1. SOLICITATION NUMBER: M/OP 099-289
2. ISSUANCE DATE: December 9, 1998
3. CLOSING DATE/TIME SPECIFIED FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS: January 8, 1999
4. POSITION TITLE: Senior Regional Coordinator
5. MARKET VALUE (INSERT SALARY RATE): $74,773 to $97,210
6. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: 2/1/99 to 1/31/00
7. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Nairobi, Kenya
8. JOB DESCRIPTION (TO INCLUDE EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED FOR POSITION): Senior Regional Coordinator:

OFDA Africa Regional Office

The Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of the U.S. Agency for International Development is recruiting for a Senior Regional Coordinator for the Africa Regional Office (ARO) located in Nairobi, Kenya.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The Senior Regional Coordinator will coordinate OFDA strategies and programs with USAID Missions and Embassies in Africa. Other work as needed by the office. Dispatch appropriate personnel to perform assessments and recommend appropriate relief assistance for declared disasters in East, Central, and southern Africa. Serve as advisor to the US Ambassador and USAID Mission Director. Coordinate efforts with host governments, NGOs, and other donors. Assist host governments and other respondents in developing strong disaster preparedness and response capacities including preparedness and mitigation. Management of the OFDA Africa Regional Office (ARO) including budget/finance, personnel, administrative support and procurement. Establish the ARO including strategic plans, operational guidelines, staffing, scopes of work and other required documents.

QUALIFICATIONS: Demonstrated ability to lead and manage daily office operations, field operations, and disaster response operations in complex emergencies. Demonstrated ability to manage relationships with host governments, NGOs, Department of State, US Military, Members of Congress, and a staff of varied nationalities and cultures. Demonstrated ability to develop strategic frameworks for disaster response and ability to provide accurate assessments of political issues of a disaster. Seven (7) years experience managing disasters in at least ten different countries, three (3) years management of disaster programs in Africa. French, Portuguese, or Swahili language capability preferred. Graduate degree in African Studies, management and administration, conflict resolution, or social sciences desirable. Computer literate. U.S. citizen. Employment is contingent on the candidate's ability to qualify for a secret clearance with USAID.

STATEMENT OF WORK

Senior Regional Coordinator: Africa Regional Office/East, Central and Southern Africa (ARO/ECS)

The Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of the U.S. Agency for International Development is recruiting a Senior Regional Coordinator Personal Services Contractor (PSC) to head its new Africa Regional Office (ARO) based in Nairobi. As OFDA's senior official in the ECS region, the coordinator will be responsible for managing the office and its multifacted operations. Given the extreme diversity of country contexts and capacities, as well as the range of hazards, including drought, floods, and ongoing civil strife, the coordinator will be responsible for overseeing OFDA's varied portfolio of response, preparedness, and mitigation activities in the region.

Statement of Duties and Responsibilities

The contractor is responsible for the following:

I. Policy Development

The Sr. Regional Coordinator at the Africa Regional Office (ARO) will collaborate and coordinate BHR/OFDA strategies and programs with the USAIDs and Embassies in Africa. Specifically, the contractor will:

a. Coordinate with OFDA/Washington and USAIDs/Embassies in the region to develop OFDA bilateral and regional disaster response and mitigation strategies.

b. Ensure, to the extent possible, that all US government assistance is consistent and compatible with the USAID program in the affected country and that relief and preparedness assistance is offered and managed in such a way as to not increase donor dependence by the victims.

c. Seek opportunities to initiate mitigation measures which are linked to the rehabilitation, recovery and development processes.

d. Serve as a member of the GHAI Steering Committee, or designate an ARO/ECS team member.

II. Disaster Response

In response to declared disasters in East, Central and southern Africa the coordinator will:

a. In consultation with OFDA/W dispatch appropriate personnel from the ARO, or from OFDA/W, to the disaster location for emergency assessment and/or response activities.

b. Serve as the advisor to the US Ambassador (Chief of Mission) and to the USAID Mission Director on matters concerning disaster response.

c. Provide the Chief of Mission and USAID Director with prompt assessments of damages and needs. Recommend appropriate relief assistance which should be provided by the U.S. government.

d. Coordinate and maintain close liaison with host government and national and non-governmental organizations responding to the disaster in the affected country. As required, the coordinator shall assist national organizations with damage/needs assessments, external communications and liaison with regional, UN and international organizations.

e. Coordinate with regional, UN and international organizations responding to the disaster to ensure the efficient and coordinated use of disaster resources.

f. Coordinate the requests, receipt, distribution, tracking and accounting for relief supplies provided by OFDA.

g. Facilitate and coordinate the arrival and departure of DARTs with the US Mission/Embassy and, as required, serve as the DART Team Leader for short periods of time (not to exceed 6 weeks).

h. Maintain consistent communications with OFDA/Washington and encourage US Missions to send situation reports on a timely basis.

i. Provide OFDA/Washington with essential information required for the development of the final disaster report.

