ThaiNGO

DAI is seeking candidates for a various positions for the anticipated USAID-funded Regional Innovation Mechanism project in Asia. The project will develop regional innovation mechanisms to facilitate the delivery of prizes and challenges, open innovation activities, support commercialization and entrepreneurship, and other activities to boost innovation ecosystems and support innovators in Asia across a wide range of development areas. The mechanism will serve as a means for the engagement and collaborative ideation of participants from higher education, civil society, and the private sector.

Broadly speaking, DAI is looking for a range of qualified candidates with work experience in the following areas:

Program design and implementation

User experience design

Open innovation programming

Prize and challenge design

Collaborative innovation  and co-creation

Network ecosystems

Business Acceleration and Incubation

Grants Management

Science and Technology

DAI seeks candidates for the following positions:

The Mission Engagement Manager will serve as a key liaison between the project, USAID/RDMA and participating USAID bilateral missions in the region. He/she will assist the project to develop training tools for the sourcing and scaling of innovation, organize and oversee short term technical experts in response to Mission needs on innovation, prizes and challenges, and market the Project to USAID/RDMA Mission staff. The Mission Engagement Manager must have at least three years of experience working on traditional development programs and in engaging with USAID Missions in project oversight.   He/she must be fluent in the USAID programming process and terminology.

The Communications Manager will lead the development and implementation of an agile global communications strategy that engages and catalyzes both external and internal audiences- non-traditional and traditional, business and non-profits, donors, USAID Missions and national governments. He/she must be able to develop, maintain, and utilize relationships with key external stakeholders, and have experience in developing communications strategies and materials for international development projects.

The Partner Mobilization Manager will provide leadership and support in identifying and mobilizing consultants, vendors, subcontractors, resource partners and long-term project staff.   He/She will map the field of experts and organizations to build a database of top performers that can be tapped quickly for project needs, and make sure that scopes of work for contractors are clear in the deliverables and timeframes and integrate performance based milestones where possible.

Science and Technology Advisor will work to enhance and promote the role of science engagement for confidence building in the region. He/she will implement and build a coordinated science and technology innovation strategy so that the project can connect research, development and discovery generated within the high- tech and private sectors.

Challenge and Prize Manager will engage civic innovators, entrepreneurs, and citizen scientists to help solve problems in the areas of technology, energy, public safety, health, cybersecurity, and infrastructure. He/she will organize competitions as a proven way to increase innovation for the public and private sectors. He/she will design open competitions to deliver cost-effective and efficient services and help advance USAID’s mission.

Entrepreneurship Acceleration Advisor will help enable first-stage entrepreneurs to propel their businesses to the next level. He/she will work to empower entrepreneurs with the tools they need to grow their business and provide them with the skills needed. He/she will work to help deliver the most optimal and technically vetted business strategy for the execution of emerging technologies.

Grants Manager will provide policy guidance and interpretation for staff as well as grantees, and analyze and evaluate grant applications, proposals, and awards to ensure adherence to grants management policies. He/she will ensure proper negotiation of the terms and conditions for grants and views and analyzes budget estimates for allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and consistency.

Qualifications:

Experience with open innovation, “design thinking”, collaborative ideation, co-creation

Excellent verbal, written and public speaking experience

Ability to interact with all levels of business executives, community groups, civic leaders etc

Proven ability to develop relationships with different partners, collaborators, and clients to ensure coordinated implementation of project activities and represent DAI

Experience working on or with USAID programs strongly preferred

Experience in Bangkok and Asia regional experience strongly preferred

BA or master’s with 5-8 years of relevant work experience

Interested and qualified candidates should e-mail CV and expression of interest to dairecruitasia@dai.com