Senior Humanitarian Policy and Program Advisor

Supporting the Most Exciting and Meaningful Missions in the World

Amentum / Macfadden is seeking a Senior Humanitarian Policy and Program Advisor to support the Office of Global Policy, Partnerships, Programs and Communications (G3PC) under the Humanitarian Assistance Support Contract (HASC) to the U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA) in Washington, DC.

USAID/BHA leads and coordinates the U.S. Government (USG) humanitarian assistance efforts overseas in response to natural disasters, protracted crises, and other complex emergencies. The bureau also supports early recovery efforts that restore and protect basic systems and services and invests in risk reduction programs that prevent or reduce risks associated with chronic and recurrent hazards. Macfadden serves as an Institutional Support Contractor to USAID/BHA under the HASC, where day-to-day work assignments and oversight are provided by USAID/BHA office directors, deputy office directors, or technical leads, with formal supervisory and evaluation functions performed by a Macfadden contract supervisor.

The Senior Humanitarian Policy and Program Advisor will:

• Provide critical analysis on humanitarian policy issues, work closely with high-level officials within the international community, and serve as a key source of information on humanitarian issues and humanitarian policy for G3PC and wider bureau.
• Provide expert recommendations and advisory support on humanitarian issues for the planning, development, and execution of U.S. foreign policy within a broad and complex geographic or functional specialty area.
• Work actively with members of UN delegations on USG positions on humanitarian issues.
• Liaise effectively with the UN offices in Geneva, Rome, and New York.
• Provide strategic input on programming, grant-making and procurement regulations and interface regularly with USAID/BHA’s Geographic Offices.
• Engage with other parts of the bureau, with the Office of General Counsel, and with the Office of Acquisition and Assistance (OAA), as appropriate, to ensure grant-making processes are functioning in an effective manner.
• Anticipate and indpendently draft documents and briefing memos on humanitarian issues for important meetings and events.
• Provide significant input into and draft organizational strategies and responses to humanitarian crises.
• Apply a rigorous analytical approach to data.
• Receive general guidance but will be expected to execute independent judgment and analysis.
• Draft documentation required to obtain timely award approval.
• Review program reports to ensure that programmatic objectives are achieved.
• Support consistency in the grant management process across partner agencies.
• Develop familiarity with and promote uniform policies and procedures related to grant management.
• Participate in bureau- and Agency-wide working groups to ensure award consistency across all levels.
• Develop expertise on the interagency agreement process.
• Work with the relevant G3PC Division Directors or Team Leads to organize meetings and events.
• Participate in discussions related to the work of the current emergency responses when requested.
• Work with the G3PC Division Directors or Team Leads to coordinate visits of senior UN officials engaged in programmatic responses to ongoing humanitarian crises.
• Anticipate the needs of the bureau regarding humanitarian policy developments and prepare analyses, briefings, documents and meetings as required.
• Attend various NGO, UN, and other meetings and provide authoritative information and views to formulate humanitarian policies and coordinate strategies on policy issues.
• Develop and maintain cooperative working relationships with other relevant USG offices and serve as an expert point of contact for these groups in the area of humanitarian affairs.
• Work with counterparts in other donor organizations, as well as senior-level staff, to exchange information, establish meetings on specific donor issues, solicit publications, and collect information on training opportunities; coordinate these activities with relevant USAID officers.
• Advise G3PC and other USAID/BHA staff on issues regarding donations and requests for USG support and information sharing from private and public interest groups, including those formed on an ad hoc basis during disaster assistance operations.
• Support the drafting, editing, clearing, and dissemination of written products, such as reports and briefing documents, within USAID/BHA and broader audiences, as appropriate.
• Participate in the drafting of memoranda and briefing papers where input from the G3PC Office is required.
• Assist in any follow-up actions regarding ongoing and current emergency programs.
• Draft routine responses to partner or staff inquiries and participate in making recommendations to resolve issues, as appropriate.
• Serve as an outreach coordinator or other role supporting the humanitarian coordination needs of USAID/BHA D.C.-based Response Management Teams (RMTs) and/or Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) overseas
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Education, Experience, and Skills Requirements

• Must have at least 12 years of directly related experience with a Master’s degree, 15 years of directly related experience with a Bachelor’s degree, or 20 years of directly related experience without a degree. Additional advanced degrees may be used to replace years of experience.
• Requires a thorough understanding of the international humanitarian assistance environment, operations, related policies, regulations, and inter-relationships among the USG, donor and other international organizations.
• Detailed knowledge of humanitarian operations and partner programming – at country and at global level - is required.
• Strong applied knowledge of the MS Office Suite (Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint) and Google applications is required.

Qualified candidates should:

• Possess strong communication and organizational skills;
• Be able to multi-task in a fast-paced environment with multiple, overlapping deadlines;
• Work well with others to ensure that tasks are completed well and on time;
• Be able to problem-solve and think critically;
• Have strong attention to detail;
• Be flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances;
• Be willing to go the extra mile; and
• Be able to obtain and maintain a minimum of a USG-issued Secret-level Security Clearance for the duration of your employment on this contract.

Amentum is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our hiring practices provide equal opportunity for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, gender, national origin, age, United States military veteran’s status, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, family structure, medical condition including genetic characteristics or information, veteran status, or mental or physical disability so long as the essential functions of the job can be performed with or without reasonable accommodation, or any other protected category under federal, state, or local law.

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