, economics and finance, democracy and conflict mitigation, as well as health and education. The Mission works in partnership with over 70 grantee and contractors throughout the region. The Uzbekistan Country Office (USAID/CAR/UCO) in Tashkent, led by the Country Office Director, includes a team of 2 USDH, 2 USPSCs, and 17 local national technical and administrative support staff. B) Basic Function The USPSC Democracy Specialist is located in the USAID/CAR/Tashkent office. Under the dual supervision of the USAID/CAR/UCO Director and the Democracy & Conflict Mitigation (DM) Director, the employee serves as an activity manager for democracy programs implemented in Uzbekistan. The Democracy Specialist is also expected to act as the Deputy Country Office Director, providing technical expertise and management assistance to the UCO Director as necessary. The work of the Democracy Specialist involves a full range of project design, activity monitoring, grant management, data collection, political analysis, and program evaluation in the democracy sector in Uzbekistan. The Democracy Specialist is responsible for monitoring USAID/CAR/Uzbekistan initiatives in the democracy sector. As such, the employee must have considerable knowledge of political developments in the region, a background in democracy and community development programming, and must be effective in developing cooperative working relationships with American NGOs, local non-governmental partners and government officials in Uzbekistan. Moreover, s/he will work closely with and coordinate USAID/CAR's democracy programs with the U.S. Embassy and other USG funded activities such as those funded by the U.S. Department of State's Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Bureau (DRL). Due to the nature of this position, the Democracy Specialist must be able to think and operate strategically and programmatically, analyze complex situations in order to assist in the development of USAID strategic plans, and assess the impact of host country policies and practices on USAID programs. While this position is based in Tashkent, the Democracy Specialist is expected to travel to program sites throughout Uzbekistan on a frequent basis. S/he should spend at least one-third of her/his time traveling throughout Uzbekistan. C) MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Under the guidance of the USAID/CAR/UCO Director and technical supervision of the DM Director, the Democracy Specialist monitors and reports on the progress of media assistance, civic advocacy, rule of law, and political process activities, which are underway in Uzbekistan. S/he identifies barriers to program implementation and success, and develops solutions to maximize program impact. The Democracy Specialist will work collaboratively with the Democracy and Conflict Mitigation technical staff in Almaty to ensure program activities are implemented effectively. This individual is expected to track and analyze political issues crucial for the successful implementation of democracy activities in Uzbekistan. The Democracy Specialist provides strategic vision for the democracy program in Uzbekistan, continually honing USAID's strategy and approach to ensure the democracy and media program is appropriate given local conditions, developments and opportunities. Based on thorough understanding and analysis of democratic developments in Uzbekistan, the Democracy Specialist suggests new and/or changes to existing programs and activities. S/he may develop program goals and objectives, and prepare scopes of work for new activities, project assessments, and/or evaluations in Uzbekistan. The Democracy Specialist drafts mid-term and annual program review documents describing USAID/CAR's democracy activities in Uzbekistan, highlighting program impact achieved, and describing future plans and activities. S/he drafts success stories, reporting cables and other informational documents to publicize USAID's democracy and media assistance in Uzbekistan. Additionally, the Democracy Specialist serves as site officer, develops potential site visits, prepares briefing documents for, and briefs high level visitors such as Congressional Delegations, State Department and USAID Representatives, on USAID/CAR's democracy activities in Uzbekistan. The Democracy Specialist is expected to report, along with the UCO Director, on the performance of USAID/CAR democracy activities to Embassy officials. S/he serves as USAID/CAR representative on U.S. Embassy Democracy Commission and coordinates USAID/CAR's democracy activities with other U.S. Government agencies, especially the Public Affairs Section of the Embassy and the State Department's Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Bureau (DRL). The Democracy Specialist serves as one of USAID/CAR/UCO's representative to the Mission's Religion, State and Society team. As an adjunct member of this team, the incumbent guides the development, implementation and evaluation of programs that address issues related the relationship between the Islam, the Government and citizens. The Democracy Specialist also serves as the UCO Director's deputy. In this capacity, the Democracy Specialist serves as the acting UCO Director when s/he is absent: (1) represents