Acquisition & Assistance Specialist

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) seeks to hire an Acquisition & Assistance Specialist in the Regional Acquisition & Assistance Office (RAAO), USAID/East Africa.

The position is open to qualified Kenyan citizens and located in Nairobi.

Basic Function of the Position:

As the principal assistant to a lead Contracting/Agreement Officer with responsibility for East Africa Region programs, the incumbent shall be required to perform independently in a program requiring complicated and sensitive contracting operations.

In this portfolio, most of the acquisition and assistance processes involve complex, multi-million dollar contracts, grants and cooperative agreements, many of which are structured with a prime contractor/grantee having one or more subcontractors/sub-grantees and requiring substantial contract/grant administration.

The Regional A&A Specialist will be required to apply a broad range of highly specialized acquisition and assistance functions.

The Regional A&A Specialist plays a key role in negotiating, administering, and modifying various types of contracts for the acquisition of services, equipment, supplies, materials, and other needs for projects having a strong contracting orientation.

While not a warranted Contracting/Agreement Officer, the incumbent must have developed specialized procurement knowledge by completing at least FAC Level II certification.

It is understood that an individual hired for this position may require training to meet the required qualifications and performance level.

Required Qualifications:

Any application that does not meet the minimum requirements stated below will not be evaluated.

Only short listed applicants will be contacted.

If you have not been contacted within one month from the closing date of this advertisement, please consider your application unsuccessful.

Education: A two-year college diploma (FSN 9), a bachelor's degree (FSN 10), a master's degree (FSN 11) in business administration, political science, international relations, procurement, supply chain management, social science, or a related field, is required. Specialized training in USG acquisition is desirable, but can occur after employment.

Prior Work Experience: Minimum 4 years (FSN 9), 5 years (FSN 10), and 6 years (FSN 11) of progressively responsible, professional experience is required, at least 2, preferably 3, years of which must be in procurement in a professional capacity with USG or similar organization.

Communication Skills: Excellent oral and written English communication skills are required including the ability to draft various procurement-related documents and to develop sound solicitation and instrument documents. Level IV (fluent) in spoken & written English and fluent Kiswahili is required.

Interpersonal Skills: Excellent interpersonal skills to deal effectively with various officials, sometimes with highly divergent points of view. Must be diplomatic and tactful in setting forth ideas, constraints, or courses of action.

For a complete position description visit http://kenya.usaid.gov/employment-opportunities.

Those fulfilling the requirements of the position should submit their application, together with a detailed CV and all relevant attachments to the following address:

Human Resources Office,
USAID/Kenya,
P.O. Box 629, Village Market 00621,
Nairobi, Kenya

Re: Acquisition & Assistance Specialist, RAAO/USAID/East Africa

Application must reach the USAID HR office by December 23, 2011.