Project Management Assistant - USAID India (Apply by: November 12, 2015)

USAID/India is accepting applications for the following Foreign Service National (FSN) Personal Services Contract position. 

Advertisement No. : USAID/15-15
Position Title : Project Management Assistant
Opening Date : October 21, 2015
Closing Date : November 12, 2015
Number of Positions : One
Office : Food Security Office (FSO)
Grade : FSN-08

Location : The position is based at New Delhi. 
Working Hours : 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

Education 
Minimum of Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Finance, Management, Arts or any other related field is required.

Experience 
Three to five years of progressively responsible experience in providing project management support, technical assistance or related work with an international or donor organization, or equivalent with a private or host-government entity is required.

Duties 

This position is located in the Food Security Office (FSO). The incumbent serves as a Project Management Assistant (PMA) and will provide substantive support to FSO for day to day program/project management, financial management and administrative assistance, and internal and external communications with various stakeholders. Under the direct supervision of the FSO Director and the Development Assistance Specialist, s/he will have primary responsibility for tracking project information pertaining to performance measures, quarterly and annual progress reports, financial analysis and reporting. The incumbent will provide administrative and project management support to the Office Director, Development Assistance Specialist, and Program Management Specialists in the office. Depending on the evolving size of the Office portfolio at a given time, the incumbent could also be assigned to provide PMA service to other USAID/India Offices or serve as a lead or alternate Contracting/Agreements Officer’s Representatives (CORs/AORs) for FSO programs. S/he will keep abreast with the current issues and challenges in the agriculture and related sectors where the Office programs are active, and maintains necessary project documentation and periodic status reports. Under the guidance of the Development Assistance Specialist in the Office, the incumbent will also track office budget, procurement actions, obligations, financial pipeline for individual projects, performance management indicators, annual reporting; partnerships and leveraging; and communication and outreach activities with respect to agriculture, food security and climate adaptation programs. 

The incumbent reports to the Office Director, FSO or his/her designee. Broadly, the incumbent’s responsibilities include:

1. Program Management Assistance: 40%

The incumbent supports the FSO CORs/AORs by performing or coordinating a variety of technical and program management tasks, including, but not limited to documentation of project procurement documents, the Operational Plans (OPs), Congressional Budget Justifications (CBJs), and Project Performance Reports (PPRs). S/he coordinates and organizes FSO inputs to other support offices in finance, contracting and program actions processing. The PMA works closely with the project managers in processing GLAAS (Global Acquisition and Assistance System) actions and serves as the Office POC to ensure all the GLAAS actions for all Office programs/projects are completed in a timely manner. S/he will serve as a primary contact within the Office for coordination of progress and financial reporting by the office programs’ Implementing Partners (IPs), communication of financial review or audit findings and recommendations and liaising with the Regional Financial Management Office (RFMO) to coordinate financial review/ audit closeout meetings. 

S/he serves as a backstop support to the Development Assistance Specialist and Project Management Specialists team as and when required and keeps track of all necessary approvals/waivers related to the agriculture, food security and climate adaptation programs and initiate necessary action.

S/he develops and maintains information databases, including but not limited to key Points of Contacts (POCs) among various stakeholders in the Government of India; IPs, governments, embassies, academic and research institutions in target partner countries’ that work on related policy/program issues in the agriculture and food and nutrition security sectors; and assures that the information is shared within and outside of USAID as appropriate. 

S/he may accompany project officers on site visits and financial reviews. S/he attends program reviews, management team meetings for agriculture and climate adaptation programs, prepares notes/reports, and shares those as appropriate.

