Field Programs Division (FPD)
The Field Programs Division (FPD) advances OTI’s mission through the design, delivery, management, adaptation, and support of programs promoting peace, stability and democracy in complex contexts in response to foreign policy priorities. Responsible and accountable for program effectiveness, FPD comprises functions essential to day-to-day decision-making on OTI programs. FPD contributes to Agency and Bureau priorities through leadership and analysis on regional issues and non-program engagements with client/partner missions.
Creative Digital Team
The Creative Digital Team (CDT) enables effective programs by facilitating and supporting activity and program-level analysis, learning and adaptation. A pool of advisors and specialists, CDT members provide ongoing and discrete support in three key areas: data life cycle management (collection, use, analysis, and visualization) and geospatial data mapping; graphic and visual information design; and media and technology. With OTI field programs, CDT conceptualizes, designs, and implements demand-driven solutions in support of programs’ ongoing program performance management and adaptation.
Monitoring & Evaluation Team
The Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Team enables effective programs by facilitating and supporting analysis, learning, and adaptation. M&E Team members provide technical advice and support to country program teams in establishing and maintaining M&E systems, undertaking discrete M&E processes, and strengthening M&E feedback loops for integrating M&E learning into program design and adaptations. The M&E Team consists primarily of a group of specialists who provide ongoing tailored M&E support to field programs and OTI writ-large.
Program Performance Management Team
The Program Performance Management (PPM) Team enables effective programs by facilitating and supporting processes that enable program learning and adaptation. PPM Team members provide context-specific advice and support to country program teams on the full range of OTI’s PPM processes and Pause & Reflect practices.
Europe Team
The Europe Team advances OTI’s mission by designing, delivering, and adapting programs across the region. Currently, in Ukraine, OTI is supporting a resilient, democratic, and united Ukraine that overcomes Russia’s war of aggression, and in Moldova, OTI is ensuring that reform efforts withstand the destabilizing effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the associated crisis. Working with relevant stakeholders in Washington, the Europe Team provides strategic direction for the region within OTI, ensuring programs have strategies, input, and policy direction, as needed, from Washington.
Latin America & Caribbean Team
The Latin America & Caribbean (LAC) Team advances OTI’s mission by designing, delivering, and adapting programs across the region. Currently, in Colombia, OTI is supporting a sustainable and inclusive peace accord by strengthening engagement of government and regional actors in peace accord implementation and piloting approaches to challenge the social norms that perpetuate the conflict and affect rural security. In Central America, OTI is supporting local partners in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to increase community resilience in the face of significant poverty, violence, poor governance, corruption, and climate change, all of which contribute to irregular migration. Working with relevant stakeholders in Washington, the LAC Team provides strategic direction for the region within OTI, ensuring programs have strategies, input, and policy direction, as needed, from Washington.
Middle East & Asia Team
The Middle East & Asia Team advances OTI’s mission by designing, delivering, and adapting programs across the region. Currently, in Iraq, OTI is increasing stability by helping communities affected by ISIS recover, while working toward a more pluralistic and cohesive country capable of addressing threats to Iraq’s security and regional stability. In Libya, OTI is increasing local authorities’ responsiveness to citizens; creating opportunities for positive political participation; fostering peace dividends and national unity; and maintaining stability in strategic areas. Working with relevant stakeholders in Washington, the Middle East & Asia Team provides strategic direction for the region within OTI, ensuring programs have strategies, input, and policy direction, as needed, from Washington.
Southern & East Africa Team
The Southern & East Africa (SEA) Team advances OTI’s mission by designing, delivering, and adapting programs across the region. Currently, in Ethiopia, OTI is building an enabling environment for inclusive and peaceful national consensus processes by strengthening intra- and inter-group relationships and actions, advancing inclusive and constructive public discourse, and mitigating mis/disinformation and hate speech. In Sudan, OTI is creating space for a successful civilian-led democratic transition by ensuring efforts for an inclusive, civilian-led democratic transition are expanded, supporting access to timely, accurate information, and supporting politically engaged stakeholders to unify around core democratic values. Working with relevant stakeholders in Washington, the SEA Team provides strategic direction for the region within OTI, ensuring programs have strategies, input, and policy direction, as needed, from Washington.
