The OTI Program Operations Advisor is an intermittent Personal Services Contract (PSC) position at the GS-11/12 equivalent levels and located in Washington, D.C. Applications for this position are due no later than April 15, 2016 at 5:00pm 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:
The Program Operations Advisor is a key administrative position in a busy office that responds rapidly to crisis situations. It is essential that DCHA/OTI personnel receive prompt support. To achieve this, OTI relies on Program Operations Advisors who have the capacity to work well within a team environment, provide a variety of necessary ad hoc or longer term administrative support to different teams (e.g. administrative services, human resources, training, travel, finance, information and technology, outreach, country program teams, field operations, etc), and anticipate the needs of a complex organizational unit. A common characteristic among OTI staff is that they are operationally-minded, enjoy working in a fast-paced environment, and seek innovative ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness of operations support and programs.
The Program Operations Advisor is experienced in the multitude of functions that comprise operations support for OTI programs, and provides services that require professionalism, knowledge, diplomacy and operational expertise in administrative support. This individual must be readily available to provide the required services on an intermittent basis, often on short notice with little time for preparation. While the vast majority of the work will be performed in Washington, there may be requirements for field travel. OTI field offices are located in countries with complex problems, often in difficult and harsh environments, with some offices located in countries with no other USAID presence.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
At the GS-11 level:
Note: Duties and responsibilities are listed in the order of importance for this position.
Fill ad hoc critical administrative/operations support staffing needs primarily in Washington, DC in support of program funded staff and operations in areas such as: administrative support (e.g. meeting logistics, procurement requests, filing, correspondence control, scheduling for others, drafting memos and meeting notes, correspondence control, etc.), personnel and human resources support (e.g. payroll, awards, drafting personnel memos, badge revalidation requests, etc.), information and technology, travel, budget, finance and other administrative services as required;
Respond to requests for information and tasks regarding OTI programs;
When required, provide ad hoc operations support for new OTI country program start-ups, country program management and close-outs. Provide on-call technical assistance;
As required, 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 knowledge management support such as tracking documents, lessons learned, best practices across OTI programs and/or operations as required. Assist teams in the creation and/or maintenance of information products in support of political transition programs;
Coordinate with OTI’s three divisions (Operations and Management Division, Field Programs Division, and the Program Learning and Innovation Division) on issues/tasks. Attend the respective team meetings, report out to the supervisor, ensure the supervisor’s priorities are shared with other divisions/teams, etc. Backstop other Admin and Program Assistants on other teams when required;
In limited circumstances, provide assistance to organizations outside of OTI but within the current work objectives, where such assistance would enhance OTI’s goals and objectives;
Perform other related duties and activities as required for the successful completion of country programs.
At the GS-12 level:
Note: Duties and responsibilities are listed in the order of importance for this position.
Fill ad hoc critical administrative/operations support staffing needs primarily in Washington, DC in support of program funded staff and operations in areas such as: administrative support (e.g. meeting logistics, procurement requests, filing, correspondence control, scheduling for others, drafting memos and meeting notes, correspondence control, etc.), personnel and human resources support (e.g. payroll, awards, drafting personnel memos, badge revalidation requests, etc.), information and technology, travel, budget, finance and other administrative services as required;
Respond to requests for information and tasks regarding OTI programs;
Participate in the selection of program implementers such as grantees, contractors and personal services contractors. If required, serve as Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or COR Backstop for contracts or agreements;
When required, provide ad hoc operations support for new OTI country program start-ups, country program management and close-outs. Provide on-call technical assistance;
Serve as technical advisor on the operations program-funded bullpen team, a group of intermittent USPSC advisors providing program operations support in Washington and overseas. Provide evaluation processes and guidance on approach and methodology to the operations bullpen team;
As required, 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;
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;
Provide knowledge management support such as tracking documents, lessons learned, best practices across OTI programs and/or operations as required. Assist teams in the creation and/or maintenance of information products in support of political transition programs;
Coordinate with OTI’s three divisions (Operations and Management Division, Field Programs Division, and the Program Learning and Innovation Division) on issues/tasks. Attend the respective team meetings, report out to the supervisor, ensure the supervisor’s priorities are shared with other divisions/teams, etc. Backstop other Admin and Program Assistants on other teams when required;
In limited circumstances, provide assistance to organizations outside of OTI but within the current work objectives, where such assistance would enhance OTI’s goals and objectives;
Perform other related duties and activities as required for the successful completion of country programs.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
At a minimum, the applicant must have:
At the GS-11 level:
- A Master’s Degree with two (2) years of work experience;
OR
A Bachelor’s Degree with four (4) years of work experience;
OR
Eight (8) years of progressively responsible work experience;
AND
Two (2) years of experience providing administrative support, including liaising with personnel and senior-level managers;
One (1) year of experience supporting program operations for a large organization;
Demonstrated experience drafting and proofreading administrative memos;
Demonstrated experience using Microsoft Office applications including Excel, Word, and Access Database.
At the GS-12 level:
- A Master’s Degree with three (3) years of work experience;
OR
A Bachelor’s Degree with five (5) years of work experience;
OR
Nine (9) years of progressively responsible work experience;
AND
Three (3) years of experience providing administrative support, including liaising with personnel and senior-level managers;
Two (2) years of experience supporting program operations for a large organization, of which one year must be with a large international assistance organization;
Demonstrated experience drafting and proofreading memos;
Demonstrated experience using Microsoft Office applications including Excel, Word, and Access Database.
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