2. Financial Management Assistance:35%

The incumbent is responsible for providing support to the FSO C/AORs in a wide range of financial management assistance functions, including, but not limited to budget tracking, procurement plans, commitment and obligation reports, expenditure plans, accruals and pipeline analysis. This includes coordinating with partners for obtaining timely financial information, computing and analyzing the information for accrual submission and assessing the funding needs of projects. S/he serves as the primary FSO liaison with the Program Support and Regional Financial Management Officer on financial matters, organizing and preparation of appropriate reports to track the office financial progress. The incumbent keeps track of individual project requisition for advance/reimbursement claims, maintains proper control of supporting documentation for funding, approvals and information for audits, and internal expenditure controls. S/he drafts planned expenditure and commitment data sheets which is used for allocation of Operating Year Budget (OYB), annual report preparation, pipeline analysis, various budget exercises and for the Congressional Budget Justification (CBJ). 

3. Communications and Outreach :25%

The incumbent is responsible for the documentation and filing of all FSO projects related documents including progress reports, accruals, approvals, and communication materials. S/he will assist the FSO Specialists and the Office Director in drafting action memos, weekly and monthly newsletters, briefing memos, talking points, letters, financial tables and statements. S/he will work closely with the Mission’s Communication Specialists and FSO Program Managers to ensure project results, impact/success stories are produced and disseminated in a timely manner for advocacy purposes in line with USAID’s communication strategy. S/he will work closely with the national and international implementing partners to gather content and developing communication materials for dissemination through social and traditional channels. The incumbent provides support to the Office and assists in organizing partner meetings, trainings, events and field/site visits for high level visitors. S/he is responsible for maintaining factsheets, bulletins; news articles on FSO financed activities and assist the Specialists with drafting of speeches/ comments by the Senior Management at project events. 

Language :
Fluency (Level IV) in English and Hindi is required. 

Knowledge :
A sound understanding of project management concepts, principles, and practices, with a good knowledge of host-country economic, social, cultural, and political characteristics is necessary. 

Ability & Skills 

The ability to establish and maintain contacts with counterparts in relevant host-government and partner organizations is required. The ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, is necessary. The ability to obtain, evaluate, and analyze and interpret data and to prepare precise, accurate, and complete information for required reporting is necessary. The ability to recognize significant developments and trends gleaned from the collected data and bring it to the attention of supervisors is required. The ability to work and coordinate activities with a variety of international and national stakeholders and several staff members within the agency is required. Computer literacy (e.g. application of Microsoft Office -Word, Excel, PowerPoint-other spreadsheet aps, application of statistical packages) is required. 

To Apply: 

1. Interested applicants must apply on Application for Employment as a Locally Employed Staff or Family Member Form (DS-174) (attached). Please note: Must answer all the questions in DS-174 application form.

You may also click the link below to access the above form: 

http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1861/Application%20for%20Employment%20-%20Form%20DS-174_0.doc

Applications not submitted in the specified form will not be accepted.

2. Submit electronic copies of applications to: indiaper@usaid.gov

Or Print copies of applications to:
Human Resources
United States Agency for International Development
U.S. Embassy
Shantipath, Chanakyapuri
New Delhi – 110 021

3. Applicants must specify the advertisement number and position title in Column 1 of the Employment Form. Applications without reference to a specific advertisement number will not be accepted.

Notes:

Probationary Period: FSN employees currently serving their probationary period or with less than one year of USG service are not eligible to apply. Employees desiring a change after the initial probation period will be required to be in their present position for not less than 120 days.

Compensation: The selected individual will be compensated in accordance with the Local Compensation Plan for Foreign Service National (FSN) employees. 

Applicants living outside New Delhi / NCR should note that if selected for the position, no resettlement travel or housing is associated with the position. It would be the candidate’s responsibility to travel to New Delhi in a timely manner for the pre-employment clearances.

Age Requirement: Consistent with local law, customs, and practices, the separation/ retirement age for Foreign Service National (FSN) employees is 60 years.

Equal Employment Opportunity: It is the policy of the United States Government to ensure equal employment to all persons without regard to race, color, religion, caste, sex, national origin, age, disability, or sexual orientation. 

Due to a high volume of anticipated applications, only short-listed candidates will be notified.