the Country Office on U.S. Embassy and other interagency committees (selection committees, etc.) which would otherwise require participation of the Country Representative; (2) represents USAID in donor and other meetings, as requested by the Country Representative; (3) gives input as necessary and report major conclusions to the responsible Activity Managers and ensures that all follow-up actions from these meetings are tracked; (4) maintains active knowledge of other donor activities which overlap with or impact on USAID portfolio and advises UCO Director and USAID/CAR offices of opportunities for coordination; and (5) drafts English language materials such as talking points, scene setters and public relations material relevant to the overall development portfolio in Uzbekistan. Within the framework of general guidelines, as arrived at through policy discussions with superiors, the Democracy Specialist conducts meetings with government counterparts in Uzbekistan regarding the design, development, and implementation of democracy/ community development activities in order to explain and resolve differences of opinion or approaches. Consistent with the overall Mission strategy, the incumbent independently cultivates/ maintains contacts and dialogue with local counterparts including non-governmental organizations (NGO) in Uzbekistan. These contacts and dialogues will be used by the employee to effectively provide input for programming democracy assistance. However, the incumbent will have no independent authority to commit the U.S. Government Mission funds on behalf of USAID/CAR/Almaty or USAID/CAR/Uzbekistan Country Office. The Democracy Specialist may be assigned other duties as required by the USAID/CAR/UCO Director and/or the DM Director. D) Qualification Requirements 1. General: Must be a U.S. citizen capable of securing a U.S. Government - secret security clearance. Must be able to secure a medical clearance from StateMed to serve in Central Asia. Must be willing to travel throughout Uzbekistan. 2. Education: Advanced degree in public administration, political science, international affairs, public policy, anthropology is highly desirable. Applicants with an advanced degree will be given preference. Alternatively, a BA/BS in any of the above academic areas with at least 7 years of management experience is also acceptable. 3. Work Experience: Because the Democracy Specialist will also serve as the deputy Country Office Director, s/he must be a recognized professional with a proven track record managing democracy and governance activities. S/he must have at least five years experience in democracy activities with a proven track record of programmatic accomplishment and professional achievement. Experience must include program and activity management; preference will be given to those who also have strategic planning, analysis, and supervisory skills. International development experience is required; preference will be given to those with experience in Central Asia, other post-Soviet republics or Central and Eastern Europe. Preference will also be given to individuals with knowledge of USAID procedures and systems for strategic planning, results frameworks, activity design, program monitoring and evaluation. 4. Knowledge: Knowledge of USAID procurement and program management procedures and regulations; working knowledge of political and historic issues relevant to Central Asia, as well as concepts, principles, techniques, and practices related to the administration of democracy development in Central Asia or the former Soviet Union. 5. Language and Communication Skills: Must be fluent in English and have proven ability to communicate quickly, clearly, and concisely, both orally and in writing, including technical reports. Must have demonstrated ability to produce professional quality analytical pieces. Must be able to make oral presentations logically and persuasively to senior officials, other donors, the NGO community, and to USAID and other USG officials. A working knowledge of Russian and/or Uzbek is required. 6. Teamwork/Interpersonal Skills: Exceptional leadership, communications and inter-personal skills are critical. In addition, the incumbent must be able to interact effectively with a broad range of internal and external partners and USAID clients, international organizations, and host country government officials or NGO counterparts. S/he must be able to function collaboratively and productively as a member of a multidisciplinary and multifunctional team, and must have the ability to work effectively in a team environment to achieve consensus on policies, activities and administrative matters. Technical skills are not sufficient to be selected for this position. 7. Computer Literacy: Strong spreadsheet and word processing skills are needed to manage activities. E) Supervision and Relationships 1. Supervisory Control Over Position: This position is directly supervised by the Uzbekistan Country Office Director, who advises on general responsibilities to meet USAID's strategic goals, supervises policy guidance, and reviews work in terms of overall accomplishment of desired results. While the Uzbekistan Country Office Director provides day-to-day supervision to the Democracy Specialist, the Democracy and Conflict Mitigation Office Director provides technical direction to him/her and provides input to the Uzbekistan Country Officer for the Democracy Specialist's evaluation. 