Senior Technical Advisor - Research, Data Systems, and Capacity Strengthening, USAID Advancing Food Fortification Opportunities to Reinforce Diets

Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of TechnoServe's work around the world for over 50 years. TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the power of businesses and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty.

The low-income communities in which we work are full of enterprising people. Their small-scale farms and businesses are the keys to economic development. But they face many challenges: low literacy, lack of access to jobs and markets, unpredictable political dynamics and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. For many women and young people, the challenges are even more daunting. Working with TechnoServe staff, people around the world are lifting themselves out of poverty. The results are amazing...when incomes increase and living conditions for families get better, they are able to access health care and education previously out of reach. Communities and even whole countries are better off.

Project Description:

The USAID Advancing Food Fortification Opportunities to Reinforce Diets (AFFORD) program is designed to provide operational support to field Missions and other Operating Units (OUs) of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), contributing to the goals of the U.S. government Global Food Security Strategy (GFSS) through the implementation of programming aligned with USAID's Large-Scale Food Fortification (LSFF) Results Framework. AFFORD seeks to safely and sustainably reduce micronutrient inadequacies and improve diets, particularly for women and children, through LSFF of staple foods and condiments.

Job Summary:

The Senior Technical Advisor - Research, Data Systems, and Capacity Strengthening will report to the Food Fortification Research, Data, and Systems Director. The Senior Technical Advisor will provide leadership and strategic inputs and direction to USAID AFFORD to ensure high quality design and implementation of research, data generation and use, and capacity strengthening activities to support achievement of the project's large-scale food fortification (LSFF) objectives. The Senior Technical Advisor will work collaboratively with project staff, partners, and stakeholders to lead and support the design and implementation of needs assessments and research protocols to identify and fill research, data, and data use gaps. The position will also lead efforts to strengthen the capacity of regional and national civil society organizations (CSOs) in data collection, analysis, interpretation, and use for evidence-based LSFF advocacy, and accountability. The Senior Technical Advisor may supervise other technical staff on the project.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities:

• Lead the design and implementation of needs assessments to identify research, data use, and capacity strengthening gaps and priorities at global, regional and country levels.
• Lead the design, planning, and conducting of prioritized research to respond to key gaps in effective LSFF programming and critical areas of learning to ensure achievement of project objectives.
• Provide technical leadership in the design, development, planning, implementation, and monitoring of capacity strengthening activities for civil society organizations.
• Ensure the use of state-of-the-art capacity strengthening methods to improve CSO capacity to conduct quality LSFF assessments and improve data availability, access, visualization, and use for advocacy and accountability.
• Support regional and country stakeholders to generate and use data for LSFF decision making.
• Provide guidance and technical assistance to develop new and/or update existing guides, tools and/or training materials for large-scale food fortification program design and implementation.
• Lead the development and application of training, mentoring, and coaching materials to strengthen civil society organization capacities in identified areas of need.
• Work with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) team to ensure research and capacity strengthening activities and learning (Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting, CLA) are captured in the MEL data system and reporting and used for project improvement.
• Work with the USAID AFFORD Knowledge Management and Communications team to identify, document, and disseminate research results and successes and lessons learned in civil society capacity strengthening related to LSFF.
• Represent USAID AFFORD in regional LSFF meetings, webinars, working groups, and professional meetings and conferences.
• Support regional and national research and civil society partners and stakeholders to participate in global or regional events to share LSFF research and advocacy and accountability experiences and learning, assisting with preparation of abstracts, posters, presentations and/or participation on panels.
• Contribute to USAID AFFORD annual work planning and reporting.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Basic Qualifications:

• PhD in nutrition, public health, international development, and/or related field plus 5 years of relevant experience; a Master's Degree in the latter with 7 years of relevant experience or Bachelor's Degree with 10 years of experience.
• Extensive experience in developing research protocols and conducting literature reviews, landscape analyses, and needs assessments.
• Experience providing capacity-strengthening support to civil society with varying levels of capacity, including in overall organizational and program management and specific areas such as policy, advocacy, media relations, data visualization, stakeholder engagement, and/or lobbying techniques.
• Extensive experience in training, mentoring, and coaching, including the design, facilitation and delivery of participatory training and training-of-trainer workshops for adult learners.
• Experience in qualitative research techniques, including use of, e.g., NVivo, Atlas.ti, or similar software.
• Experience in quantitative data analysis and statistical analyses using, e.g., R, Stata, or SAS.
• Experience developing guides and manuals, especially translating complex processes into easy to follow guidance.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience working in USAID-funded programs.
• Experience conducting organizational needs assessments and use of quantitative and qualitative approaches to measure capacity strengthening activities, baseline measures, and monitoring capacity strengthening outcomes of organizations.
• Familiarity with the design and/or use of data systems in low and middle income countries or global data systems and platforms, including visualization techniques and data flow from collection to use, e.g., health information systems or food systems.
• Experience and training in instructional design, human centered design, and/or organizational development.
• Experience in Africa; experience in Latin America and Asia desirable.

Required Languages: Fluent in English. Proficiency in French is desirable.

Travel: Travel approximately 30 percent time.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Excellent management, planning, organization, and strategic thinking skills.
• Ability to multitask, solve problems and manage multiple deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to function and communicate effectively and diplomatically with a range of internal and external colleagues including senior and junior staff, partners, country counterparts, and donors across diverse cultures and time zones.

Supervisory Responsibilities: The senior technical advisor may supervise one or more staff members on the USAID AFFORD team

This is a remote position, and applicants must have work authorization in the country from which they apply.

We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe's vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.

With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and affirmative action employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability and all other protected classes.

We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks.

If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe please contact the Human Resources at recruitment@tns.org or call +1 202 785 4515.

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