On January 12, 2010 an earthquake registering over 7.0 on the Richter scale struck the Republic of Haiti killing more than 200,000 people, displacing over a million and affecting a total of 3,000,000.


The epicenter of the quake was close to Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince, destroying and heavily damaging homes, schools, churches, and critical infrastructure. The Government of Haiti (GoH) was also devastated by the earthquake, which destroyed most public buildings and records and took the lives of many key staff. More than one year after the earthquake, Haiti’s peace and recovery are threatened by a growing cholera epidemic, a disputed national election and challenging political transition, abject poverty, and lack of basic services. The goal of USAID/OTI’s efforts in Haiti post-earthquake is to reinforce stability and lay the foundation for longer term development.





In January 2010, USAID/OTI launched an 18-month-long quick-response program in partnership with Chemonics known as Haiti Recovery Initiative (HRI), or An’n Leve Kanpe (“Let’s stand up together!”) in Haitian Creole. Over the course of the last year, activities have focused primarily on the following three country objectives:





1.) Community Stabilization


2.) Enabling the GoH to Function


3.) Increasing Citizen Engagement





In recent months there have been two significant developments which have shaped – and will continue to shape – OTI’s program over the next year. First, a new USG assistance strategy for Haiti, which has been under discussion and review for the last year, is due to be formally approved in the coming months. Second, presidential elections are taking place which will usher in a new government. OTI will seek to engage with this new government and reinvigorate its efforts to provide material and technical assistance to the GOH in key areas of state functioning. Country program objectives are expected to shift over the life of the program to account for changes in the political environment.





USAID/OTI has been working with Chemonics under the follow-on to HRI (known as HRI-II) since March 14, 2011, and the program is expected to run for a period of 18 months.





Position Purpose:

The Program Development Officer is responsible for identifying potential grantees and designing and developing grants and other programmatic activities. S/he will work with representatives from relevant GoH representatives, local and international NGOs, community-based organizations, media outlets, and other organizations through transparent consultative processes to design grants, STTA, and direct procurements. S/he will be required to work independently or as part of a team to prioritize multiple work assignments in an extremely fast-paced environment to meet deadlines, and to exercise good, professional judgment that reflects positively on the image and communicates the established program message of HRI. In collaboration with OTI, the chief of party, and other staff, the program development specialist will also engage in on-going strategic and political context analysis required to design effective and relevant activities.
Tasks:

Specific tasks to be completed under this SOW are as follows:

• Identify potential grantees, and work with them to design and develop grant concepts and activities, through networking and outreach, under the overall strategic guidance of the OTI Country Representative and the supervision of the Chief of Party.
• Proactively identify and conceptualize potential activities that respond to the post-earthquake political situation in Haiti and HRI’s established program objectives.
• Analyze and evaluate proposals and grant applications to ensure consistency with program goals and objectives.
• Develop and write grants and technical activities in the OTI Activity Database. Develop budgets in accordance with standard templates.
• Provide technical assistance to grantees and potential grantees during the program development process and in the implementation process, as required.
• Analyze the rapidly changing political environment and contribute to HRI’s rolling assessments and strategy review sessions, under the overall guidance of the OTI Country Representative.
• Use the OTI Activity Database for grant writing and monitoring, and liaise with Grants Manager(s), Procurement Manager(s), and M&E Officers, on grant implementation, compliance, procurement, and monitoring and evaluation.
• Work with the grants managers and program implementation team to hand over all relevant information and documentation after activity clearance; attend grant kick-off meeting; and provide on-going technical assistance and oversight during implementation, as needed.
• Other duties, as assigned by the Chief of Party, to ensure the overall efficient development and implementation of HRI programmatic activities.

• University degree required, advanced degree preferred.
• At least five years of demonstrated experience in project design, development, and management of development-type projects.
• Strong written and verbal communications skills.
• Knowledge of local politics and previous work experience involving interfacing with the GoH.
• Ability to creatively design grants and other technical activities that bring together the GoH and beneficiaries.
• Proven knowledge of local and international NGOs and community-based organizations implementing relevant activities and programs in Haiti.
• Experience working with local organizations on project design and assessing technical and programmatic capacities.
• Ability to work in a professional and cordial manner with fellow staff members, visitors, partner institutions including international and local NGOs, governmental entities, and the general public.
• Ability to effectively use computer software including the Microsoft Access-based OTI Activity Database and the Microsoft Office Suite.
• Experience working on USAID-funded projects preferred.
• French and Creole required; English proficiency strongly preferred.

The Program Development Officer will report to the Senior Program Development Officer. Chemonics may amend the SOW for this assignment in consultation with the employee.

Recruitment HRI II

2011-04-08