The OTI Senior Program Operations Specialist is a full-time Personal Services Contract (PSC) position at the GS-13/14 equivalent levels and located in Washington, D.C. Applications for this position are due no later than March 4, 2016 at 5:00 pm Eastern Time. For full information about this position, as well as instructions on how to apply, please read the entire solicitation at www.OTIjobs.net.
Introduction
DCHA/OTI is a fast-paced, operational office in USAID. Program and Operations staff work as a team to ensure country programs are started, managed, and closed efficiently and effectively. OTI’s Operations and Management Division (OMD) provides critical support services to advance OTI’s mission. OMD provides expertise for U.S. Personal Services contracting, human resources, talent management, staff care, administrative services, information technology, finance and travel. OMD staff are innovative problem-solvers with a goal to provide outstanding service and help maintain accountability for OTI.
For DCHA/OTI to implement its rapid response strategy, it is essential that OTI PSC staff are deployed and supported expeditiously and programs started quickly, often with little or no lead time. To achieve this, OTI requires a Senior Program Operations Specialist who has the capacity to work well within a team environment, provide supervision of a team if required, and provide a variety of support services and anticipate the needs of a complex organizational unit.
This position is exciting for someone who enjoys being part of an operational support team, is passionate about providing good customer service in a government setting, is a good communicator and can build lasting relationships within and across teams, researching regulations and using them to stay operationally agile, understands budget and finance, and is an empowering leader. We are filling up to two positions, and are looking for people who are resilient, positive, bureaucratic ninjas who enjoy helping our office succeed in its mission.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The work of the Senior Program Operations Specialist requires teamwork, the exercise of discretion, judgment, and personal responsibility. As a member of a highly operational office, the incumbent is willing and able to perform a wide range of administrative functions to help ensure programmatic success. The incumbent has a high level of integrity and attention to detail to ensure the use of OTI systems and procedures to maintain effective and efficient management of funds, programming, and monitoring and evaluation. The incumbent is highly flexible and willing and able to work under conditions of ongoing change, and remains professional and respectful of colleagues and authority in a diverse workforce. She or he places a premium on the building of positive relationships with his or her respective team both within and outside of OTI. The incumbent is able to prioritize and complete tasks without follow-up by the supervisor, while also filling in gaps as needed to ensure the responsiveness of the team. The Senior Program Operations Specialist is a strategic thinker, articulates innovative ideas, presents solutions, and is a positive role model.
Under the direct supervision of the DCHA/OTI Chief of Operations and Management or his/her designee, the Senior Program Operations Specialist will perform the following duties:
At the GS-13 level:
The incumbent of this position will:
- Demonstrate the ability to master Agency and Federal Government policies and regulations, especially as they relate to OTI systems, standard operating procedures and policies;
Manage or oversee management of one or more budgets for OMD teams, ensuring attention to detail, procedures are followed, and timeliness;
Ensure OMD systems, processes, and annual requirements are followed and managed effectively, and ensure that team business diagnostics are entered/tracked. This includes ensuring that OMD information and processes are maintained on OTI’s online knowledge management system (“OTI Anywhere”);
When required, fill critical support staffing needs in Washington, DC, such as acting as Deputy Chief Operations and Management, Team Leader, or Chief OMD for short or extended periods of time;
If required to serve in a supervisor position, provide managerial and supervisory support including: orientation, training and mentoring for staff supervised; assign work, explain how duties are to be performed to meet expectations and communicate how the successful performance of those duties will be measured; evaluate staff performance; recognize good performance; communicate where performance needs to be improved; resolve complaints; and approve leave requests, timesheets, training, travel and program and operations requests;
Develop, interpret and assure implementation of administrative management policies, regulations and procedures, with latitude for exercise of independent judgment. Maintain a constant awareness of compliance with regulatory requirements affecting administrative management services;
On a continuing basis, participate in planning, directing and administering management programs within OTI;
Collaborate with OTI on staffing and workforce planning issues and recommend actions to the supervisor to ensure maximum effective use and placement of program-funded personnel;
Provide knowledge management support such as tracking documents, lessons learned, best practices across OTI programs and/or operations. Provide recommendations for the resolution of administrative problems. Assist teams in the creation and/or maintenance of information products in support of OTI;
Initiate and maintain effective relationships with institutional contractors, implementing partners, other agencies, and administrative support staff in other USAID offices sharing procedures and systems in order to review good administrative practices, and seek out innovative ways of doing business to improve efficiency and effectiveness;
As needed, serve on short-term assignments with other USAID offices or bureaus in direct support of OTI programs. These placements shall not exceed three months;
Provide advice, guidance, mentoring and training on office approaches and methodologies for OTI staff on administrative operations services and procedure in support of program funded staff working on OTI programs;
Liaise with the Agency’s General Counsel (GC), Office of Acquisitions and Assistance (OAA), Human Resources (HR), Agency Management Staff (AMS), and others to ensure OTI follows policies and procedures, advocate for OTI requirements, and that appropriate waivers are used to enable rapid response for political transition programs overseas;
Provide other services and special tasks as required to support OTI’s program funded staff and fulfill OTI’s program operations support objectives, such as planning, organizing, directing, designing, and coordinating projects;
As needed, serve on short-term assignments with other USAID offices or bureaus in direct support of OTI programs. These placements shall not exceed three months.
