Local recruitment: Activity Lead - USAID Fragile Waters 

SCOPE OF WORK

USAID Fragile Waters 

Project Background:

The purpose of USAID Fragile Waters is to increase water security in fragile contexts, with a focus on supporting locally-led approaches and working across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus Water security encompasses water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), as well as water resources used for ecosystems, livelihoods (e.g. livestock, agriculture), and industry (e.g. hydropower). USAID Fragile Waters will focus on four objectives: (1) conduct timely analyses to inform water security programming in fragile contexts; (2) support capacity strengthening for local organizations to implement water security programming in fragile contexts; (3) provide direct assistance to support evolving water security needs in fragile contexts; and (4) advance learning for water security programming in fragile contexts.

Position Description:

Activity leads will be responsible for managing the successful implementation of USAID Fragile Waters core and Mission-funded sub-activities, and serve as relationship managers/points of contact with the designated contact for USAID buy-ins. They will provide the oversight needed to ensure technical excellence and operational efficiency of the USAID Fragile Waters engagements under the technical guidance of USAID Fragile Waters’ senior management or technical advisors.  They will undertake field visits and other travel as needed to provide technical and managerial oversight during implementation, working with the USAID Activity Manager and sub-activity consultants and subcontractors. They will supervise work from sub-activity teams (the long and short-term resources responsible for implementing sub-activities) and track performance against USAID Fragile Waters’ requirements (e.g., SOW schedule, budget, results, etc.). They will lead any after-action reviews and contribute to pause-and-reflect sessions. They will support learning, monitoring, and evaluation (LME) tasks consistent with the Fragile Waters LME Plan. The Activity Lead may supervise junior staff as appropriate.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Sub-activity development: Participate in consultations for potential new sub-activities and help develop scopes of work (SOWs) and budgets.
• Management: Serve as designated manager for assigned sub-activities, develop and manage timelines; manage and support the performance of consultants, subcontractors, and sub-awardees; and identify and raise awareness of issues that need additional support from others on the USAID Fragile Waters Team.
• Financial: Work closely with the operations team to develop and manage buy-in budgets: monitor sub-activity funding levels; share buy-in financial updates with USAID as appropriate.
• Technical Quality: With guidance from designated senior staff, coordinate and develop technical deliverables of agreed sub-activities; conduct technical reviews of certain documents as agreed; edit, review, and check compliance of reports and deliverables submitted by subcontractors and consultants; manage the internal and external review process of activity deliverables, operational documents, and learning products.
• Recruitment and staffing: Serve as the technical lead for consultant recruitment and procurement; develop SOWs and lead candidate/partner sourcing; provide input to candidate/partner selection; and maintain updated partner/collaborator profiles to feed into the USAID Fragile Waters CRM system or resource rosters.
• Relationship Management: Serve as USAID Fragile Waters point of contact with the USAID Activity Manager, maintaining regular communication and providing routine updates on technical progress and funding levels of the assigned sub-activities; and alert supervisor to any risks and/or feedback from the client in real-time.  
• Monitoring and Learning: In collaboration with the Fragile Waters LME lead, identify learning opportunities in assigned sub-activities and incorporate them into the SOWs; ensure learning capture; and documentation. Lead agreed after action reviews and participate in pause-and-reflect sessions in coordination with other Fragile Waters staff in order to improve and adapt project processes, workflows, and/or approaches. In accordance with the Fragile Waters LME plan, ensure that required indicator data is collected and reported to the Fragile Waters LME lead; support LME quality assurance and reporting; and elevate issues related to data collection, data quality, and reporting in order to troubleshoot and identify solutions.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years’ relevant experience or Master’s degree and 3+ years of development experience; WASH experience preferred. relevant experience or in relevant field.
• Exceptional client management, project management, and budget skills with an ability to multi-task to meet established deadlines and meet project quality standards.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills. Demonstrated experience originating documents, editing varying quality of inputs from internal and external stakeholders, and packaging final deliverables ready for client and stakeholder review.
• Strong presentation skills in formal client meetings and public events with clients and stakeholders. 
• Experience working with diverse stakeholders, such as USAID implementing partners, host country governments, national level ministries, civil society organizations, field teams and NGOs.
• Ability to work collaboratively with members of a complex team, pulling in resources and expertise as needed to address challenges and identify solutions as a team when needed.
• Ability to prioritize effectively in an environment where prudent judgement is essential.

Reporting: This position reports to the USAID Fragile Waters Chief of Party.

Compensation & Benefits

The full-time equivalent annual base salary for this position is expected to be between $90,000 – $115,000.

Salary for part-time employees will be prorated based on actual hours worked. Actual offers will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, qualifications, relevant education, experience, skills, seniority, performance, and business or organizational needs.

Equal Employment Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or status as a protected veteran.

DAI and its employees are committed to confronting discrimination in all forms, nurturing respect for our interpersonal relationships, and holding ourselves accountable for positive change within the company and in the communities, cultures, and countries in which we live and work.  DAI is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees from all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds in our continued effort to become a better development partner.

DAI upholds the highest ethical standards. We are committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment as well as other ethical breaches. All our positions are therefore subject to stringent vetting and reference checks.

DAI Organization and Values

DAI is a global development company with corporate offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine and project operations worldwide. We tackle fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. DAI works on the frontlines of global development. Transforming ideas into action—action into impact. We are committed to shaping a more livable world.

DAI and its employees are committed to confronting racism and holding ourselves accountable for positive change within the company and in the communities, cultures, and countries in which we live and work. DAI is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees from all races and backgrounds in our continued effort to become a better development partner. DAI upholds the highest ethical standards. We are committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment as well as other ethical breaches. All of our positions are therefore subject to stringent vetting and reference checks.

DAI is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer with a commitment to diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.