West & Central Africa Team
The West & Central Africa (WCA) Team advances OTI’s mission by designing, delivering, and adapting programs across the region. Currently, in Niger, OTI is strengthening government action to resist the spread of insecurity and reinforce the links between and within government structures and communities. In Coastal West Africa, OTI is supporting local counterparts across Benin, Ghana, and Togo to withstand the increasing pressures of violent extremist organizations by addressing instability factors, including governance weaknesses, conflict, and weak social cohesion. Working with relevant stakeholders in Washington, the WCA Team provides strategic direction for the region within OTI, ensuring programs have strategies, input, and policy direction, as needed, from Washington.
Operations and Management Division (OMD)
The Operations and Management Division (OMD) provides OTI with all necessary capacities to maintain operability and enable effective programs through a stable backbone of business services supporting OTI staff. Focused on people and office functionality, OMD provides leadership and technical expertise by managing business processes and providing services that include workforce planning, talent management, contract management, operational field support, transportation and travel. OMD contributes to program effectiveness through consistent and transparent policy interpretation, and accurate and accessible guidance to empower decision-making, and mission-accountable support.
Workforce Planning Team (includes Recruitment & Contracts)
The Workforce Planning (WFP) Team attracts and hires diverse, skilled, and experienced staff for OTI. The WFP Team ensures timely identification of office-wide hiring needs and manages all pre-award and post-award personnel contracting actions in support of OTI’s work. WFP demonstrates a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility through its hiring practices while ensuring integrity of the hiring and procurement process. The Workforce Planning Team manages, and provides contract guidance and staffing options to individual staff, supervisors, and teams. The OTI Recruitment Team, as part of Workforce Planning, manages the recruitment and hiring process. The OTI Contracts Team, also a critical component of the WFP Team, prepares and facilitates OTI’s personnel contract actions in the Agency’s procurement systems in support of the Agency’s Contracting Officers. All components of OTI’s WFP Team provide the Office with expert technical guidance on Agency and Federal procurement policy and guidelines as they relate to US Personal Services Contract management in support of OTI’s unique, contingency staffing requirements.
Employee Relations Team
The Employee Relations (ER) team enables effective programs by supporting standardized, consistent personnel management practices ensuring results-oriented performance that advance OTI’s mission. Through these processes, ER enables OTI’s supervisors and employees to clearly articulate performance expectations with respect to the mission; provide timely, fair feedback; and recognize exemplary performance. Support and processes include onboarding and exiting for new and transitioning staff, as well as performance appraisals, grievances, performance issues, recognition and awards. ER also provides subject matter expertise for supervisor training.
Employee Services Team
The Employee Services (ES) Team enables effective programs by coordinating with Agency entities responsible for systems access, equipment and facilities management, and security and administrative and management services to enable effective personnel readiness. ES supports OTI staff in accessing employee entitlements and benefits. ES also helps with the interpretation of policy, applicability, and eligibility for employee benefits and entitlements for headquarters and field staff.
Travel Team
The Travel Team enables OTI to implement effective programs by providing critical travel policy expertise, planning, and support. Through consistent application of processes and procedures that are designed to maximize flexibility and speed, the Travel Team facilitates passport and visa issuance and executes travel requests and authorizations.
Business Operations
The Business Operations/Ops Bullpen team enables effective programs through the provision of expert advice and specialized program operations support to OTI staff. Areas of expertise include, but are not limited, to the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services (ICASS); Interagency Agreements; procurement; travel; employee benefits/entitlements; performance management; and all human capital and talent management functions. Composed of Senior Management Advisors and Program Operations Specialists with experience and expertise in USAID and Department of State operations, the team provides expert advisory services and performs discrete analyses in support of country program teams, particularly during startup or closeout of OTI programs, and manages embassy support services and Chief of Mission approvals for field presence. With the addition of the Senior Operations Advisors, the team executes special projects across the Office and provides expanded surge support to OMD teams to cover critical operational functions, while also providing coverage for staffing gaps.