2. Exercise of Judgment: The incumbent is expected to carry out his/her work independently, providing technical leadership to democracy staff and implementing partners in the development, implementation and monitoring/evaluation of program activities. This work will be reviewed quarterly in terms of achievement of established milestones, effectiveness in facilitating teamwork, and appropriateness of program activity. 3. Guidelines Used and Judgment Required in Their Application: Guidelines used, include but are not limited to, the ADS; Mission Orders; Pillar Bureau's DG Office Guidance; and standard accounting, auditing and financial management operating procedures. Given that the incumbent is expected to serve as Acting Country Office Director in the absence of the supervisor, s/he must have good judgment in determining appropriate approaches and solutions to problems, exercise his/her own initiative without prompting by his/her superiors and use discretion in his/her meetings with Senior Mission management, host country counterparts, and implementing partners. 4. Nature, Level and Purpose of Personal Contacts: The incumbent works directly with central and local Government officials, NGOs, private sector entities, international donors, and USG agencies, 5. Supervision Exercised: The incumbent will supervise and mentor a host-country national democracy management assistant. F) Selection Criteria: Applicants will be evaluated against the following criteria: Technical Knowledge and Experience: 30 points Managerial and Leadership Experience: 25 points Relevant International Experience: 20 points Academic Qualifications: 15 points Language and Communication Skills: 10 points Total: 100 points 9. APPLYING Qualified individuals are requested to submit a U.S. Government Application for Federal Employment SF-171 (preferable) or OF-612 including experience, salary history and references, and writing sample (one page analytical essay) no later than COB (6 p.m. Almaty time) April 19, 2004. The forms are available at the USAID website, http://www.info.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/forms or Internet http://fillform.gsa.gov, or at Federal offices. Applications, recent supervisor reference and three (3) personal references, and writing sample may be submitted by e-mail, fax, DHL or FedEx air courier by the closing date, above, to: Beth Salamanca Contracting Officer Personnel Office USAID/CAR Almaty 41 Kazibek Bi Street Almaty, Kazakhstan Tel: 7 3272 507612 ext. 345, Email: per.Almaty@usaid.gov Email or faxed documentation is preferred as mail delivery may be untimely. To ensure consideration of applications for the intended position, please reference the solicitation number on your application, and as the subject line in any cover letter. Selection will be made by a Mission committee no later than May 11, 2004. USAID/CAR expects to award a personal-services contract for an off-shore US Citizen for two-year period from on or about August 22, 2004 to on or about August 21, 2006. The contract will be signed by June 15, 2004. On or about August 22, 2004, the incumbent shall proceed to Tashkent, Uzbekistan to commence performance of the duties specified, subject to medical and security clearance. The duty post for this contract is Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 10. Benefits include post differential, housing, and other benefits per USAID regulations. Basic household furnishings, will be available in quarters to be provided by USAID. 12. Tashkent has a continental/high desert climate, characterized by cold winters (with snow in January and February) and hot summers. July and August temperatures can range from 95 to 110F. For the most part summers are dry and dusty. November and December are usually cold and wet. Tashkent offers several Uzbek- and Russian- language drama, opera, and ballet theatres. There are a few museums to visit and shops with Uzbek arts and crafts, including jewelry, ceramics, carpets, embroideries, brass trays, and other handicrafts and antiques. Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, and other cities offer fascinating history with beautiful monuments and architecture. There are a growing number of quality restaurants with international cuisine. Tashkent offers sports and other recreational pursuits: tennis complexes, a golf club, a bowling club, several swimming pools, two simple horseback riding facilities, weekend hiking, winter skiing, and a water park complete with slides. There are many parks around town with children's rides, slides, and swings. Touring and camping are popular. The local mountains are very beautiful, stark and rugged. Travel agencies can organize bicycling, white water rafting, skiing, and hiking tours. The Tashkent International School provides American curriculum for children in grades K 12. In addition, the Ulugbek International School offers classes K-12 in English and is based on the U.S. educational system. There are two half-day pre-schools in operation in Tashkent for children 2-6 years old.