USPSC Human Rights Advisor

The Human Rights (HR) Division within USAID’s Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG Center) provides technical leadership and support on human rights to USAID field Missions and Washington Operating Units, other USG entities, and the broader DRG community. The HR Division bolsters the evidence base for successful human rights and development activities, facilitates trainings to build the capacity of Agency staff, and provides technical support to USAID Missions globally for designing and implementing programs and activities.

The central role of the HR Division is to help USAID Missions, in particular DRG technical offices and field officers, to identify rights-related challenges that impact the development trajectory in the country where they serve, specific entry points for assistance programs in those contexts, and evidence-based technical approaches for effectively addressing priority issues. The HR Division provides technical leadership on several specific Agency priorities (e.g. ending modern slavery or protecting the rights of marginalized communities, among others), but the broader need for the Division - and the explicit focus of this particular position - is to help USAID Missions identify and address the unique human rights and justice challenges facing their country contexts and assistance portfolios. These typically include the restriction of core civil and political rights that accompany increasing authoritarianism such as wholesale or partial curtailments on the freedoms of assembly and association, freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention, freedom of expression, or freedom of religion, among others. Additionally, barriers that restrict access to justice and threats to citizen security broadly or human rights defenders and justice advocates specifically are also overarching needs. Further, Missions are also increasingly interested in how USAID programming in other technical areas such as health, education, or economic growth can be delivered using “rights-based approaches” to help empower citizens and advance cultures of democracy and respect for the rule of law in countries where we serve.

The primary focus of the Human Rights Advisor will be to provide technical support to USAID Missions on the above-mentioned areas (countering restrictions to civil and political rights, expanding access to justice, addressing threats to physical security, and applying rights-based approaches). This technical assistance to Missions will be provided remotely from Washington or via short-term temporary duty (TDY) travel. The Advisor will provide that support directly via consultation (e.g. responding to Mission requests for assistance with assessments, designs, identification of best practices, training, etc.) or indirectly through the development and maintenance of field support resources such as the supplemental funds that Missions can access or pre-competed program mechanisms that help Missions establish respond to urgent needs. Under the direction of the HR Division Chief, and in partnership with other HR Division team members, the Advisor will work closely with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, including other DRG colleagues and divisions, USAID staff in other bureaus and operating units, interagency colleagues, and implementing partners.