R-LEAD Knowledge Management Director
The Center for Communications Program in the Health Behavior Society department is currently seeking an R-LEAD Knowledge Management Director (R-LEAD'S Director of KM). Under the Bureau for Resilience, Environment and Food Security (REFS) Learning, Evidence, Analysis and Data (R-LEAD) contract, the R-LEAD's Director of KM must provide Knowledge Management, Data Visualization, Organizational Learning, Capacity Development and Training, and Website Services to the Offices and Technical Centers housed in the Bureau for REFS. The R-LEAD's Director of KM will effectively organize, access, and use knowledge in support of bureau operations, strategic planning, mission support, and decision making as it relates to their work in the areas of resilience, environment, food security, nutrition, water security, sanitation, and hygiene, climate, infrastructure, and energy among other related topics.
The R-LEAD's Director of KM is also responsible for designing and implementing the KM strategy, including developing KM tools and systems, facilitating knowledge sharing and learning among program staff and stakeholders, and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are documented and disseminated. The R-LEAD's Director of KM works closely with other R-LEAD directors to integrate KM into all program activities and supervises three positions. Through the R-LEAD contract, the R-LEAD's Director of KM will enhance knowledge management (KM) systems for the (REFS) Bureau by:
- Supporting the collection, organization, and dissemination of critical information on resilience, environment, and food security.
- Strengthening KM processes and practices to ensure REFS staff and stakeholders have access to the latest evidence, tools, and learning.
- Ensuring that the knowledge of REFS staff and partners informs decision-making and enhances the Bureau's development goals.
- Extending the Agency's KM approach beyond the USAID Program Cycle to encompass programmatic and organizational processes.
The R-LEAD's Director of KM oversees the program's technical, programmatic, and administrative aspects, independently leads the development and implementation of the KM portfolio, mentors staff, and manages teams. They also travel internationally to lead short-term technical assistance (STTA) in areas of their expertise and will oversee STTA trips of junior staff. They will lead technical work and center-wide initiatives independently. They will lead proposal development, strategic partnership development, and donor cultivation. They will lead and oversee high-level strategy design, implementation, and proposal development.
Specific Duties & Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
Program Management
- Lead R-LEAD's KM activities independently, including,
o Envision, design, and initiate new program activities according to client's needs and overall contract objectives.
o Produce and edit documents, work plans, reports, and presentations.
o Lead budget development and resource allocation.
o Oversee staffing, roles, and level of effort to meet program goals.
o Facilitate effective communication and collaboration between program, finance, and administrative staff to ensure team functioning to meet program goals.
o Facilitate and model frequent, open, ongoing communication with program team members in all locations (offsite, in headquarters, and internationally).
o Lead engagement with internal and external partners.
o Ensure adherence to JHU, CCP, and donor rules, regulations and policies
o Lead process to use data to inform strategies, work plans, and program direction.
- Put in place tools, processes, and structures to ensure excellence in programs, products, and deliverables to meet R-LEAD's program goals.
- Serve on the R-LEAD project management team along with other directors from the prime contractor.
People Management
- Design and manage effective team structure to meet R-LEADs KM goals.
- Supervise, coach, and mentor R-LEAD staff independently.
o Orient and train new staff members.
o Conduct regular (at least quarterly) check-ins and annual performance reviews with all supervisees.
o Identify and recommend appropriate professional development opportunities for supervisees.
o Ensure effective coaching, mentoring, and supervision of all staff on your team.
o Provide coaching and mentoring to promote continued growth and improvement among supervisees and other staff.
- Oversee and ensure the quality of work produced by KM R-LEAD staff or team. Develop processes, tools, and routines that ensure the quality of work.
- Operate with compliance to all JHU supervisory policies.
Technical Work
- Oversee high-level R-LEAD KM strategy design and implementation independently.
o Lead and build staff capacity in technical work, including strategies, toolkits, needs assessments, etc.
o Generate and envision new activities, ideas, frameworks, and strategies that further high-level goals.
o Use, develop, and model tools, processes, and best practices, including colleague review, to ensure the highest quality of all products and documents.
o Provide information to others about the quality of work. This includes raising concerns about errors, omissions, and poor-quality products to the staff member responsible for that work and requesting revision of low-quality work.
o In collaboration with the research and evaluation division, strategically plan for research, monitoring, and evaluation activities as appropriate.
o Develop strategies and frameworks for knowledge dissemination, keeping USAID staff and partners updated.
o Coordinate content curation across USAID to support decision-making, learning, and adaptive management.
o Establish feedback mechanisms (e.g., portfolio reviews) for continuous improvement.
o Ensure services and products address DEIA principles and are inclusive.
o Monitor and analyze knowledge management metrics and leverage new technologies like NLP to enhance processes.
- Supervise/oversee STTA of junior staff independently.
- Lead in-country STTA independently, including training, workshops, and program support.
- Demonstrate technical expertise in KM and strengthen capacity in others.
- Demonstrate high-level technical communication, including writing reports, creating and giving presentations, and facilitating trainings or group discussions.
- Ensure excellence in programs, products, and deliverables to meet program goals.
Professional and Organizational Growth
- Initiate and lead center-wide initiatives independently, including lunch and learns, communities of practice, etc.
- Lead proposal development (technical, budget, coordination) independently.
- Lead strategic partnership development independently.
- Lead donor cultivation independently.
- Contribute to global technical knowledge.
- Represent JHU and CCP at relevant external meetings and events, including delivering technical presentations, networking, relationship building, and initiating and following through with opportunities for collaboration.
- Professionally engage and collaborate with other programs across the Center.
- Recognize and address factors that might strategically impact a program or the Center and lead the implementation of solutions.
- Proactively seek opportunities to expand leadership and management skills by completing at least two JHU training courses related to job duties per year. For supervisors, this should include completing CCP HR's recommended core courses in the JHU Supervisory Training Program within two years of taking on official supervisory duties.
- Request or initiate quarterly check-in meetings with the supervisor to assess performance, strengths, and areas for improvement in your current position and establish professional goals.
- Identify opportunities for bringing new skills into the Center, including attending JHU courses, seminars, conferences, other external training, etc.
Minimum Qualifications
- Master's Degree in a related field.
- Six years related program management experience in public health or medicine.
- Additional education may substitute for required experience and additional related experience may substitute for required education, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's Degree in (M.A., MHS, MPH).
- At least 10 years of experience in knowledge management, with a minimum of 5 years in a senior KM role on international development programs.
- Expertise in KM tools and systems, strong facilitation and training skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to foster a learning culture.
- Demonstrated experience working in partnership with host governments, international donors, and implementing partners.
- International experience preferred.
- Foreign language abilities preferred.
- Experience with nutrition, food security, or agriculture projects, preferred.
Classified Title: Sr. Program Officer II
Job Posting Title (Working Title): R-LEAD Knowledge Management Director
Role/Level/Range: ACRP/04/MG
Starting Salary Range: $87,400 - $152,900 Annually (Commensurate with experience)
Employee group: Full Time
Schedule: Monday to Friday: 9 am – 5 pm
Exempt Status: Exempt
Location: Remote
Department name: Ctr for Communication Programs CCP
Personnel area: School of Public Health