The U.S Mission in Accra, Ghana is seeking a highly motivated and qualified individual for the position of Development Assistance Specialist (Nutrition and Food Security).

SOLICITATION NO: 72064120R100004 (EXTERNAL)

Job Summary

• USAID Development Assistance Specialist (Nutrition and Food Security) works from the USAID/Ghana
  satellite office in Tamale, Northern Region.
• The Specialist provides on-site advice and support for the Mission Health, Population and Nutrition Office (HPNO) in the design, implementation, and monitoring of the substantial nutrition and food security portfolio.
• The Specialist provides technical oversight and direct management of critical USAID investments aimed at implementing the Agency’s Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy, 2014-2025 and the US Government’s (USG) Feed the Future Initiative.
• The Specialist ensures the programmatic quality of nutrition investments, in particular in the areas of food
  security, economic strengthening and livelihoods, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, behavior change
  communication, and social protection interventions funded by USAID and the USG.
• The role requires successful cultivation, and effective management, of critical and often sensitive relationships with local government officials, including Regional Ministers; and, the ability to work with minimal supervision, in a collaborative fashion with other professional staff, inside and outside the Mission, in order to ensure quality, comprehensive nutrition and food security programming.

Qualification Required & Experience

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION

In order to be considered for the position, a candidate must meet the Minimum Qualifications. Applications will be pre-screened and only those that meet the Minimum Qualifications will be considered. These are the minimum qualifications necessary to be considered for the position:

• Education: The work requires successful completion of a US-style Master’s Degree, or the host-country
  equivalent, in nutrition, health science, health policy, nursing, public health, or a closely related field.
• Prior Work Experience: A minimum of seven years of relevant progressively responsible professional
  experience in program design and management with a focus on nutrition and food security is required. The majority of this experience should have included the design, implementation, and management of nutrition and food security programs.
• Language Proficiency: Level IV English, fluent in speaking and writing, is required (Language proficiency
  will be tested).
• Job Knowledge: The Specialist must have in-depth professional-level knowledge of development
  principles, concepts, and practices, especially as they relate to managing health-related nutrition and food security activities in the northern regions of Ghana, and the problems and policies in Ghana from the business, political, civil society, and social perspectives. The Specialist must have an in-depth understanding of nutrition-specific interventions, including the promotion of breastfeeding, appropriate complementary feeding, and management of severe acute malnutrition; and, nutrition-sensitive interventions, including nutrition sensitive agriculture, food safety and food processing, and economic strengthening, livelihoods, and social protection. The Specialist must have knowledge and understanding of the economic, political, social, and cultural characteristics of Ghana in general, and the northern regions in particular; development problems in the nutrition sector in the northern regions of Ghana; an understanding of the resources, resource constraints, and overall development prospects and priorities of Ghana and the region; and, knowledge of, or the potential to quickly acquire knowledge of, USG legislation, policy, and practice relating to nutrition and food security assistance, of USAID programming policies, regulations, procedures, and documentation, and of the objectives, methodology, and status of assigned activities. The Specialist must have knowledge and understanding of the organization and respective roles of the different levels of the GoG, with particular emphasis on Northern Ghana, in order to enhance effective communication, and to develop consensus on program/project/activity strategy and implementation.
• Skills and Abilities: The Specialist must have a good knowledge and demonstrated experience in nutrition and food security programming; and, the role of nutrition and food security in relation to other health areas such as health systems strengthening, malaria, family planning, and maternal neonatal and child health. The Specialist should be able to facilitate and link culturally appropriate nutritional assessment, counseling, treatment of nutritional deficits, and related issues and facilitation of linkages to food security programs including water, sanitation, and hygiene promotion; and, be able to use data for decision making. The Specialist must be able to provide technical leadership in nutrition and food security planning; and, apply this knowledge to advanced programming in Ghana and the northern regions. The work requires strong oral and writing skills, in order to work successfully with counterparts in the GoG, Regional representatives, other donors, and the private sector. A good familiarity with most applications in the Microsoft Office Suite is necessary for success in the position.

NB: The position is located in Tamale, Northern Region, with occasional travel to Accra, and frequent travel (at a minimum, 25% of the time [at a minimum of one week per month]) across Northern Ghana, where road conditions are sub-optimal, often-times impassable resulting in frequent delays, and often rudimentary overnight accommodation.

MARKET VALUE: GHC 127,803.00 – GHC 191,724.00 equivalent to FSN-11 in accordance with
AIDAR Appendix J and the Local Compensation Plan of U.S. Embassy, Ghana.

Note: The US Mission does not accept faxed or paper applications for open positions.