Background:
Action Against Hunger is preparing a prime application submission for the USAID BHA Uganda Resilience and Food Security Activity (RFSA). The project aims to enhance and sustain food and nutrition security among vulnerable populations through resilience-building activities. The Technical Lead will be responsible for guiding the overall project design and ensuring alignment with USAID's objectives and donor requirements.
Purpose and Objectives:
The Technical Lead will guide the proposal development process, ensuring that the project design, strategic approach, and interventions are aligned with the RFSA’s objectives. The Technical Lead will coordinate with the proposal team lead, cost lead, global technical lead, country teams, other ACF network member teams, partners, and other stakeholders to create a cohesive and compliant technical narrative. The Technical Lead may also contribute as appropriate and feasible to the cost application development by reviewing budgeted activities and costs. The Technical Lead will work closely with the Action Against Hunger’s Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning Lead to ensure project design is cohesively and coherently represented in the MEAL Plan. The Technical Lead will contribute to the design of the Management and Staffing Plan to ensure proper implementation of the project design.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Project Design Leadership:
- Lead the development of the technical approach to ensure it aligns with USAID RFSA’s priorities and donor requirements.
- Conduct background research and identify necessary information to strengthen the project design, integrating lessons learned from past RFSA projects.
- Facilitate design workshops, theory of change discussions, and stakeholder consultations, engaging country, regional, and global technical teams, partners, local NGOs, and government actors as needed.
- Lead the design process, ensuring all stakeholders contribute to a cohesive and strategic approach that reflects the opportunity details.
2. Collaboration and Coordination:
- Work closely with the Proposal Team Lead to define partner roles, budget allocations, and project timelines.
- Contribute to negotiations of partner roles and ensure feedback on missing partners is provided, fostering a collaborative teamwork approach.
- Ensure strategic alignment with resilience, food security, and livelihoods interventions, while coordinating with the MEAL Lead to ensure that the project design is fully captured in the MEAL Plan and budget.
- Provide feedback on the proposal development calendar and validate budget marks for different sections.
- Participate in preparatory calls, workshops, meetings, and technical discussions as needed.
3. Technical Narrative Development:
- Lead the development of the technical narrative in collaboration with technical team members and the Technical Writer, ensuring clarity, cohesion, and alignment with project/program objectives.
- Coordinate inputs from team members, partners, and other stakeholders, delegating writing assignments where appropriate.
- Ensure the technical design is fully captured in the logical framework and MEAL plan, and work closely with the Cost Lead to align the detailed budget with the technical narrative.
- Complete writing assignments as needed. Delegate writing assignments to Technical Team members, including partners.
- Support drafts to the Proposal Team Lead to coordinate the review and support the Proposal Team Lead in assigning technical team members for draft reviews.
- Review and incorporate inputs and subsequent revisions with the Technical Writer and Technical Team members.
4. Final Review and Submission:
- Together with the Proposal Team Lead, review the full draft proposal and make final revisions to ensure alignment across all sections and with donor requirements.
- Make final approvals on technical content in coordination with country and global technical leads, ensuring compliance with donor requirements before submission.
- Assist with post-submission revisions, BAFO responses, and any additional revisions requested by USAID, as needed.
- Location of Assignment: Remote, with potential travel to Uganda for design workshops with Action Against Hunger staff and partners.
Location of Assignment: Remote, with potential travel to Uganda for design workshops with Action Against Hunger staff and partners.
Requirements
Qualifications:
- Extensive experience designing programs for USAID, preferably in RFSA or Economic Growth (Feed the Future).
- Strong understanding of food security, livelihoods, cash and voucher assistance, and resilience approaches, including the Graduation Model.
- Familiarity with United States government rules, regulations, and policies.
- Experience working cross-culturally, with demonstrated effectiveness as a team leader.
- Excellent leadership, verbal, and written communication skills.
- Familiarity with the operational context of Uganda or similar regions is preferred.
Duration and Level of Effort:
Dates of Assignment: October 1, 2024
Level of Effort: Up to 45 days
Daily Rate: Daily Rate: The base rate for the Service Provider for the duration of this assignment is negotiable, based on a 40-hours workweek. The maximum approved level of effort is 25 days. A day is defined as eight (8) work hours. If additional time is needed, should the Action Against Hunger be invited to submit a revised application/BAFO, the services agreement will be amended as indicated in article 12.
Funding: USG Business Development (USRM code).
Travel: As part of the RFSA Uganda capture and proposal development efforts, travel might be required to Kampala, Uganda to work closely with the Proposal Team Lead, Action Against Hunger in Uganda staff, and partners in the development of the technical application.
The Service Provider will be required to follow Action Against Hunger (ACF) USA’s travel related provisions. This includes:
- Action Against Hunger will not book consultant travel accommodation. The service provider should book travel in accordance with Action Against Hunger's lowest logical fare. Action Against Hunger will reimburse the service provider for the fare ticket by including the cost in their standard invoices or immediately after having purchased the ticket with appropriate documentation.
- Necessary and reasonable travel related expenses including meals, transportation, and incidentals such as vaccinations and visa fees incurred in connection with Action Against Hunger will be reimbursed to the service provider by including the costs in their standard invoices with appropriate documentation.
- Reimbursement to the service provider will not exceed the standard per diem rates determined by GSA and the US Department of State current rates. Lodging, meals, and incidentals will not be reimbursed beyond the maximum daily lodging rate per location as determined by GSA or US Department of State.
- The Service Provider will receive the same safety and security arrangements as all ACF USA, but Action Against Hunger will not offer the Service Provider travel insurance. The Service Provider is responsible for their own insurance during the length of their travel.
- The Service Provider will be required to follow the most up-to-date ACF USA security guidelines, including the Action Against Hunger-USA Security Manual, as well as specific security-related rules and regulations included in each Country Office’s security plans and Standard Operating Procedures. Upon arrival, the Service Provider will receive a safety and security briefing and be required to sign a document confirming that they’ve been fully briefed and understand the current security risks and the Country Office’s security plans.
- The Service Provider will charge a flat rate of 8 hours per day during travel periods, inclusive of weekends.
