Introduction

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is an integrated set of activities funded by the United States Government (USG) and is intended to provide timely, accurate, evidence-based, and transparent food insecurity early warning information and analysis. Created in 1985 in response to famines in East and West Africa, FEWS NET provides global coverage of acute food insecurity. FEWS NET’s work is implemented across several mechanisms by a team of partners that includes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the University of California-Santa Barbara’s Climate Hazards Center (UCSB-CHC), University of Maryland’s Department of Geographical Sciences, American Institutes for Research (AIR), and Chemonics International (Chemonics). Chemonics implements FEWS NET’s Decision Support Team (DST), which is charged with providing integrated monitoring and analyses of current and forecast acute food insecurity in countries worldwide to support the United States Government’s (USG) policy and programmatic decisions. The DST operates through a Washington-based technical office, regional FEWS NET offices, and national staff presence in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.

FEWS NET’s objective is to produce timely, evidence-based decision support to enable the efficient allocation of humanitarian assistance on the basis of need.

Based on an in-depth understanding of local livelihoods, FEWS NET monitors information and data on factors that affect food security, such as conflict, weather and agroclimatology, crops, pasture, markets and trade, and nutrition. The FEWS NET DST produces regular reports, including Food Security Outlooks and Outlook Updates, emergency alerts, market and price updates, and targeted analyses. FEWS NET makes reports available at www.fews.net and distributes them globally to governments, relief agencies, and other organizations engaged in humanitarian response and development programs.

The eighth phase of FEWS NET began in 2024. The work of the FEWS NET DST relies on close collaboration with international, regional, and national partners on food security-related data and information gathering and analysis. Major activities include joint monitoring and assessments, data sharing and exchanges, collaborative analysis and reporting, and support of local and regional food security networks.

Position Description

The FEWS NET DST maintains virtual and physical field offices in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Five regional offices coordinate and oversee the technical and administrative management of over 40 country offices. Each country office falls into one of three tiers, depending on the complexity of the context and operating environment, with Tier 1 countries requiring a larger staffing footprint, and Tier 3 countries requiring a smaller staffing footprint. There are four main technical positions at the country level: Country Technical Lead (CTL); Country Technical Manager (CTM); and Country Technical Senior Specialist for Food Security (CTSS-FS); and Country Technical Specialist for Conflict (CTSS-C). The CTL serves as the technical analysis leader within the country across all three tiers. Tier 1 and 2 countries have a CTL, CTM, and may have one or more CTSS. The CTM, under the CTL’s direction and guidance, is responsible for the following activities, in collaboration with other technical staff in the country:

• Efficient, focused acute food insecurity monitoring, data collection, assessment, and early warning analysis

• Effective communication of early warning analysis to the USG, partners and decision-makers through high-quality reports and participation in briefings and formal and informal meetings

• Close collaboration with key partners, such as host government ministries, UN agencies, and international and local NGOs, among others

• Project administration and management at the national level, as delegated by the CTL

• Regular participation in IPC/CH analyses

• Regular collection of data and field information, as required, and upload to the FEWS NET Data Warehouse (FDW)

• Coordination and effective collaboration with other FEWS NET mechanisms

Responsibilities

The main responsibilities of the Madagascar CTM include, but are not limited to:

• At the direction of the CTL, fulfilment of designated monthly reporting requirements, including providing critical inputs to and/or writing portions, or all of, the Food Security Outlooks (FSOs), FSO Updates, Price Watch, and key messages; contributing to Food Assistance Outlook Brief reports; and providing briefings to the USG and other partners.

• Under the guidance of the CTL, the CTM will ensure the integrated food security analyses (FSOs, FSOUs, FAOB input) classify and communicate the severity of acute food insecurity in line with the globally recognized Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) scale. Where IPC compatibility is not possible, the CTM will support the CTL to ensure the analyses remain globally comparable.

