Practice Area Leader, Rule of Law and Security Sector Strengthening

Management Systems International (MSI), a Tetra Tech Company, is a Washington, D.C. metro area management consultancy with a 40-year history of delivering results for our clients. Our expertise is in the fields of monitoring and evaluation; democracy and governance; peace and stability; rule of law and accountability; education; gender and inclusion; strategic communications; and leadership and organizational development. MSI has implemented projects in 90 countries around the world such as Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria and Ukraine, and works domestically. We support clients ranging from the U.S. Government (e.g., the U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Departments of State and Labor, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation) to large bilateral and multilateral donors (e.g., the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program). We also work with national and local governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), think tanks, foundations and universities. For more information, please visit our website at www.msiworldwide.com.

**Please note: U.S. work authorization is required for this position**

Position Summary:

The Practice Area Leader (PAL) for Rule of Law and Security Sector Strengthening will work in MSI’s Democracy, Governance and Conflict (DGC) sector and report to the Senior Vice President of Programs, DGC. The PAL will work collaboratively with the sector’s Practice Area Leaders, Senior Technical Directors, Technical Directors, and Technical Managers. The PAL will also liaise with MSI’s Operations Division, Business Development Unit (BDU), and other practice areas.

The PAL will be responsible for 1) overseeing the technical work of field implementation projects and supporting effective operations; 2) ensuring the practice area is innovative and is associated with technical excellence; and 3) driving market and business development. The PAL will also hire and oversee staff who are “home-based” in the Practice Area and support their assignments, work quality and professional development. The successful candidate should have strong leadership skills, technical knowledge of and work experience in the rule of law and security sector reform field, strong analytical skills, proven ability to develop and manage a growth strategy, experience leading and/or contributing significantly to business development, and excellent written and oral communication skills. The PAL should be result oriented and able to work effectively in a team environment. The PAL will have an ardent desire to learn and explore new implementation approaches and research and learning techniques. The PAL must be based in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan (DMV) area and be able to travel to international locations when needed.

Responsibilities:

Overall Work Planning and Execution

• Oversee the development and execution of an annual practice area workplan, in partnership with the Senior Vice President of Programs, DGC.
• Coordinate with other relevant practice areas in developing the plan and in implementation of shared objectives and tasks.
• Coordinate the Practice Area to ensure high staff performance and satisfaction and hold regular meetings with an agenda and objectives for the Practice Area members and take the lead in moving the group forward.
• Ensure the technical and financial health of programs under the Practice Area portfolio.
• Keep the Senior Vice President of Programs, DGC abreast of progress, problems, and other important developments.

Business Development

• Develop Practice Area pursuit plans to effectively position and prepare MSI for anticipated solicitations and/or new areas of growth and new clients.
• Serve in leadership positions on bid solicitations including as lead technical writer and/or “honcho” (bid coordinator) as needed.
• Ensure effective coordination with MSI’s Business Development Unit in the lead up to and during the proposal preparation process.
• Support field-based reconnaissance, recruitment, and research in support of proposal preparation in the subject country, as needed.
• Provide technical expertise and oversight in the design, development, and drafting of proposals.
• Provide mentorship, management, and oversight to technical staff in designated proposal development tasks and assignments.
• Ensure staffing and resources are adequate and performance is strong by all technical staff on Practice Area bid teams.
• Support staff competency development in business development.

Thought Leadership

• Keep abreast of technical developments in the rule of law and security sector strengthening field.
• Support staff development of new tools and approaches, innovations, etc. and make sure these are produced in usable format and shared.
• Gather market intelligence and apply it in practice area planning.
• Support staff in extracting learning from existing projects in the Practice Area and ensure learning is shared broadly across the practice area and its projects.
• Market capabilities and experience at conferences, seminars, presentations and in publications and market directly to potential clients.

Client Engagement

• Form relationships with potential and actual clients, partners, and host country counterparts.
• Seek and develop new clients for work in the practice area.

Portfolio Execution and Oversight

• Provide direct support to select projects in alignment with other PAL tasks and responsibilities.
• Ensure projects are meeting deliverables and performing high quality work, including superior technical and financial performance.
• Assist with problem solving on projects as needed.
• Conduct routine health checks to stay abreast of project progress and performance and conduct client check-ins at designated intervals.

Team Management

• Support the professional development of staff.
• Coordinate to share staff resources with other relevant Practice Areas as needed.
• Support recruitment and hiring of new staff as needed.
• Conduct performance assessments at periodic intervals for staff and supply feedback on performance.