2. BASIC FUNCTION OF THE POSITION:

The Program/Project Development Advisor will assist with leadership, guidance, and overall direction and support to USAID/Ghana’s Managing for Results efforts, including: project design; monitoring and evaluation (M&E); organizational learning and adapting; and other related dimensions of the USAID Program Cycle. S/he will also serve as a key point of contact for the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) and the Mission’s work with local organizations under USAID Forward Local Solutions.

3. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILTY:
PROJECT DESIGN (45%)

•   Advise senior managers and technical offices on the full range of project design principles and procedures, ensuring adherence to the Agency’s Project Design Guidance and the Mission Order on Project Design.
•   Serve as resident expert on USAID and Mission-specific processes and requirements for design and formal approval of all new and amended projects and activities.
•   Serve as core member of Project Design Teams and lead Project Design Teams that are multi-disciplinary or crosscutting, involving multiple teams and offices.
• Guide Project Design Teams in the preparation of Project Appraisal Documents (PADs), advising on key components of the PAD such as the development hypothesis; program/project description; development of objectives, indicators and targets; performance management plans and project monitoring; evaluation planning; development of project budgets and obligation plans; procurement and implementation planning; and USG and USAID legal/policy/regulatory requirements.
•   Facilitate the development and refinement of Logical Frameworks for PADs.
•   Exercise leadership, operational support, and coordination to align USAID projects with development objectives, achieve synergies across sectors, and ensure effective implementation.
•   Assist Project Design Teams in drafting waivers, activity checklists, pre-obligation checklists, and other required pre-obligation documents.
•   Identify and compile data or analyses needed for the design effort.
•   Organize and facilitate project reviews and develop issues papers for review meetings.
•   Review PAD amendment packages, as well as amendments to Activity Approval Documents.
•   Prepare Action/Approval memoranda and project authorizations.
•   Coordinate responses to U.S. Embassy and USAID/Washington requests for project information.
•   Review or coordinate reviews of proposals for new projects or activities, including unsolicited proposals and applications.
•   Convene and lead meetings as needed to address project or activity issues.
•   Work closely with Program Office colleagues and technical offices to articulate development hypotheses and develop plans for testing those hypotheses.
•   Based on implementation results, new learning, and stakeholder feedback, guide Program Office and technical offices on iterative project design or implementation corrections, including the preparation of necessary project documentation, and ensure the ongoing and evolving alignment of the portfolio with the CDCS or emerging policy imperatives.
•   Guide the Program Office and technical offices on research design and methodologies, applied research studies, impact assessments, knowledge capture and sharing, and the application of learning to program and project design and management.
•   Provides formal and informal training to staff in these areas of expertise.

MANAGING FOR RESULTS (45%)

•   Assist in development of USAID/Ghana’s managing for results agenda, including monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and learning.
•   Ensure compliance with Agency and Mission policies and procedures related to M&E.
•   Help develop and implement the Mission’s M&E approaches to track results via indicators at Development Objective, and Intermediate Result levels, and implementation of the Mission’s AIDTRACKER Plus system over the current calendar year.
•   Assist with the implementation of the Mission Performance Management Plans for the CDCS.
•   Advise and support technical offices on data quality assessments, project and activity monitoring, site visits, and collecting performance monitoring information.
•   Advise on interpreting and incorporating program M&E findings into on-going and future activities.
•   Conceptualize, coordinate, facilitate, and contribute to Mission Portfolio Reviews.
•   Assist with the preparation of the annual Performance Plan and Report in cooperation with other USG entities at Post.
•   In collaboration with the M&E Specialist and other Program Office staff, lead USAID/Ghana’s evaluation efforts, defining areas of study and considering evaluation approaches, managing evaluation plans, reviewing approaches, and co-evaluating study results with others for determining conclusions and organizational implications.
•   Advise on and/or develop Statements of Work for evaluations and assessments in accordance with USAID policy, and in consultation with technical offices.
•   Advance USAID knowledge management and learning opportunities to ensure rapid, effective sharing and application of learning in areas of keen interest across the portfolio (e.g., local capacity development, Government-to-Government assistance).
•   Assist Mission in conceiving, managing project monitoring, tracking and evaluation systems designed to assist Mission management in assessing overall program impact on development in Ghana.
•   Provides formal and informal training to staff in these areas of expertise.

Qualification Required & Experience

A. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION

•   Education: A Bachelor’s Degree in a development field, technical area, management, economics, business or related specialty from an accredited institution is required.
Work Experience
•   A minimum requirement for the position is five (with Master’s Degree) to seven (with Bachelor’s degree) years of progressively responsible, professional-level experience in program/project development, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and implementation in a developing country context.

Location: Accra

How To Apply For The Job

Interested candidates should click below for more details about the requirements:-

Click Here For More Details

Via email:

accrapsc@usaid.gov

Please cite the solicitation number and position title within the subject line of your email application. Any attachments provided via email shall be in a format compatible with Microsoft Word 2003 or PDF and not zipped. Note that attachments to email must not exceed 3 MB.

OR

Via courier Regional Executive Office
USAID/West Africa
No. 24 Fourth Circular Rd. CT
P.O. Box 1630
Accra, Ghana

Closing Date: 05 November, 2014

Applicants are required to sign the OF-612 form. Incomplete and unsigned applications will not be considered for the position. Downloadable forms are available on the USAID website, http://www.usaid.gov/forms