• Supporting the CTL in meeting the USG’s expectations on timely delivery of decision support products, which include, but are not limited to: delivery of monthly reporting for all presence countries no later than 7 days after the last day of the reporting month; and responding to urgent questions on acute food insecurity within one day; providing briefings within one week of request

• Maintaining a knowledge base comprised of, at a minimum, livelihood zone profiles, commodity trade flow maps, sub-national seasonal monitoring calendars, commodity price data, nutrition data, security monitoring, conflict data, migration, remittances, labor, humanitarian food assistance, and other technical data covering rainfall, agricultural production, population, etc., in collaboration with other FEWS NET 8 implementing partners, as applicable

• Maintaining and transferring relevant national technical databases built from primary and secondary data sources, from national and sub-national partners, and through input entered into the FEWS NET Data Warehouse

• Developing and updating national seasonal monitoring plans and participating in national acute food insecurity monitoring, as applicable

• Providing proactive, high quality and effective early warning of acute threats to food security in the country and supporting efforts to mitigate acute food insecurity and prevent food crises through effective communication of actionable food security analysis

• Supporting the CTL in developing annual workplans that ensure that the in-country team is capacitated to carry out high-quality early warning analysis that produces IPC-compatible analyses

• As part of ensuring high quality decision support, and under the direction of the CTL, the CTM will support collaboration with Regional Technical Senior Specialists (RTSSs) to improve the integration of thematic technical areas (e.g., conflict, markets and trade, livelihoods, nutrition and agroclimatology) into regular and ad hoc decision support (including briefings) and facilitate interaction among regional and country office technical staff to further integrate sub-national and national technical and thematic analyses into decision support

• Collaborating with national and national partners in food security monitoring and analysis in the country, including through implementation of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) or Cadre Harmonisé (CH) protocols

• Developing and maintaining strong collaborative national relations, both formal and informal, with the USG, UN agency representatives, government ministry staff, and key international, regional, and national NGO counterparts to facilitate technical exchanges, promote consensus-building, work to resolve technical disagreements, and facilitate joint, coordinated actions to mitigate food insecurity

• Supporting the project office staff to collect, archive, analyze, and share food security data and information and to undertake network development activities

• Participating in all required meetings

• Supporting the organization of project documentation and files for the country

• Conducting regular independent and joint field assessments of food security conditions in areas of most concern in the country

• Contributing to the development of other FEWS NET DST information products required by the regional office or the Washington D.C.-based technical team

• Reviewing information on the relevant country page of the FEWS NET website to ensure that is current and accurate

• Representing the FEWS NET DST at regular and ad hoc formal and informal meetings within the food security network for the country, as delegated by the CTL

• At the direction of the CTL, supporting the supervision, mentoring, and professional development and performance of the CTSSs, as well administrative staff in the country office

Qualifications

• Proficiency in written and spoken English is required; other local language skills relevant to the country are desirable.

• Bachelor’s degree in a discipline relevant to the work of FEWS NET, such as economics, agricultural economics, agronomy, nutrition, climatology, anthropology, or social geography is required; advanced university degree (Master’s degree or higher) is desirable.

• At least six years of relevant experience (with PhD), ten years of relevant experience (with Master’s degree), or 15 years of relevant experience (with Bachelor’s degree) is required. Relevant experience includes working on food security information systems, food security analysis, early warning, or other related fields; experience working with UN agencies and/or NGOs is desirable.

• Excellent planning, organizational, analytical, and report writing skills.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with others at all levels, including an ability to effectively liaise with supervisors, host governments, UN, NGO, and other relevant stakeholders and an ability to coordinate effectively with remote colleagues.

• Excellent computer skills, GIS applications. and mapping skills are desirable.

Location and Reporting

The CTM will be based in Antananarivo, Madagascar and is directly supervised by the Country Technical Lead (CTL). For technical activities, the CTM collaborates and coordinates with the in-country and regional technical senior specialists and relevant home office-based food security analysts, under the guidance of the CTL. For office administration and financial management, the CTM collaborates with the country-level or regional office administration and finance staff and the relevant Washington D.C.-based Project Management Units, under the direction of the CTL. The CTM will be required to travel regularly within the country, and some regional and international travel may also be required, security permitting.

How to apply

Application Instructions

Please apply using the following link by October 16, 2025 at 11:59 PM ET. No telephone inquiries, please. Chemonics will contact short-listed candidates.Chemonics is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factors.
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