Development Program Specialist

The United States Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam is seeking an eligible and qualified applicant for the position of Development Program Specialist (Project Design) in its U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

1.       VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT NO.:USAID-2021-09

2.       OPENING DATE: June 21, 2021

3.       CLOSING DATE:  July 20, 2021, 17:00 Hanoi time

4.       AREA OF CONSIDERATION:  All Interested candidates/All sources who are Cooperating Country National)

Cooperating country national (CCN) means an individual who is a cooperating country citizen, or a non-cooperating country citizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the cooperating country.

5.       POINT OF CONTACT:

Quyen Hoang, Human Resources Specialist at qhoang@usaid.gov; Tel: +84-24-3850-5000 ; ext. 2763 ; and Loan Nguyen, Human Resources and Travel Assistant at loannguyen@usaid.gov; Tel: +84-24-3850-5000; at ext. 2673.

6.       POSITION TITLE: Development Program Specialist (Project Design), VN-052

7.       MARKET VALUE/BASE SALARY (per annum): US$ 32,908.00 – US$ 49,380.00 (FSN-11)

Added by attractive allowances, cash and non-cash benefits and incentives according to U.S. Embassy Vietnam’s Local Compensation Plan.

8.       PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE/Length of the contract/ WORK SCHEDULE:  Definite term - five years / Monday through Friday (40 hours per week).

USAID expects the services under this contract to be continuing in nature for the contractor to perform under a series of sequential contracts, subject to the availability of fund.

9.       PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:

USAID/Vietnam, 15^th floor, Tung Shing Building, No. 2 Ngo Quyen street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi, Vietnam

10.    SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED:  Local Security Certification or Public Trust

11.    BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF THE POSITION

The USAID Development Program Specialist (Project Design) is located within the Program Office (PRO), The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Mission Vietnam in Hanoi. PRO provides strategic, programmatic and activity design, evaluation and budgeting guidance to multiple Technical Offices. This support is especially critical for ensuring effective implementation of the U.S. Government regional and Agency strategies and USAID’s policies (e.g. for Environmental Safeguards, Climate Risk Management, Gender and Evaluation). PRO leads the Mission support in project and activity design, monitoring, evaluation and learning processes, and coordinating the development and implementation of Country Development Cooperation Strategy. Along with significant foreign assistance coordination responsibilities for the entire Operating Unit (Embassy and other agencies with foreign assistance responsibilities), PRO is tasked with providing key support in coordination of complex processes throughout the program cycle.

The incumbent plays a key role in ensuring smooth program operations in the Mission, including timely and high-quality design of new projects and activities. S/he provides dedicated expertise and services to all Mission Development Objective (DO) teams and Technical Offices on project design and development.  S/he is responsible for producing project designs that correspond to Mission priorities and comply with Agency’s Project and Activity Design Guidance and Mission standards to achieve development results. S/he also serves as the backstop for the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning specialist for the entire Mission.  In this capacity, s/he will serve as the Alternate Contract Officer Representative for the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning contract.

12.    MINIMUM REQUIREMENT

Applicants must address each required qualification listed below with specific information supporting each item. Failure to do so may result in a determination that the applicant is not qualified.

Education: Possession of a Bachelor’ degree in the field of social work, education, law, or other sciences is required.

Prior Work Experience: Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience in project design, development, and implementation, at least two years of which should have been working with or for a foreign government, international NGO, foreign donor agency, or foreign company, involving project development, and financial management.  Experience in project design, program planning, analysis, training, and presentation of data is required.  Experience creating and maintaining spreadsheets and working with relevant computer software is also required.

Language Proficiency:  Level IV (fluent) Speaking/Reading/Writing in English and Vietnamese is required (this will be tested).

Job Knowledge: The incumbent must have a specialized expertise in project design best practices and program planning and must know how to apply USAID Mission best practices and policies related to high quality design of projects.  Sound knowledge of the way USAID conducts business, including Agency policy regulations, procedures and documentation, particularly the Agency’s Standardized Program Structure and Definitions (a.k.a. F hierarchy), as they relate to budgeting, programming and procurement procedures is essential.  A thorough knowledge of the principles and accepted practices of governmental policies and reporting is required.  Familiarity with the laws, regulations and procedures associated with USAID processes is required.  Must have a thorough knowledge of the GVN’s development priorities, policies and procedures.

