Partnership and Capacity Building Specialist

This posting is for citizens and residents of the Philippines with authorization to work without sponsorship.

Background

The USAID/Philippines Better Access and Connectivity (BEACON) Activity seeks to promote better access and connectivity in the Philippines by a) improving the quality of its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and logistics infrastructure; b) improving the enabling environment and regulatory governance for ICT and logistics investments; and c) strengthening cybersecurity protections. The anticipated duration of this activity is June 2021 – June 2026. BEACON Activity is implemented by Nathan Associates, private international economic and analytics consulting firm that works with government and commercial clients around the globe to deliver practical solutions and achieve lasting results.

Primary Responsibilities

• Act as BEACON activity focal point for partnership in attracting private sector investment in ICT,community networks and other digitalization initiatives;
• Collaborate with relevant internal and external technical experts on public -private partnership as a cross cutting sector
• Develop, review, update and roll out partnership strategy, develop an action plan to operationalize the strategy.
• Explore new partnership opportunities and identify potential partners in close collaboration with the Chief of Party and Objective Leads;
• Lead and document discussions with potential partners in everything related to the selection process including mapping, capacity assessment and selection.
• Identify specific risk factors associated with the partnership, and the identification and recommendation of appropriate measures to mitigate and manage those risks, through working with other components and sectors, as necessary
• Work closely with BEACON M&E staff to ensure credible, best-practice monitoring and reporting of program activities with partners
• Provide, with support from the Team, capacity building to partners (DICT and other agencies) in public investment management and cross cutting issues (M&E, Finance, Procurement)
• Coordinate all capacity development support provided to partner national agencies, in collaboration with other staff and external consultants where needed;
• Develop capacity building plans for the partners based on the capacity assessment result;
• Ensure capacity development plans are tailored, targeted and responsive to the organizational needs and priorities of partner national agencies and aligned with BEACON/USAID strategies;
• Work closely with DICT and relevant agencies for timely implementation of the capacity development plan including coordination of training, re-assessments and continuous technical support;
• Perform other tasks as assigned by the Objective 1 Lead **

Skills and Qualifications

• At least 10 years of relevant professional experience, with at least 5 years in telecommunications and digital infrastructure
• With proven experience in capacity building, ICT stakeholder management or partnership portfolio management
• Understanding of best practices and strategies in public-private partnership programming in ICT and various sectors (USAID priority sectors)
• Experience in training facilitation and inputting to training contents.
• Excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills, representation, negotiation, and diplomacy skills.
• Comfortable in a multicultural environment, flexible and able to handle pressure well.
• Adequate public-private partnership and grant management (program and budget) skills
• Ability to organize and facilitate capacity-building initiatives, including trainings for colleagues and partners

• Familiarity with partnership process, and adequate knowledge on legal and financial risks associated with partnership modality*Desired Skills & Qualifications*

• Strong written and oral communication skills, effective in representation and liaison with external parties.

• Adequate computer literacy (including Excel)

• Full professional proficiency in English

• Master’s degree in ICT, ECE ,social sciences, development management, or other relevant field

• Recent working background in trade facilitation or customs environment;

• Experience with USAID-funded trade facilitation projects; and

• Familiarity working with monitoring and evaluation data collection and systems.

• Private sector and project management experience, including in delivering presentations or training; and

• Demonstrated technical knowledge of enabling environment issues, especially in the area of ICT, community networks and digitalization.

If you meet all the minimum requirements above and you would like to apply for this position, send a cover letter (one page maximum) and a CV (three pages maximum) to recruitment@beaconactivity.ph with “Applying for Partnership and Capacity Building Specialist Position” in the subject line. If applying to multiple positions, please send a separate email for each position. Only the top ten candidates will be contacted and invited to take a test, then the top three finalists will be invited to an interview.