JOB DETAILS:
General Statement of Purpose of the Contract

As a Project Development Specialist in the Program Office, the position serves as the Mission’s key advisor on advancing gender and youth within the Mission’s Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS, ensuring compliance with the USAID’s 2023 Gender Equality and

Women’s Empowerment and Youth in Development Policies, and adherence to USAID’s

Principles of inclusive development. The Specialist will ensure that youth, gender and inclusive development are amplified across USAID’s external engagement portfolio and mainstreamed throughout the Mission’s internal Program Cycle efforts.

The Specialist will be responsible for key Mission programming processes, from strategic planning to program implementation, evaluation, review, and reporting. Through conducting and reviewing gender and youth analyses, the Specialist will provide technical and relevant data to support Development Objective (DO) and technical office teams and implementing partners on all Mission gender and youth issues. The Specialist will collect disaggregated data and report on standard U.S. Government gender and youth indicators, including primary and/or secondary attributions to promote evidence- and data-based programming. The incumbent also serves as the Mission point person for project development, review and approval processes, ensuring integration of youth and gender issues and adherence to Agency rules and regulations.

2. Statement of Duties to be performed
Serve as the Mission’s Gender and Youth Advisor 60% of time

• Represents USAID on external (for example, GoT and donor coordination) and internal (for example, USAID on USG interagency gender and youth committees) stakeholder groups.
• Liaises with GOT contacts that work on gender and/or youth issues. Provides regular updates to mission leadership and activity managers.
• Serves as the Mission’s key advisor on the role of women and youth to ensure these topics are effectively mainstreamed into the Mission’s programming processes throughout the program cycle.
• Advises DO and technical office teams on best practices, lessons learned, proven approaches, and development best practice in designing activities, strategies, and monitoring approaches to working with youth, women, and other marginalized populations, aligned with USAID’s principles of inclusive development.
• Ensures the Mission meets the Agency-wide requirements related to the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Mission Order
• Ensures the Mission meets the Agency-wide requirements for funding stand-alone or integrated activities in line with Gender Key Issues
• Identifies specific youth and gender training needs among Mission and Implementing Partner staff; designs context-specific curricula; and conducts gender and youth training for all Mission staff and partners (including Gender 101 Training per the Agency’s strategy).
• Leads formal, informal, and ad hoc reporting efforts on gender and youth issues, including drafting reports. Collects and tracks disaggregated data, gender and youth indicators, and advises the Mission on how to best set, meet, and adjust relevant targets.
• Establishes mechanisms and approaches to monitor gender and youth programming across the Mission. Uses gender and youth data to drive decision making and provide strategic direction and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Works across technical areas of expertise to capture strategy level impacts of USAID’s gender and youth work and approaches. Contributes to collaboration, learning, and adaptation (CLA) efforts through facilitating discussions across offices and teams to understand trends illustrated by gender and youth indicators; programmatic approaches; and lessons learned. Develops and presents analysis on the Mission’s progress toward meeting CDCS objectives.
• Supports A/CORs on the mainstreaming of gender and youth and provides partners with gender and youth technical assistance.
• Serves as the point of contact for gender and/or youth requests unsolicited proposals, meeting requests, and data calls.
• Leads the design and drafting of activity and strategy level gender and youth analysis in the Mission.
• Regularly reports to Mission leadership on gender and youth current events, issues, and provides country context during those discussions.

Serve as a Mission’s Project Development Advisor 30% of time

• Serves as a Mission resource for implementing Automated Directives System (ADS) 201 and 205 to support project development, review, and approval policies and procedures, including integrating gender equality and female empowerment and inclusive development principles in USAID’s program cycle.
• Establishes annual plans for design and approval of new projects. Identifies and schedules actions required to develop, design, and authorize new and modify on-going activities and projects.
• Provides advice to DO and Technical Teams on the incorporation of gender and youth activities during the development of new activities.
• Coordinates and facilitates opportunities throughout the Program Cycle to ensure inclusion of cross-cutting issues, and ensures activity development completeness of supporting analyses, efficacy of design methodology and logistics, adequacy of technical design, and compliance with applicable Agency regulations and policies.
• Provides specialized data analysis and report preparation assistance, as required, for DO and Technical Teams, partners and the Program Office on project design and implementation as well as all Mission gender and youth issues.

Provide Other Support to DO Teams and the Program Office as Needed 10% of time

• Assists in the coordination/finalization of the Mission’s formal reporting.
• Assists with other Program Office activities as assigned by the Project Development Officer.
• Serves, on an ad hoc basis, on evaluation teams and partner/personnel selection committees.

3. Supervisory Relationship: The incumbent reports directly to the Project Development Officer (PDO). S/he is expected to work independently with minimal supervision.

4. Supervisory Controls: None

12. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.

II.MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION
1. Education: Bachelor’s degree in social sciences (economics, rural sociology, development studies or closely-related social science discipline) is a requirement.

1. Prior Work Experience: : A minimum of five years working experience in development planning and or program management is required. At least three years of that experience should include work on gender or youth issues. Experience collecting and disseminating information to large organizations is critical, as is the ability to advise high-level officials, facilitate training and information sharing sessions, and conduct gender analysis at the strategy and activity levels.

1. Language Proficiency: English and Kiswahili language fluency in oral, reading and written communication are required.

1. Job Knowledge: Knowledge about the country’s socio-economic development including policy, development priorities, regulatory and institutional environment in which the mission operates is required. Knowledge of the country’s gender and youth issues as they relate to the country’s socioeconomic development is also a prerequisite. Understanding of project design and management and integration of cross-cutting issues is required.

1. Skills and Abilities: Superior communication, leadership and interpersonal skills necessary to establish and maintain good contact with government ministries, other donors, and mission staff are required. Excellent oral and writing skills in English are required. The incumbent must also be proactive. Previous demonstrated experience working in and/or leading multidisciplinary teams is required. Incumbent must have program management experience since s/he will manage some of the mission’s cross-cutting contracts. Experience with both the Microsoft Office Suite and Google Tools is required as is experience in monitoring and evaluation. Experience in the use of computer software applications for communication- email/internet use, and word processing, is essential.

Eligible Offerors are required to complete and submit (1) a current resume or curriculum vitae; (2) a cover letter, not to exceed two pages, addressing how the applicant meets the knowledge, skills and abilities required to be successful in the position. Offerors will also submit any other documents (certificates, awards, copies of degrees earned, etc.) that address the qualification requirements of the position, and a list of three (3) to five (5) references with complete contact information, including e-mail address and telephone numbers.

Offers must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section I, item 3, and submitted only online via mailbox usaidtzlesapps@usaid.gov.