Youth and Culture Advisor, Bureau for Middle East, Office of Technical Support - FSL-03 (U.S. Citizens only)

The Bureau for Middle East, Office of Technical Support (ME/TS) is seeking a highly qualified and motivated direct-hire (FSL-03) to serve as a Youth and Culture Advisor on the Democracy, Governance, Peace, and Security (DGPS) team in ME/TS. The position is based in Washington, DC and provides policy advice and technical expertise to ME and its Missions with youth portfolios with a focus on democracy, governance, peace, and security. The Youth and Culture Advisor will provide strategic and intellectual leadership in developing and driving a field-based analytical agenda in the Middle East region.

Responsibilities

The Youth and Culture Advisor will serve as the primary point of contact for the Missions on all programs related to inclusion as well as DGPS and will carry out the following duties:

• Advises USAID/Washington (ME and Pillar Bureaus), country teams and Missions in the application of the inclusion of marginalized and underrepresented populations in the development processes;
• Advises on ME priorities and strategies and the most effective approaches to promote inclusive development and DGPS areas and disseminates best practices;
• Serves as a technical expert on field-based issues and interagency partnerships related to inclusive development and DGPS;
• Works on closely related portfolios such as gender and inclusion, democratic development, human rights, and peace and security;
• Represents global and regional interests to senior-level officials in USAID/Washington and other stakeholders by monitoring and analyzing critical inclusion issues globally and regionally and advocates for a USAID/Washington response;
• Supports and manages centrally administered programs/projects that affect broad Mission areas applied research and dissemination of findings or methodologies to USAID-assisted countries and the development community;
• Advances Agency and field priorities through strategic planning, design, analysis and evaluation of country, regional and world-wide programs;
• Visits Missions to provide program development, evaluation, monitoring, and Mission support;
• Reviews project proposals, requests for funding, interim and final project reports, annual assessments of program impacts, scientific and policy papers, and other documents for ME programs, inclusive development and DGPS projects and Mission activities;
• Attends and leads meetings, workshops, trainings and sessions for the purpose of professional interchange and knowledge sharing, and establishes and maintains effective working relationships with professional colleagues and institutions; and
• May undertake assignments, rotations, or short-term assignments in the ME countries.

Qualifications:

• Must be a U.S. citizen;
• Must have demonstrated knowledge and experience in one of more of these areas: positive youth development, youth engagement, youth in crisis and conflict;
• Must have extensive knowledge of DGPS and inclusion in development principles, concepts, methods and approaches and be able to communicate, influence and advocate for these topics verbally and in writing;
• Must hold at least a master’s degree in social sciences or related field and at least two years of experience in international development or relations or must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (FS-04) of this position. Examples of specialized experience include leading and/or assisting latest research and technical resources and tools around inclusion, democracy, governance, peace, and security issues specific to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region;
• Leading or assisting in project management;
• Developing or assisting with programmatic responses to international development challenges;
• Must demonstrate knowledge of the latest research and technical resources and tools around inclusion and DGPS in development in the MENA region;
• Must demonstrate evidence of excellent interpersonal, facilitation and team building skills;
• Must be an effective communicator and have experience delivering training, presentations, and sessions on topics related to inclusion and DGPS;
• Must have or be able to obtain a Secret security clearance;
• Must be able to travel internationally;
• Preference for USAID experience; and
• Arabic and/or French skills are desired.

Interested candidates should submit a:

• Resume/CV;
• A short written statement of interest; and
• Three relevant professional references.

Please submit your application information to ME Administrative Management Services (AMS) at me-fsl-applications@usaid.gov with the subject line:"FSL-03 CULTURE ADVISOR." Application submissions are requested by 11:59 p.m., June 30, 2023.

Any questions concerning this notice may be directed to:

-- David Bruns, ME/TS, dbruns@usaid.gov