Program Assistant (USAID/Power Africa - Partnerships Office)

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.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Power Africa (AFR/AA/PA) is an office within the Africa Bureau that addresses one of the most pressing challenges to sustainable economic growth and development in sub-Saharan Africa – access to electrical power. More than 69 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa has no access to electricity - and that number rises to more than 85 percent in rural areas. And yet, the region has significant potential to develop clean, geothermal, hydro, wind, and solar energy.

AFR/AA/PA will bridge the gap between Africa’s power shortage and its economic potential by working with other U.S. Government Agencies, African Governments, NGOs, and Private Sector Partners to take the steps needed to build out power generation, transmission, and expand the reach of mini-grid and off-grid solutions.

The Program Assistant will provide support for Power Africa. As a critical member of the AFR/AA/PA Washington DC office, the incumbent will work closely with the Leadership Team, the Partnerships Office, and the full technical staff. The incumbent, under the supervision of the AFR/AA/PA Deputy Coordinator and AFR/AA/PA Partnerships Office Director, or their designees, will work with colleagues in the Partnerships Office. The Program Assistant provides support to technical staff, performing a variety of both complex and routine administrative and analytical duties. These duties range from administrative-type tasks such as scheduling briefings and meetings, arranging travel and maintaining program files, to more complex analytical-type tasks such as collecting, compiling, and analyzing data for various program documents and designing and maintaining spreadsheets in support of tracking systems. The Program Assistant ranks tasks in order of importance and impending deadlines, and handles several tasks simultaneously. The individual must develop a working knowledge of USAID policies and guidelines, as well as corporate practices and procedures.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Office Activities Coordination 25%

• Systematically evaluates and improves office operations. Uses formal procedures to track memos, briefers, and coordinate other work performed in the office;
• Assists office staff with planning and executing travel using E2 and eCC;
• Serve as Partnerships Office GLAAS requestor, including completing required GLAAS training
• Help coordinate meetings and events with the interagency and Power Africa partners;
• Attends meetings, takes notes, notes commitments made, informs staff of commitments, and arranges for staff to follow through on implementation;
• Maintains subject and project files of correspondence, program documents, and reports. They will prepare files for storage or destruction, as appropriate;
• Organizes weekly office meetings;
• Maintains files for the office and supports knowledge management by keeping Power Africa Tracking Tool’s (PATT) transaction and partner profiles up to date;
• Assists teams to draft and format monthly updates in newsletter format, such as the Interagency Highlights, PSE newsletter, and DP Quarterly Updates;
• Arranges meeting space, speakers, and support details for internal meetings and larger external conferences. Writes letters to the speakers and participants, arranges hotel accommodations, coordinates transportation to and from the meeting site, and establishes social arrangements;
• Serve as backup timekeeper for WebTA;
• Serve as Power Africa intranet content manager for the Partnerships Office pages;

Program Activities Coordination 50%

• Provide research and analytical assistance on programs as required;
• Receives requests from other offices within the agency for information concerning Power Africa Partnerships Office programs.. Assembles requested information from available background data, or follows up to see that subordinates submit the required answers within the specified time
• Maintains relationships, as directed, with program technical leads
• Monitors programs through meetings, reports and correspondence and raises concerns to Partnerships Office Director or Deputy.

Correspondence and Report Processing 25%

• Knowledge of general office automation software, practices, and procedures;
• Reads incoming correspondence, publications, regulations, and directives that may affect the organization. Determines the ones that can be acted upon personally and takes necessary action. Obtains clarification of instructions from originating offices or appropriate focal points on own initiative. Brings significant items in reports, files and correspondence to the appropriate colleague’s attention.
• Establishes control records on incoming correspondence and action documents, following up on work in-progress to ensure timely action.
• Reviews and assesses incoming emails to the Power Africa public inbox. Ensures that correspondence is responded to personally or forwarded to appropriate team members when necessary.
• Personally prepares administrative reports and composes correspondence on own initiative, based on knowledge of the Office Director’s or Deputy’s views and desires.
• Reviews documents for conformance with regulations, grammar, format, and special policies of the organization. Verifies that content has been coordinated, is accurate, and is in compliance with established policies. Returns materials to the originator for correction if they do not comply with known policies or if correspondence rules have not been followed.
• Assists staff to draft and format action memos according to Agency guidelines, including standard action memos for activity design or activity incremental funding, etc.

QUALIFICATIONS, EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

• The position requires a bachelor’s degree and 2 years of relevant experience.
• Requires proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office, Internet, G Suite and email.
• Experience in the use of database applications is recommended.
• US. Citizenship and the ability to obtain a Secret security clearance required.