Feed the Future Policy LINK –Subawards Manager, Ethiopia

Project Background

The five-year (2019 – 2024) Feed the Future Policy Leadership, Interactions, Networks and Knowledge (LINK) project will strengthen the capacity of local actors and institutions to lead and manage the agricultural transformation process and contribute effectively and collectively to improved, broad-based food security policy outcomes.

Specifically, the program aims to strengthen food security policy systems by investing in and reinforcing productive human and social capital and developing strategic partnerships that help bring these innovations and capacity investments to scale in order to achieve a critical mass of local actors with the ability and opportunity to effect positive policy change through collective action.

Policy LINK’s general approach is grounded in facilitative leadership and collaborative governance, which emphasize engaging stakeholders from civil society and public and private sectors in consensus-oriented decision making, collaborative problem solving, and adaptive learning.

Policy LINK in Ethiopia

USAID Ethiopia is developing a five-year activity with the overall objective of supporting the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) and other policy system actors as they transition to a more inclusive policy development process. Specifically, the activity will facilitate the transition from an almost exclusively government-led and implemented policy development paradigm to one driven by multiple stakeholders.

This new approach to policymaking will require strengthening the capacity of Ethiopia’s main agricultural policy system actors and institutions and supporting them to engage in a new collaborative environment. This approach will lead to significant improvements in the policy process and the resulting policy environment. For example, there will be greater clarity around roles and increased participation in policy processes by stakeholders traditionally excluded from decision-making, including academia, financial institutions, the judiciary, CSOs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private sector representations from the national, regional, and local levels. Under the new policy development paradigm, development partners will be expected to align their approaches to fit within this broader collaborative framework.

This approach will be underpinned by Policy LINK’s overarching theory of change focused on increasing human and social capital, engaging policy system actors in collaborative processes, and developing mechanisms for collaborative governance and dynamic learning systems and platforms to sustain collective action.

The activity will support the GoE objectives of inspiring sustainable agriculture-led economic growth, strengthening resilience among people and systems, and creating a well-nourished population, especially women and children.

Responsibilities

Subaward Management:

· Review Ethiopia requisitions to determine that proper specifications or purchase descriptions are included in the solicitation documents;

· Compile all procurement documentation for selection of goods/service providers in Ethiopia and attach in TAMIS, including but not limited to: solicitations and amendments, source selection and price comparison documentation, evaluation committee documentation, and restricted party verifications;

· Guide LINK/Ethiopia team on the selection and implementation of appropriate procurement mechanisms to contract service providers (i.e. Fixed Price vs. Cost Reimbursable purchase orders and subcontracts; Blanket Purchase Agreements; Basic Ordering Agreements; Indefinite Quantity Contracts and Task Orders; Grants);

· Ensure that subawards managed by the Ethiopia office are fully executed by the appropriate DAI signatory per the latest Project Schedule of Authorities based on ceiling value, and that any necessary modifications are documented in compliance with DAI policies and procedures;

· In coordination with relevant technical leads, monitor vendor performance for compliance with terms and conditions of award and oversee entry of performance data in vendor database;

· Manage responses to procurement findings from internal or external file audits;

Independent Consultant Management:

· Provide guidance to supervisors of independent consultants to develop well-defined Scopes of Work that include clear deliverables and expectations;

· Document the recruitment (if applicable) and hire of new consultants, as well as modifications to existing consultant agreements, ensuring that updated CVs, EBDs, SOWs, and other required documentation such as reference checks and restricted party screenings are saved in TAMIS;

· Maintain updated independent consultant agreement tracker, flagging approaching award ceilings or period of performance end dates for supervisors;

· Ensure that consultant agreements are fully executed by the appropriate DAI signatory per the latest Project Schedule of Authorities based on ceiling value;

· In coordination with relevant technical leads, monitor consultant performance for compliance with agreement terms and conditions and oversee entry of performance data in consultant database.

Reporting

The Subawards Manager will report to the LINK/Ethiopia Finance & Operations Director.

Supervisory Responsibilities

The Subawards Manager will supervise consultants and intermittent employees providing support for procurement and subaward administration, and will provide regular guidance to LINK/Ethiopia staff during the execution and implementation of consultant and subaward agreements.

Qualifications

Education and Work Experience:

· At minimum, a degree in Business Administration or the equivalent;

· 10 years of work experience in the field of procurement and contracts;

· Experience supporting fast-paced multi-country USAID programs.

Skills:

· Attention to detail;

· Effective communication with colleagues and stakeholders within and outside Ethiopia;

· Ability to balance competing priorities and information shared by colleagues, policy and procedure manuals, stakeholders, etc. and produce well-informed procurement recommendations;

· Professional fluency in English and Amharic.