At the GS-14 level:
The incumbent of this position will:
Demonstrate mastery of Agency and Federal Government policies and regulations, especially as they relate to OTI systems, standard operating procedures and policies;
Manage or oversee management of one or more budgets for OMD teams, ensuring attention to detail, procedures are followed, and timeliness;
Ensure OMD systems, processes and annual requirements are followed and managed effectively, and ensure that team business diagnostics are entered/tracked. This includes ensuring that OMD information and processes are maintained on OTI’s online knowledge management system (“OTI Anywhere”);
Design staffing plans to meet overall program objectives, ensure staff work objectives and tasks are well defined, and ensure recruitment is initiated immediately when staffing needs arise. Ensure staff are highly qualified and trained and mentored in all critical aspects of OTI operations and programming. Ensure employee performance evaluations are completed in a timely manner in accordance with OTI office policy; and mentor other OTI Team Leaders as required;
When required, fill critical support staffing needs in Washington, DC, such as acting as Deputy Chief Operations and Management or Team Leader for short or extended periods of time, backstopping other Operations and Management team members when required, including the Chief, Operations and Management;
If required to serve in a supervisor position, provide managerial and supervisory support including: orientation, training and mentoring for staff supervised; assign work, explain how duties are to be performed to meet expectations and communicate how the successful performance of those duties will be measured; evaluate staff performance; recognize good performance; communicate where performance needs to be improved; resolve complaints; and approve leave requests, timesheets, training, travel and program and operations requests;
Exercise decision making authority through the development and contribution of systems and business process that ensure efficiency and rapid response, with wide latitude for exercise of independent judgment;
Analyze problems, issues, or program requirements, synthesize information, identify needs and resolve obstacles. Identify and resolve problems related to Agency programs or services;
Collaborate with OTI on staffing and workforce planning issues and recommend actions to the supervisor to ensure maximum effective use and placement of program-funded personnel;
Provide specialized knowledge management support such as tracking documents, lessons learned, best practices across OTI programs and/or operations. Provide recommendations for the resolution of administrative problems. Assist teams in the creation and/or maintenance of information products in support of OTI;
Initiate and maintain effective relationships with institutional contractors, implementing partners, other agencies, and administrative support staff in other USAID offices sharing procedures and systems in order to review good administrative practices, and seek out innovative ways of doing business to improve efficiency and effectiveness;
Provide advice, guidance, mentoring and training on office approaches and methodologies for OTI staff on administrative operations services and procedure in support of program funded staff working on OTI programs;
Liaise with the Agency’s General Counsel (GC), Office of Acquisitions and Assistance (OAA), Human Resources (HR), Agency Management Staff (AMS), and others to ensure OTI follows policies and procedures, advocate for OTI requirements, and that appropriate waivers are used to enable rapid response for political transition programs overseas;
Provide other services and special tasks as required to support OTI’s program-funded staff and fulfill OTI’s program operations support objectives, such as planning, organizing, directing, designing, and coordinating projects;
As needed, serve on short-term assignments with other USAID offices or bureaus in direct support of OTI programs. These placements shall not exceed three months.
Minimum Qualifications Required for this position
(Determines basic eligibility for the position. Applicants who do not meet all of the education and experience factors are considered NOT qualified for the position. See detailed instructions for demonstrating Education/Experience under “Applying”)
At a minimum, the applicant must have:
At the GS-13 level:
(1) Bachelor’s degree and at least seven (7) years of work experience, including five (5) years with an office providing operational support for staff in U.S. headquarters and overseas;
OR
High School Diploma with at least nine (9) years of work experience, including seven (7) years with an office providing operational support for staff in U.S. headquarters and overseas;
AND
(2) At least two (2) years of supervisory experience, including experience supervising supervisors;
(3) Demonstrated experience managing administrative departments (including but not limited to, budget/finance, information and technology, personnel, travel, security, records management and other administrative support functions);
(4) Demonstrated experience using Microsoft Office and/or other commonly used office applications.
At the GS-14 level:
(1) Bachelor’s degree and nine (9) years of work experience, including seven (7) years of experience with an office providing support for staff in U.S. headquarters and overseas;
OR
High School Diploma with at least eleven (11) years of work experience, including nine (9) years with an office providing support for staff in U.S. headquarters and overseas;
AND
(2) A minimum of four (4) years supervisory experience, including experience supervising supervisors;
(3) Demonstrated experience managing administrative departments (including but not limited to, budget/finance, information and technology, personnel, travel, security, records management and other administrative support functions) for a large (more than 50 staff) organization;
(4) Demonstrated experience using Microsoft Office and/or other commonly used office applications.
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