Program Learning and Innovation (PLI) Division
The Program Learning and Innovation (PLI) Division contributes to OTI’s mission by providing a stable backbone of Office-wide services, including resources and tools, technical expertise, strategic planning and essential systems that enable OTI’s Programming Model and Office-wide strategic decision-making and program effectiveness. These functions include strategic resource allocation, financial management, procurement, award management, knowledge management, information technology/systems, communications, and training. By convening and managing cross-functional processes, PLI ensures resources and systems critical to OTI programs are informed by OTI and others’ dynamic practice of iterative program design in complexity.
Communications Team
The Communications (Comms) Team advances OTI’s mission by contributing to Bureau and Agency-led outreach efforts and communications in support of country programs and the wider office. Specifically, the Comms Team manages the OTI Communications Strategy, provides OTI teams with strategic guidance and support in drafting, editing and reviewing OTI program outreach products, provides strategic communications advice to OTI principals, and manages OTI’s digital presence. In addition, the Comms Team manages internal correspondence for multiple stakeholders, including liaising with the Agency’s Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs (LPA) in support of congressional briefings and external engagements.
Finance Team
The Finance Team enables effective programs by ensuring accurate financial analysis and management. The Finance Team provides analysis and reporting to inform strategic budgeting decisions, executes budget decisions and facilitates fiduciary accountability. Core functions include, but are not limited to: managing the commitment and obligation of funds, ensuring that staff contracts and OTI programs have the funds they need, account management and reconciliations, payments, audit management, internal control/risk assessments (FMFIA/ERM), and other Agency financial reporting.
Global Knowledge Management (GKM) Team
The Global Knowledge Management (GKM) Team enables effective programs through leading the capture, curation and dissemination of evidence, knowledge and resources. GKM maintains user-friendly accessible platforms (such as databases, google sites, and other content management tools) through which knowledge and learning from OTI’s global and others’ practice can be shared. The GKM team ensures that all OTI and Partner staff have access to resources essential to fulfilling their roles with respect to OTI’s mission, and that there is an ongoing definition and understanding of OTI’s programming model . GKM is critical for ensuring evidence and knowledge from OTI’s work in complexity informs CPS Bureau policy and practices.
Information Technology (IT) Team
The Information Technology (IT) Team enables effective programming by delivering agile IT systems and services integral to core processes and programs to OTI staff and partners in compliance with USAID policies. Specifically, the IT Team designs and develops IT Systems that support OTI’s field-focused programming, administers and maintains these systems, supports OTI IT users, safeguards privacy and ensures compliance with Agency and federal requirements.
Program Office
The Program Office advances OTI’s mission by enabling the programming model through strategic budgeting, procurement and award management. The Program Office manages processes and provides expert guidance, direction and analysis to ensure Office-wide resource/funding allocation is strategic, in particular ensuring that OTI’s programs are appropriately resourced and that the overall budget reflects Office priorities. Through regular, accurate budgeting and reporting, the PO ensures all managers - in the field and Washington - are cognizant of the resources. The PO manages procurement processes, and ensures that AOR/CORs have timely, accurate guidance for award management aligned with the principles of adaptive programming within USG regulations and USAID policies and procedures.
Training Team
The Training Team enables effective programming by ensuring OTI staff have access to essential training and learning opportunities to gain the knowledge and skills necessary for their role in achieving OTI’s mission. The team facilitates staff access to OTI training, as well as Agency-wide mandated and managed training and third-party provided training. Functions include the administration of OTI training, including leading curriculum review/development processes; participant selection/registration; and providing guidance and advice to OTI staff on training opportunities. The team provides technical expertise in the development, coordination, and delivery of training, organizes staff learning opportunities, and facilitates the learning of essential elements of OTI’s model with key USAID and implementing partners.