United States of America: Senior Knowledge Sharing Specialist
Country: United States of America
Closing date: 31 Aug 2013
Overall Description:
CORE Group fosters collaborative action and learning to improve and expand community-focused public health practices. Established in 1997 in Washington D.C., CORE Group is an independent not-for-profit organization, and home of the Community Health Network, which brings together CORE Group member organizations, scholars, advocates and donors to support the health of underserved mothers, children and communities around the world.
In 2010, CORE Group began work on the Technical and Operational Performance Support Program (TOPS), a USAID/Office of Food for Peace (FFP)-funded consortium project led by Save the Children to strengthen food security program implementation. CORE Group's primary role is to facilitate cross-organizational collaboration through helping develop, support and expand the Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) Network, a 1,400-person strong, open community of practice modeled on CORE Group’s Community Health Network. Learn more at www.fsnnetwork.org
The FSN Network utilizes multiple knowledge sharing mechanisms to foster knowledge exchange for strengthened capacity in the implementer community:
• sharing of experience, group problem solving, and consultation in face-to-face and remote events;
• development of tools, guidance, and agendas for future work in topic-specific task forces
• information sharing and dialogue in topic-specific online discussion groups and events;
• dissemination of news, resources, tools, and events in an email newsletter;
• diffusion of best and promising practices through a web-based resource center,
• connecting diverse stakeholders and finding new audiences through a social media presence
Role – Senior Knowledge Sharing Specialist
The senior knowledge sharing specialist will be responsible for managing and updating the TOPS knowledge management strategy which seeks to facilitate, through multiple venues, mechanisms, and media, inter-institutional and field driven processes to share knowledge, identify promising practices and fill identified capacity gaps. The senior specialist will maintain close liaison with TOPS program management team, and staff from CORE Group, other consortium partners, and USAID’s Office of FFP, as well as champions in the food security and nutrition implementing community to set agendas, identify needs and opportunities, and support and create mechanisms for improved knowledge sharing, providing specific focus on fostering sustainability of networking and knowledge sharing activities beyond project end.The senior knowledge sharing specialist will be the lead player in the planning, organizing, agenda setting and facilitation of the regional knowledge sharing meetings of the TOPS/FSN Network—convenings that bring together over 100 implementers of food security and nutrition projects over multiple days for knowledge sharing and learning.
Key Functions:
• Manage and support TOPS mechanisms to facilitate inter-organizational knowledge sharing via the FSN Network through direct support to TOPS staff, KM team (KM Officer and Communications Associate) and relevant consultants, helping to set participative agendas for encouraging best practices for FSN Network semi-annual and periodic knowledge sharing in-person meetings and events, web portal updates and content management, online discussions, task forces, bi weekly newsletter, social media efforts and other knowledge sharing and communication mechanisms.
• Manage TOPS KMteam, to ensure prioritization of activities, quality of execution, alignment with TOPS and FSN Network identified goals, and collaboration with the TOPS team and broader FSN Network community. Provide professional development and other learning opportunities.
• Provide leadership to further the knowledge sharing and program learning practices in the food security and nutrition implementing community, through support to a task force/community of practice, development of tools and resources to support knowledge sharing, promising practices and other means.
• Help set FSN Network learning agendas through facilitating stakeholder input and consensus building activities in surveys, interviews, discussions, meetings and events.Help ensure field perspectives are reflected in all TOPS program outputs.
• Help identify and document promising practices and lessons learned from TOPS/FSN Network knowledge sharing and knowledge management activities both on an on-going basis as well as to feed into mid-term and final evaluation efforts.
• Participate in the larger knowledge management community in order to update project on knowledge management trends and learning, and raise awareness of TOPS. Establish and strengthen linkages with other USAID-funded knowledge management projects for collaborative activities, including but not limited to an exchange of lessons learned between the FSN Network and the CORE Group’s Community Health Network.
• Serve as a member of a collaborative project team, providing timely inputs to strategic planning, annual workplanning, reporting, and performance monitoring, as well as TOPS program outputs such as the small grants program.
• Contribute to proposal development activities for match funding, add-on activities responsive to the FSN Network community, and new opportunities and partnerships to maintain FSN Network functions once project ends.
Qualifications
• Advanced degree or above and / or 8-10 years of work experience.
• At least 5-7 years experience in leading knowledge sharing and knowledge management activities for international development and emergency projects.
• Familiarity with USAID and with international food security programming
• Proven project management skills, and ability to work with diverse and highly skilled personnel in team environment
• Proven facilitation and collaboration skills working with multi-level stakeholders, including technical and subject matter experts, donor agencies, local partners, researchers and others
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally as required
How to apply:
Only U.S.-based candidates will be considered. Relocation package is not available.
To apply, please email your resume and cover letter to coregroupcs@gmail.com. Use“Knowledge Sharing Specialist_Last Name” as the subject line – no phone calls please. Only potential interviewees will be contacted. This job will remain open until filled.For more information visit our website at www.coregroup.org or www.fsnnetwork.org
