Senior Policy Advisor (USAID)

Who We Are

ZemiTek, LLC is a Woman-Owned, SBA-certified 8(a) Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) based in the Washington, DC metro area. We have a strong record delivering innovative and high-quality solutions. Since 2007, ZemiTek has provided technical assistance, project management, information technology (IT), knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation, training and learning development, and institutional support services.

Position Description

The independent Office of Policy (POL) provides actionable policy counsel to USAID leadership by helping the Agency identify, analyze, and more effectively confront complex development and humanitarian challenges – of the moment and on the horizon. We conduct our work along three lines of action:

• Policy Planning: Analyzing development trends in the context of U.S. foreign policy, informing decision-making by USAID leadership on key priorities, and supporting long-term planning for new or different policy directions
• Policy Coordination: Managing time-bound, action-oriented task teams consisting of leaders and experts who coordinate strategies to address complex, cross-cutting policy issues and develop recommendations for USAID leadership
• Policy Engagement: Landscaping and analyzing opportunities for external engagement with other U.S. government and external partners and initiating and facilitating meetings and events. Aiding with policy engagement campaigns that build support for USAID initiatives and broader policy solutions to development challenges.

POL’s current focus areas include cross-cutting issues such as safe and legal global migration, economic resilience and statecraft, climate policy, multilateral development bank reform, addressing the sovereign debt crisis, and improving humanitarian-development-peace coherence to better address protracted crises. The Office also advances an affirmative agenda in the context of strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China and develops strategic projects, including supporting innovations in market shaping policies and exploring the impact of advancements in artificial intelligence.

Scope of Work

The Senior Policy Advisor supports the Office of Policy (POL) and its Policy Planning team, which is responsible for analyzing development and foreign policy trends and their implications for USAID; developing products, convening processes, and providing briefings to inform decision-making by USAID leadership on key priorities; leading long-term planning exercises and feeding into broader strategic processes to position USAID and wider development goals for new or different policy directions; as well as leading/supporting the work of policy tasks teams focused on pressing, cross-cutting policy challenges.

The Senior Policy Advisor will be responsible for a range of policy analysis, coordination, and communications activities. Specifically, they will support critical planning functions within POL and for the Agency, which may include supporting the secretariat of the Policy Advisory Council, coordinating POL engagement with the USAID Front Office and other key stakeholders, undertaking medium- to long-range planning exercises on complex challenges; and producing research and analysis on critical policy questions. They will also help manage a portfolio of work related to USAID’s internal, interagency, and external engagement on high-priority policy issues, which may include those related to humanitarian-development-peace coherence and other topics, as needed. They will both manage processes related to this portfolio, including policy task teams, and develop substantive policy products. They will work with other experts in POL, across USAID bureaus, and in other departments and agencies. They will provide expert advice to and be involved in briefing, presenting to, and teeing up decisions for senior leadership.

Location: Washington, DC
Work Schedule: Full-time/In Office
Starting Salary Range: $112,015.00
Clearance Required: Active Secret Clearance or Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret Clearance.

Responsibilities

• Take initiative and manage critical relationships on priority policy issues internally and externally that can be called upon to respond to assignments thoughtfully and rapidly.
• Develop clear, timely, thoughtful policy products that help advance USAID policy leadership in meaningful ways, such as policy papers, briefing memos, talking points, reports, summaries, and other written documents, as needed.
• Develop other analytical and communications products that advance POL and wider USAID thinking on high-priority issues.
• Advise principals in a clear, compelling, actionable manner to advance policy objectives and communicates opportunities, risks, and tradeoffs.
• Engage collaboratively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Prepare and review documents, as required, for consistency with broader USAID and USG policy priorities and positions.
• Deepen technical expertise and knowledge to enhance USAID’s policy development and thought leadership, particularly in the interagency.
• Manage competing priorities with a clear sense of purpose.
• Adapt to shifting tasks and evolving priorities, as needed.

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree and six (6) years of relevant experience, or Bachelor’s degree and ten (10) years of relevant experience, is required.

What We Believe

ZemiTek is an equal opportunity employer where an applicant’s qualifications are considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, gender identity or expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, disability, or any other basis prohibited by law.

ZemiTek is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, ZemiTek will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to [email protected].

ZemiTek embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion and strives to build and maintain a safe environment where we celebrate diverse backgrounds, treat everyone with respect, and value the unique lived experiences each person brings based on their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, military or veteran status, national origin, age, marital status or family status and related conditions.

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