Chemonics seeks Country Technical Senior Specialists – Food Security (CTSS – FS) in support of the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) 8 Decision Support (DS) project to be based in Bogota, Colombia or Maseru, Lesotho. The CTSS-FS is responsible for supporting the delivery of technical outputs and representing FEWS NET in national and sub-national fora, under the Country Technical Lead’s (CTL) direction. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.
FEWS NET is an integrated set of activities funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is intended to provide timely, accurate, evidence-based, and transparent food security early warning information and analysis. The eighth phase of FEWS NET includes the Decision Support (DS) project which is charged with providing integrated monitoring and analyses of current and forecast acute food insecurity in countries worldwide to support the USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) policy and programmatic decisions. Based on an in-depth understanding of local livelihoods, the FEWS NET DS Team members monitor information and data on factors that affect food security, such as conflict, weather conditions and climate, crops, pasture, markets and trade, and nutrition. The work of the FEWS NET DS Team relies on close collaboration with international, regional, and national partners on food security data and information gathering and analysis. Major activities include joint monitoring and assessments, data sharing and exchanges, collaborative analysis and reporting, and technical capacity strengthening.
Responsibilities include:- Supporting the fulfilment of designated monthly reporting requirements, including providing critical inputs to the Food Security Outlooks (FSOs), FSO Updates, Price Watch, and key messages; contributing to Food Assistance Outlook Brief reports; and providing briefings to national and sub-national partners
- Under the guidance of the CTL, supporting the integrated food security analyses (FSOs, FSOUs, FAOB input) to classify and communicate the severity of acute food insecurity at the national and sub-national levels in line with the globally recognized Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) scale. Where IPC compatibility is not possible, the CTSS-FS will support the CTL to ensure analyses remain globally comparable
- Supporting the CTL in meeting USAID’s expectations on timely delivery of national and sub-national decision support products, which include, but are not limited to: delivery of monthly reporting for all presence countries no later than 7 days after the last day of the reporting month; responding to urgent questions on acute food insecurity within one day; providing briefings within one week of request; and assessing acute food insecurity in Expanded Global Early Warning (EGEW) countries within one week of request
- Supporting the CTL, and Country Technical Manager (CTM) where relevant, in maintaining a national and sub-national knowledge base comprised of, at a minimum, livelihood zone profiles, commodity trade flow maps, seasonal monitoring calendars, commodity price data, nutrition data, security monitoring, conflict data, migration, remittances, labor, humanitarian food assistance, and other technical data covering rainfall, agricultural production, population, etc., in collaboration with other FEWS NET 8 implementing partners, as applicable
- With support from the CTL, overseeing the collection of data by in-country enumerators or field monitors and liaising with the Regional Data Coordinator to ensure effective management (cleaning, storage, uploading, etc.) of all field data/information
- Supporting the CTL, and CTM where relevant, transfer relevant national and sub-national technical databases built from primary and secondary data sources, from national and sub-national partners, and through inputs entered into the FEWS NET Data Warehouse
- Providing input into developing and updating national and sub-national seasonal monitoring plans and participating in national and sub-national acute food insecurity monitoring, as applicable
- Supporting proactive, high quality and effective early warning of acute threats to food security at the national and sub-national levels and supporting efforts to mitigate acute food insecurity and prevent food crises through effective communication of actionable food security analysis
- Supporting the CTL and CTM in developing annual workplans that ensure that the in-country team is capacitated to carry out high-quality early warning analysis that produces IPC-compatible analyses
- As part of ensuring high quality decision support, and under the direction of the CTL, the CTSS-FS will support collaboration with Regional Technical Senior Specialists (RTSSs) to improve the integration of thematic technical areas (e.g., conflict, markets and trade, livelihoods, nutrition and agroclimatology) into regular and ad hoc decision support (including briefings) and facilitate interaction among regional, national and sub-national technical staff to further integrate sub-national and national technical and thematic analyses into decision support
- Bachelor’s degree in a discipline relevant to the work of FEWS NET, such as economics, agricultural economics, agronomy, nutrition, climatology, anthropology, or social geography is required; advanced university degree (Master’s degree or higher) is desirable
- Minimum 8 years of relevant experience (with Bachelor’s degree) is required. Relevant experience includes working on food security information systems, food security analysis, early warning, or other related fields; experience working with UN agencies and/or NGOs is desirable
- Excellent planning, organizational, analytical, and report writing skills
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively with others at all levels, including an ability to effectively liaise with supervisors, national and sub-national government authorities, UN, NGO, and other relevant stakeholders and to coordinate effectively with remote colleagues
- Excellent computer skills, GIS applications. and mapping skills are desirable
- Willingness to travel regularly nationally and sub-nationally as well as regionally and internationally as required, security permitting
- Demonstrated leadership, versatility, and integrity
- Proficiency in written and spoken English is required; other local language skills relevant to the country are desirable
Please apply using the following link by December 24, 2024, at 11:59 PM ET. No telephone inquiries, please. Chemonics will contact short-listed candidates.
Chemonics is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factors.
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