Skills and Abilities: The incumbent must have strong analytical and conceptual skills to implement activity and project design and establish and maintain an extensive range of contacts with senior and key officials of the GVN ministries and other donor agencies. Must have a wide latitude in exercising his/her responsibilities in planning and executing work assignments, ability to work under pressure and produce results quickly and to predict issues of concern and interact directly at the highest operational levels of GVN.  Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills; ability to prepare and present reports covering complex subject matters is required. Must have advanced skills in using Google Suite and strong knowledge of Microsoft applications, Agency specific software related to the work. Self-motivation and strong work ethics are essential. Must have an ability to travel locally and internationally.

13.    EVALUATION AND SELECTION CRITERIA:

A Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) will be set up to manage the whole evaluation and selection processes. Applications will be initially screened for eligibility in accordance with the required qualifications mentioned above including education, prior work experiences and language. Eligible candidates will be given an English test. Those candidates who meet the English requirement (Level IV) will be invited for the subject matter expertise test (SME test) and the top performers from the SME test will be called for an interview. The SME test and the interview will be structured around the selection criteria above. Professional reference checks will be conducted once the pool is narrowed down to the top candidate(s).

In summary, the steps in the Candidates rating system are as follows:

• Meet education/experience requirements: Pass/fail
• Language requirements: Pass/ Fail
• Subject Matter Expertise (SME) test: Top scoring candidates from SME test will be invited for interview
• Professional Reference Checks: Pass/Fail

At the final selection round, the TEC may consider the performance from all selection round as a whole package to ensure the best matching profile (relevant experience in development project design, budgeting, planning, and implementation, with foreign government, international NGO, donor agency, host government,  …).

Only final-round candidates will be notified of the selection result.

14.    HOW TO APPLY:

All candidates must be able to obtain and hold a Local security or Public trust clearance.

1. Offerors/ Candidates are required to complete and submit a Universal Application for Employment (DS-174) which is available on the Website of the U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam below, Curriculum Vitae and scanned copies of degrees to support the position’s educational requirement. (LINK)
2. Offers must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section 3 and submitted to the Point of Contact in Section 5.
3. To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, Applicants must prominently reference the Job Announcement number in the submission.

NOTE: 

Due to the high volume of applications received, we will only contact applicants who are qualified and will be invited for further testing and/or interview. Thank you for your understanding.

15.    BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES

As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a CCNPSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances in accordance with United States Mission Vietnam ‘s Local Compensation Plan and regulations:

1.           BENEFITS:

• One-month basic salary Tet Bonus
• Contribution to mandatory insurances pursuant to GVN’s law/ regulations including social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance.
• Coverage of additional health insurance 90% for incumbent and each eligible family member
• Annual and sick leave according to local labor law
• Mission cash award (semi-annual/ annual) and On-the-Spot award for high performers
• Training opportunities abroad, in-country, on-the-job and online sources (USAID University and Foreign Services Institute).

2.           ALLOWANCES (as applicable):

• Unique Condition Work allowance: 7% of Annual basic salary (upon annual review for the whole Mission).
• Miscellaneous Benefits Allowance: US$1,000 per annum for FSN-09 and below and US$3,000 per annum for FSN-10 and above.

16.    ADDITIONAL SELECTION AND APPLICATION CRITERIA:

• The Contracting Officer will consider nepotism/conflict of interest, funds availability and residency status in determining successful candidacy.
• Current employees serving a probationary period are not eligible to apply.
• Current employees identified as under Merit-Based Compensation’s Performance Improvement Plan on their most recent Performance Evaluation Report are not eligible to apply.
• All candidates for employment with the US Mission must pass a background/security investigation and a medical certification.  Any employment offer with the US Mission is contingent upon a candidate’s ability to secure the necessary certifications.
• All applicants must be a naturalized citizen of the host country or must have the required work permit or documentation that permits the applicant to work legally in the country in order to be eligible for consideration.
• Please clearly indicate in your application, the title of the position you are applying for.  Any application that does not specify the position applied for will NOT be considered.
• Applications received after the closing date and time of the announcement will NOT be considered.
• The application must contain all information necessary to demonstrate that the candidate possesses the education, experience, skills and language abilities required for this position.

The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam provides equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people regardless of to race, color, religion, ethnicity, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or transgender status), national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital or parental status, veteran status, membership in an employee organization, political affiliation, involvement in protected EEO activity, or other non-merit factor. The Mission also strives to achieve equal employment opportunity in all personnel operations through continuing diversity enhancement programs.

The EEO complaint procedure is not available to individuals who believe they have been denied equal opportunity based upon marital status or political affiliation.  Individuals with such complaints should avail themselves of the appropriate grievance procedures, remedies for prohibited personnel practices, and/or courts for relief.

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