Democracy & Governance Advisor

BACKGROUND The Democracy and Governance Office manages bi-lateral programs in the areas of economic governance, rule of law, anti-corruption, legislative strengthening, civil society, media, elections, conflict mitigation and management, and cross cutting issues such as information technology and gender issues. These programs are implemented through an annual average budget of $36 million in USG funds. The Governance Advisor is a program implementation specialist for USAID/Liberia's Democracy and Governance Office and its senior management team in Monrovia on issues regarding governance in general and public administration reform. The Governance Advisor will provide timely and accurate input, advice and technically supported direction to the Democracy and Governance Office Team Leader as well as to the USAID Mission Director and Deputy Director. S/He will be well-versed in the political complexities of Liberia have a high degree of understanding vis--vis the development issues affecting the countries in Liberia and the West Africa region as a whole. The Governance Advisor will provide high quality and timely analysis, both written and oral, when requested as well as situational evaluation and assessment input to foreign policy dialogue and program strategy development. The Governance Advisor is supervised by the USAID/Liberia Democracy and Governance Team Leader, a US Direct Hire employee. The Governance Advisor will supervise at least one Foreign Service National staff. S/he will serve as the USAID contracting officer's technical representative (COTR/AOTR) for several contracts and or grant awards to international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and contractors. The Governance Advisor must be a self-starter, able to work independently and as part of a dynamic team, as well as exercise independent judgment in areas such as program/project management. The Economic Governance Advisor has broad decision making latitude, though will consult regularly with the Democracy and Governance Team Leader. The Governance Advisor may be asked to serve as Acting Team Leader on occasion when the Team Leader is absent from post. The initial contract will last two years and will have an option to renew based on mutual agreement. BASIC FUNCTION OF THE POSITION Under the supervision of the Democracy and Governance Team Leader, the Governance Advisor shall fulfill the following duties: Major Roles and Responsibilities: 1. Program Management and Strategic Objective Achievement Responsibility Across Portfolios The primary function of the Governance Advisor is to oversee the successful implementation of USAID/Liberia's major program supporting the improvement of public administration in several key Government of Liberia Ministries and Agencies (to be determined). The Governance Advisor will ensure the contracted organization responsible for implementing the project will perform according to the approved scope of work, or program description. There may be more than one contract or grant under the management of the Governance Advisor. The governance issues in Liberia are diverse and complex, requiring careful analysis and decision making. The Governance Advisor will design, report on, and oversee the implementation of activities responsive to country needs in building improved public administration such as: capacity building of key GOL institutions in the areas of financial management, procurement, ICT, planning, staff training, anti-corruption measures, monitoring and other management areas. The Governance Advisor will be required to provide technical and policy advice to USAID, Department of State, other USG agencies, donor Agencies, implementing partners, recipients, contractors, customers, and other stakeholders. The Governance Advisor will also advise the senior management team members of USAID/Liberia, including the Mission Director on issues of public administration reform, program development and best development practices. Maintain a diplomatic and productive dialogue with host country officials in Liberia in accordance with current activities. Develop a strong working relationship with implementing partners and key stakeholders including government officials and civil society actors to gain knowledge of the country, identify needs in economic governance and opportunities for future programming. Develop and maintain effective dialogue with USAID program implementers. Lead coordination in program design, information sharing, and activity implementation among stakeholders. Act as a COTR for assigned contracts and grants. The Governance Advisor will take full management program responsibility for the programs which will be assigned to his/her portfolio in accordance with the USG procurement regulations. The COTR functions include the day-to-day responsibility for monitoring the implementation of activities, procurement planning, monitoring finances of the program, processing contractual actions for approval, and responding to requests for approvals or modifications to specific activities. It also may include writing technical justifications for new activities and for changes to on-going programs, objectives, activities or indicators. Design development programs to meet Mission strategic objectives. This includes preparing statements of work or program descriptions, requests for proposals/applications, Acquisition and Assistance requests, decision memos, Congressional Notifications, inter-agency agreement letters, and all statutory annual reports and other internal program reviews as assigned Participate actively in the USG procurement process, including program advocacy, design, communication with USAID and USG stakeholders, to gather consensus and develop alliances in effective foreign assistance programming. Fully understand U.S. foreign policy in Liberia. Provide briefings to U.S. and foreign officials and other donors on USAID programming in subject areas. The Governance Advisor will also participate in, coordinate, and manage evaluations and assessments that are conducted in conjunction with other USG agencies, international organizations, or other donors. The Governance Advisor will work closely with the USAID Liberia Office of Financial Management to review and assess monthly accruals and disbursements, and track funding pipelines to ensure compliance with the ADS guidelines. Assess impact and propose new directions for economic governance activities. The Economic Governance Advisor should ensure that activities are carried out in accordance with all applicable Mission and Agency directives and requirements. Travel regularly throughout Liberia to coordinate and monitor field operations, identify program implementation constraints, and assess and facilitate progress towards planned results. Prepare required documents including trip reports, briefing papers, reporting cables, and results reports. Serve, as needed, as a member of technical panels reviewing bids or proposals for the provision of technical assistance, commodities, or the award of contracts/grants. 2. Strategy Development Provide analysis, advice, and recommendations regarding the formulation of Mission strategy to the Director of the Democracy and Governance Office and Mission management on issues related to the economic governance portfolio. Develop Operational Plan and Implement F Reforms: Consistent with implementing the U.S. Foreign Assistance Reforms, the Governance Advisor will be responsible for data collection and synthesis for select sections of the USAID/Liberia's Annual Operational Plan and Performance Report, Mission Strategic Plan, and Country Assistance Strategy, and satisfying other program management requirements as described in USAID's Automated Directive System (ADS) 200 Series. To fulfill these tasks, the Governance Advisor's duties/responsibilities will include but are not limited to: tracking the collection of performance data that originate from various sources such as USAID/Liberia cooperating agencies, local partners, and other international organizations; preparing inventories of current indicators, information collected, and information still needed; devising more efficient methods for collecting information; verifying data reliability and accuracy; determining that the information gathered responds to the indicators of the annual report and related performance monitoring plans; and utilizing as appropriate, partner reports to contribute quantitative and qualitative input into the USAID/Liberia annual reporting requirement. Participate as required in the development of Mission strategies, evaluations, resource requests, and other strategic planning and reporting documentation. 3. Other related tasks may be assigned on an as needed basis