Vistant (formally PM Consulting Group), recognized as one of the fastest growing companies across the country and the region by Inc. 5000, Financial Times, Washington Technology, and the Baltimore Business Journal, is a public-sector management consulting firm serving Federal international development, healthcare, and social services agencies.

Vistant seeks a Research Program Advisor I on behalf of its client partner, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This position is located in USAID’s Bureau for Food Security and Resilience (RFS), which leads the coordination of the U.S. Government's Feed the Future Initiative—a whole-of-government effort to combat global hunger, poverty, and malnutrition. Within RFS’s Center for Agriculture-Led Growth, both the Inputs Division and the Production Systems Division design, procure, and manage a portfolio of international research and capacity development programs in support of the U.S. Government’s Global Food Security Research Strategy.

As an integral part of the Production Systems Division within the Center for Agriculture Led Growth, this position will oversee efforts related to sustainable intensification programming including exploring and advancing the improvement of productivity, and economic, environmental, and social outcomes for smallholder farmers in challenging environments through mechanization, irrigation, horticulture, natural resource management, irrigation, livestock systems, and mixed crop-livestock systems.

The Research Program Advisor position aims to increase the use of scientific research and evidence to improve development outcomes. The Research Program Advisor will apply their extensive technical expertise in helping to integrate research into planning, program design, implementation, and evaluation efforts. The position will be responsible for supporting a portfolio of activities concerning the use of research and evidence across the Agency, as well as providing assistance, management, and support of other activities. The Research Program Advisor will typically backstop one or more of USAID’s regions, spanning multiple development sectors. `

Duties and Responsibilities

• Assist in the design, procurement, management, and evaluation of international food security research programming;
• Communicate research results and priorities to diverse audiences;
• Contribute to knowledge management processes to synthesize and adjudicate knowledge emerging from Feed the Future programs;
• Provide technical expertise to USAID Bureaus and overseas Missions to guide international development programming; and
• Engage across a wide range of policy areas, spanning international agriculture, food security, economic development, and innovation.

Required Qualification, Education, and/or Experience:

• Bachelor's Degree Required and Master's Degree Preferred.
• 5+ years of relevant professional experience in agriculture, veterinary science, biological research, international development, or a related field.
• Strong project management skills, including experience participating in cross-functional teams.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to effectively engage with a diversity of stakeholders.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills, including the ability to multitask well in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated ability to creatively problem solve, and a passion for impact.

USAID Assumptions and Constraints:

• Staff working on this effort must possess the ability to obtain a current “Secret” clearance.
• Requires compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d); USAID Graphic Standards (available at www.usaid.gov/branding), USAID Mission & Core Values (available at http://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/mission-vision-values) or any successor branding/mission/core values policies.
• Requires collaboration with USAID DDI and other Operational Units.

Estimated Schedule

• Full-time

Place of Performance

• Washington, DC - Ronald Reagan Building (RRB). On-site support with limited telework.

Travel

• May require International and Domestic Travel including travel for international meetings, program review and evaluation, and technical support to USAID missions.

Applicants selected may be subject to a background investigation and must meet suitability requirements for eligibility. Vistant participates in E-Verify.

In order to ensure the health and safety of Vistant's employees and families, all employees are required to receive vaccinations as determined by the President’s Executive Order No. 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID-19 Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors, issued on September 9, 2021, and the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force COVID-19 Workplace Safety Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors, which require COVID-19 vaccinations for all Vistant employees regardless of work location unless a medical or religious accommodation is granted by Vistant. Vistant requires all newly hired employees to be fully vaccinated (meaning two weeks after the employee receives the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine or the second dose of the Pfizer/Moderna vaccines) or have an approved medical or religious accommodation by December 8, 2021, or by their start date if it is after December 8, 2021.

Vistant provides equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees, without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity or expression), sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, disability, genetic information, or veteran status.

Vistant is an EEO employer - M/F/Vets/Disabled