United States of America: Principal Advisor, Capacity Development
Country: United States of America
Closing date: 28 Apr 2014
Project Description
The Partnership for Supply Chain Management (PFSCM) brings together 13 private sector, non-government and faith-based organizations that are among the most trusted names in supply chain management and international public health and development in the world. PFSCM has been recognized internationally for its work to save lives through stronger public health supply chains; in 2010 the partnership won two supply chain distinction awards from the European Supply Chain and Logistics Summit and was a finalist in the 2012 Supply Chain Innovation Award Competition sponsored by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and SupplyChainBrain.
PFSCM is implementing the Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) contract for USAID as part of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). With offices in more than 20 countries and over 800 dedicated staff members around the world, SCMS is helping to improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS in some of the countries most severely impacted by the pandemic. SCMS procures essential medicines and supplies at affordable prices; helps strengthen and build cost-effective, reliable, secure and sustainable supply chain systems; and fosters coordination of key stakeholders.
In addition, PFSCM implements other supply chain management projects with other client/donors.
Role & Responsibilities
The Principal Advisor, Capacity Development is a member of the Systems Strengthening Unit within the Field Program Support Team. S/he will provide strategic guidance and subject matter expertise in the design and oversight of SCMS technical assistance to strengthen human resource and organizational capacity of SCMS clients in PEPFAR focus and selected non-focus countries. S/he will develop and monitor a technical assistance framework based on established standards and designed to ensure that efforts produce outputs which contribute to meeting project objectives and USG long-term goals such as country ownership and sustainability. S/he works with other Systems Strengthening Unit technical advisors and Country Support Teams to coordinate resources, to ensure activities are on track and to ensure that technical outputs are of high quality. The Principal Advisor, Capacity Development reports to the Technical Director for Systems Strengthening.
Specific Responsibilities
• Lead the implementation of the SCMS global health system strengthening (HSS) strategy and technical assistance framework that sets the project goals, strategies and standards for strengthening the human resource capacity of in-country supply chain organizations and their staff at all levels. Again in line with GHI, the emphasis will be on increasing local capacity, ownership and moving national supply chains along the continuum of maturity and sustainable performance. Focus activities will include models and SCMS standards for organization development, training program development, pre-service training, in-service training, on-the-job training, mentoring, supervision, incentives, governance/ leadership, management, partnerships and collaboration, effecting policy change for enabling legal and regulatory frameworks for human resource development, etc.
• Ensure the SCMS global HSS strategy and technical assistance framework with respect to institutional, organizational and individual1 capacity development is being appropriately applied in a given country context during the strategic and work planning phases, including the identification of opportunities and desired outcomes for capacity development, the identification of goals and strategies, the identification of long and short term technical assistance needs, the technical requirements of the TA work, the desired outputs of the TA and the schedule of activities to achieve all of the above.
• During the implementation phase of capacity development TA, provide quality assurance in all of the HSS core technical areas to ensure technical assistance visits contribute to planned outcomes. This will be done by helping in the review of scopes of work and ensuring they meet the SCMS technical framework for HSS, helping to identify suitable consultants for SCMS and our clients’ needs, providing specialized technical input as needed/requested, reviewing technical reports and trip reports, and approving final deliverables in conformity with project standards.
• Provide technical assistance to in-country supply chain organizations, their leaders and managers, and their departments/teams to be more effective, efficient, relevant and financially viable through leadership development, organizational assessments of strengths and weaknesses, identification of opportunities and threats in the external environment, envisioning of an ideal future for the organization and its supply chain, helping fine tune the governance structure and operations to achieve that future, assisting in the identification of strategic priorities within the supply chain, helping develop strategies and plans to address these priorities, helping develop performance management and risk management systems, all for the purpose of putting into place a continuous performance improvement process.
• Provide technical assistance to in-country training coordinators, performance improvement advisors, etc. in relation to the design, implementation and evaluation of competency-based training (CBT) programs, the development of training materials, the training of trainers, the management of training information systems, and the follow-up of training to ensure performance on the job.
• Work with the Performance Management Unit technical leads to develop a results management framework for monitoring and evaluating the impact of SCMS technical assistance in human and organizational capacity development.
• Lead the Technical Working Group on “workforce capacity development”, facilitating broad participation by field office and Global Supply Chain (GSC) staff as well as appropriate external technical collaboration with other USAID funded projects, such as USAID | DELIVER, SIAPS, Capacity Plus, and others.
• Collaborate with Field Program Support, GSC colleagues and the Communications Team in developing multi-purpose, technical publications in the area of human and organizational capacity building for internal and external audiences that highlight standards, innovations and best practices implemented in SCMS focus countries.
• Management responsibilities will include contributing to the development of the FPS strategic and work plans, participation in the planning and facilitation of project conferences, ensuring appropriate focus to country needs, and other responsibilities as assigned by the Technical Director for System Strengthening.
Qualifications
• Master's degree in human resource development, organizational development, international adult education , training, or other related field;
• Five or more years’ experience designing and delivering organizational development programs, adult training/education programs (including competency-based training program implementation, administration and evaluation), detailed curriculum and materials development for academic preservice and in-service training programs, the training of trainers, and large-scale training program implementation and scheduling;
• Experience working in, or providing technical assistance to supply chain management organizations in developing countries;
• Experience in the development and/or implementation of change management in an organization;
• Two or more years experience working with supervisors or mentors in the design and implementation of strategies/interventions to improve the effectiveness of supervision systems;
• Experience working with a broad cross-section of supply chain organization staff, from senior policy-makers and executives to warehouse operators and service site staff;
• Demonstrated ability to write well in English;
• Ability to work in French, Spanish, or Portuguese greatly desirable;
• Proficiency in common software packages necessary; experience using e-learning software such as “Articulate” greatly desirable;
• Familiarity with USAID program directives for capacity building under the GHI and PEFPAR is also highly desirable.
• Ability to travel up to 30% of time
• Must be authorized to work in the United States
How to apply:
To apply to this position, please email your CV to careers@crownagents.com. Include your name, along with the title of the position you are applying for, in the subject line. Visit our website at www.crownagentsusa.com for more information about our company. No phone calls, faxes or walk-ins please. Crown Agents USA, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V.
Crown Agents USA will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with qualified disabilities in accordance with the ADA and local labor law as applicable. If you require a reasonable accommodation for our application process, please contact our Recruiting department directly. Requests will be kept confidential and shared strictly on a need-to-know basis only.
