Solicitation for U.S. Personal Services Contractor (USPSC) as Senior Program Cycle Advisor, USAID/Ghana

USAID/Ghana’s current five-year integrated Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) (2020-2025) supports Ghana’s efforts to become a more self-reliant nation that offers a productive life to all of its citizen through continued support to address food security and trade, quality education and health services, and citizen responsive governance in the northern regions. The CDCS focuses on promoting inclusive development, systems strengthening, and greater accountability across the government. The Mission manages the strategy through three development objectives (DO): 1) Broad-based Economic Growth Accelerated and Sustained; 2) Quality Services Delivered with Increased Accountability; and 3) Sustainable Development Accelerated in Northern Ghana.

The Senior Program Cycle Advisor will serve as the lead advisor to Mission staff on strategy and programmatic design, implementation and collaboration, and learning and adaptation (CLA) as detailed in USAID’s Operational Policy for the Program Cycle (ADS 201). The Senior Advisor will play a key role in the formulation, implementation, management, and performance reporting of the overall US development assistance program in Ghana, and perform a full range of consultative, advisory, monitoring, analytical, operational, and informational services in connection with the overall USAID program in Ghana. S/he will guide and support the Mission’s efforts to manage for results to ensure appropriate and strategic CLA across the Mission, ultimately maximizing investments and accelerating progress toward the strategic goal and development objectives.

The Senior Advisor will facilitate the roll-out of the new five-year CDCS and support the creation and implementation of cross-sectoral development objective teams, as well as identify ways to institutionalize the key priorities and strategic approaches identified in the new CDCS to ensure they are embedded in comprehensive and mission-specific program cycle processes. The Senior Advisor will provide oversight of the activity design process, provide Mission-specific guidance, ensure activities support the CDCS, and advise on CLA approaches. The incumbent will work in collaboration with technical offices and support their leadership role in designing activities and partnering with government actors to ensure alignment with local priorities. The Senior Advisor will coordinate and guide the Mission portfolio review process and ensure that CLA efforts are intentional, systematic, and resourced. Finally, s/he will play a key role in connecting staff and offices across the Mission.

The Senior Advisor will report directly to the Supervisory Program Officer (or their designee) and provide work guidance to other Program Office and Mission staff. The Senior Advisor is highly knowledgeable of Ghana’s development assistance programs, direct assistance programs, Agency policy and directives for implementing foreign assistance, USAID budgets and the formation of same and overall policies of the Agency. USAID/Ghana has a main office in Accra, with 64 staff (19 USDHs, 5 U.S. and TCN Personal Service Contractors, and 45 Locally Engaged Staff [LES]) and a satellite office in Tamale, with 11 LES who are focused on northern Ghana programming.