III. Disaster Management

The coordinator shall assist host governments, regional organizations, UN, international, and non-governmental organizations in developing strong emergency/disaster preparedness and response capacities.

Areas to be addressed include:

1. Preparedness/Planning

a. In close collaboration with OFDA/W and other USG agencies, as appropriate, develop and implement training programs and other activities to increase host-country and cooperating national, regional and international partner disaster management capacity.

b. With support of OFDA/W, assist USAIDs to include risk management of potential disasters in their strategic plans and programs, to include crisis modifiers in their programming strategies and integrate mitigation into development activities.

c. Work with country and regional groups to develop unified approaches for mitigation interventions in order to address key factors for vulnerable groups. With support of OFDA/W, develop early analytical input of climactic information to prepare for potential disasters such as droughts and floods.

2. Mitigation/Planning

a. With support from OFDA/W and in close collaboration with International Organizations (IOs), country and regional institutions, and NGOs, develop programs for hazard/vulnerability/risk analysis/assessments for improved targeting of response interventions.

b. With support from OFDA/W and in close collaboration with USAIDs, country and regional groups, and NGOs, develop and pilot sector mitigation strategies/activities with particular emphasis on regional impacts.

IV. Management of the OFDA Africa Regional Office

The OFDA Africa Regional Office (ARO) will be a fully functioning organizational entity requiring management in the areas of budget/finance, personnel, administrative support and procurement. As such, the Senior Regional Coordinator will be responsible for management of these efforts to ensure that operations are appropriate, financially prudent and consistent with existing USG policies, regulations, and guidance. The Coordinator shall be responsible for:

1. Establishing the Africa Regional Office, including but not limited to the following:

a. Prepare strategic plans, operational guidelines, staffing patterns, scopes of work, and other documents as required by the Africa Regional Office.

b. Participate in the recruitment, selection and training of all additional professional and support staff for the OFDA Africa Regional Office.

2. Administration/Management of the Africa Regional Office including, but not limited to the following:

a. Recruit, train and supervise appropriate expatriate, third country and foreign service national staff in Nairobi, Kenya as well as other OFDA-funded staff in other locations in Africa, excluding West Africa. Prepare annual performance evaluations of staff.

b. Prepare and administer the OFDA/ARO annual work plan and disaster management training activities. Develop financial plans and resource requests for the OFDA/ARO and make recommendations for program budget levels to OFDA/W.

c. Coordinate and manage the activities of all OFDA Africa regional Office professional and support staff, Emergency Disaster Relief Coordinators (EDRCs) and other OFDA regional advisors in east, central and southern Africa.

d. As necessary, request support from other OFDA regional offices around the world and, as requested, provide ARO expertise to assist OFDA in other regions of the world.

3. Reporting

a. Under the direct supervision of the Assistant Director of the Disaster Response and Mitigation Division of OFDA/W, the ARO Senior Regional Coordinator will report all in-country activities to the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya and will coordinate with the USAID/Kenya, USAID/REDSO, and BHR/OFDA Assistant Directors.

b. Serve as the primary point of contact on OFDA issues with U.S. Embassies and USAID Missions in ECS Africa.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• demonstrated ability to lead and manage disaster response operations in complex emergencies.
• demonstrated ability to lead, engage, nurture, and develop a staff of varied nationalities and cultural backgrounds.
• demonstrated ability to manage the day to operations of a busy, multi-faceted office.
• demonstrated ability to manage and support field operations which include other senior professionals, and balance competing priorities of ongoing relief and mitigation programs.
• demonstrated ability to develop strategic and regional

  frameworks for disaster response and mitigation activities.

• demonstrated diplomatic and interpersonal skills to work effectively with host governments, with other donors and diplomatic missions, and with international and local non-governmental organizations.
• demonstrated ability to communicate and cooperate effectively with officials of the Department of State, the U.S. military, and Members of Congress.
• demonstrated commitment to the strategic approaches which justify the creation of the regional office, such as participation of local nationals, assessment-based programming, integration of efforts with overall USAID and other U.S. Government priorities, and preparedness
  and mitigation activities.
• demonstrated ability to provide accurate, objective, and well-reasoned assessments of the political contexts of complex emergencies in which OFDA operations are conducted.
• seven years of experience in the management of disaster programs in headquarters and field operations.
• at least three years of experience in management of  disaster programs in Africa. Experience with and knowledge of US Embassy and USAID environment desirable.
• first-hand disaster management work in at least ten countries.
• computer literate - all skills.
• French, Portuguese, or Swahili language capability preferred.
• A graduate degree in African studies, management and administration, conflict resolution, or social sciences is desirable but not essential.
• The candidate must be a well-known, respected senior disaster professional.
• Finally, the individual selected to serve as Team Leader must enjoy the confidence of OFDA management.

Ability to communicate orally and in writing

Must be a U.S. citizen

USAID security clearance will be required