The Knowledge Management Senior Specialist will be key personnel in developing and leading implementation of the IDEAL knowledge management strategy. The Implementer-Led Design, Evidence, Analysis and Learning (IDEAL) activity aims to enhance the food and nutrition security of vulnerable populations through improving the design, implementation, and overall effectiveness of development and emergency food security activities funded by USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP). The Knowledge Management Senior Specialist will have chief responsibility for two critical components of IDEAL’s outreach to implementing partners: the Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) Network webpage (www.fsnnetwork.org) and the organization of knowledge sharing meetings held in the US and abroad.
The Knowledge Management Senior Specialist will report technically to IDEAL’s Strategic Learning and Capacity Development Advisor, and work closely with the Knowledge Management and Communications Senior Specialist, and other key program staff to engage stakeholders in peer-to-peer collaborative learning. The Knowledge Management Senior Specialist will lead IDEAL’s in-person knowledge sharing events from conceptualization to implementation, coordinating the input from key stakeholders to drive content and managing the staffing and resources to ensure successful implementation. This position will also lead the updating and expansion of the FSN Network website to effectively facilitate real-time collaborative learning, facilitate peer-to-peer knowledge transfer, reach a broader audience, and address design and user challenges. As a leader within the Knowledge Management (KM) team, this individual will also contribute to the overall KM strategy of the IDEAL program and enable IDEAL team members and implementing partners (IPs) to better capture, generate, apply and share high quality information on food security practices.
Knowledge Management Technical Leadership and Support (50%)
- Under the guidance of the Strategic Learning and Capacity Development Advisor, manage the FSN Network webpage and develop multi-directional, dynamic and sustainable learning mechanisms to connect IPs and communities of practice (CoPs) and thematic groups (TGs) with tools, resources and insights needed for effective food security programming.
- Together with the KM and Communications Senior Specialist, lead the IDEAL team in developing a new content strategy for the FSN Network website to improve user friendliness and to provide clear and easy-to-find information about IDEAL and all associate awards, both existing and future. The strategy should include improvement of the search function through an expanded and more detailed taxonomy and tagging function.
- Develop methods for collecting new tools and expand the resource library to include more materials within relevant areas. Build content-sharing partnerships with relevant sources to link FSN Network members to a broad range of resources, tools, and virtual classes. Contribute to a sustainability strategy for the FSN Network.
- Actively participate in the larger knowledge management community in order to update the IDEAL team on knowledge management trends and learning, and raise awareness of IDEAL. In coordination with the Strategic Learning and Capacity Development Advisor, establish and strengthen linkages with other USAID-funded activities, including but not limited to USAID Advancing Nutrition, FEWSNET and other groups.
Knowledge Management Event Management and Coordination (40%)
- Identify and coordinate global, regional, and national opportunities for knowledge sharing workshops, events, or exchange.
- Lead IDEAL’s annual, periodic, and topic-specific knowledge sharing meetings and events, managing teams for planning technical content and logics, and contracting additional support services as needed.
- Ensure that knowledge sharing events utilize effective and innovative adult learning approaches. Provide facilitation as needed.
- Build capacity of IDEAL staff members to design and facilitate a range of learning events, using participatory and proven adult learning methods.
- Ensure IDEAL’s knowledge management activities contribute to IDEAL’s overall goals and FFP’s learning agenda.
Adaptive Management (10%)
- Identify and document promising practices and lessons learned from IDEAL knowledge sharing and knowledge management activities on an ongoing basis feeding into IDEAL’s M&E activities, as well as part of mid-term and final evaluations.
- Contribute to IPs’ efforts to establish capacity building as a discipline within their organizations, enabling increased food security capabilities to be more sustainable.
- Serve as a member of a collaborative IDEAL activity team, providing timely inputs to strategic planning, annual work planning, and performance monitoring, as well IDEAL activities and outputs, such as the small grants program or stakeholder consultations.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor Degree plus 5-7 years of experience
- Demonstrated success managing and facilitating medium- to large-scale face-to-face meetings and participatory learning events
- Experience in leading knowledge management and socialization activities for international development and emergency projects
- Proven project management skills, and ability to work with diverse and high skilled personnel in fast-paced team environment
- Experience leading or participating in a project to develop or overhaul a program’s website and responsibility for keeping content current and relevant
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
- Intermediate to advanced skills in Microsoft Office applications, primarily Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- Experience using webinar platforms, preferably Adobe Connect and Zoom
- Highly collaborative team player with willingness to pitch in as needed and ability to work on tight deadlines at times
- Willing and able to travel up to 25% of the time - primarily internationally.
- Familiarity with USAID and FFP programming
- Familiarity with food security and international relief and development programming and a desire to gain expertise in these areas
- Experience using Adobe Creative Cloud apps, primarily InDesign and Illustrator
- Experience managing and updating Drupal-based websites
- Aetna Medical and Dental insurance with a concierge service
- Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
- Vision Insurance
- Life insurance
- Employee Assistance Program
- Commuter Benefit Program
- Vacation and Sick leave
- Paid holidays
What makes us special!
- Generous Retirement Savings with matching company contributions of up to 8%
- Family Leave – 10 additional days of paid time off for you to use to care for your family members
- Additional Maternity and Paternity Leave – 30 days where parents can take additional paid leave (beyond short-term disability and FMLA) at the birth or adoption of a child during that critical first year!
- Critical Child Illness Leave – We hope you never have to use it, but we will provide an additional 30 days of paid leave per year should your dependent child be faced with a critical illness.
- Pet Insurance, Critical Illness Insurance, Identity Protection, Home, Auto and additional Life insurances
- Summer Fun Fridays – During the summer months, early release at 1:30 pm every other Friday!
- Volunteer Day – One paid day a year to support the causes that matter to you!
- Ergonomic Options – Every employee at our HQ offices has the option of a sitting/standing desk
- Leadership and Employee Development Training, including:
- Our remarkable in-house CORE, Senior Management Development, and Leadership Development Programs
- Language learning opportunities
- Continuous Improvement skill development programs
- Brown Bag information sharing sessions
- Work hard/Play hard! We make sure there’s ample opportunity for fun, engagement, and celebration while you work, such as networking events, March Madness, World Cup, Dodgeball Tournaments, Take Your Child to Work Day, Founder’s Day, and our annual Day of Service