Vacancies at U.S. Embassy to Kenya

Duties

Basic Function of the Position:

The Assistant Community Liaison Office Coordinator (Assistant CLO, A/CLO) supports the CLO Coordinator in fulfilling all Eight Areas of CLO Responsibility (family member employment; crisis management and security; education; communications and outreach; guidance and referral; welcoming, orientation, and departures; community liaison; and events planning), and in developing and managing post programs to enhance community morale.
The Assistant CLO works with the CLO to identify needs within the diverse post community and responds with effective programming, information and resources, and referrals. The incumbent works under the supervision of the CLO Coordinator and is expected to interact independently with CLO clients to develop CLO materials and programs, to formulate advocacy plans, and to generate ideas for community events. In the absence of a CLO Coordinator, the Assistant CLO will serve as back-up to fulfill all responsibilities.

Qualifications and Evaluations

Requirements:

EXPERIENCE:  Minimum three years of professional experience, including but not limited to administration, office management, customer service, program management, or public policy is required.

JOB KNOWLEDGE: 

Pre-hire (Operational):

• A good understanding of the Foreign Service community and the structure of the federal government. Knowledge of general principles of program management and program monitoring. Standard knowledge of Microsoft Office required.
• Knowledge of the Department of State's programs and policies pertaining to CLO Coordinator's Eight Areas of Responsibility (community liaison, crisis management, employment, education, guidance and referral, communications and outreach, welcoming/orientation/departures, and events planning).

Post-hire (Organizational):

• Reasonable understanding of all Mission sections at post, including familiarity with the diversity of post community and knowledge of programs that will benefit the general well-being of direct hires and family members under Chief of Mission. Knowledge of pertinent State Department and post regulations, programs, and policies related to the Community Liaison Office administration and CLO’s Eight Areas of Responsibility. Understanding of where to find foreign affairs guidelines, including the Foreign Affairs Manual, Foreign Affairs Handbook, Global Community Liaison Office (GTM/GCLO) resources and toolkits located on SharePoint and on websites.

Education Requirements:

• Completion of at least two years of college or university studies is required.

Evaluations:

• LANGUAGE: Level III (Good Working Knowledge) English Speaking/Reading/Writing required.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

Pre-hire Skills and Abilities

• Just like the CLO Coordinator, the Assistant CLO is often a front-line responder in addressing quality of life issue for individuals or the broader post community. The Assistant CLO exercises good judgment when advocating for diverse employees and family members and dealing with confidential matters.
• Must possess excellent interpersonal skills and ability to interact well with others, demonstrating good teamwork.
• Must be able to work in a high-stress, fast-paced work environment.
• Possess experience in data collection and report writing.

Post-hire Skills and Abilities

• Ability to communicate professionally with all mission U.S. Direct Hires (USDH), Eligible Family Members (EFMs), Members of Household) (MOHs), and local staff, including agency/section heads and Ambassador level. Assistant CLO Coordinator occasionally meets with the Ambassador or DCM to discuss complex and sensitive issues.
• Interpersonal skills that contribute to establishing contacts in local business sector, educational and service communities. Interact regularly with school administrators to discuss sensitive issues. Both internal and external work contacts require continuing efforts to establish effective personal contact, gain individual and group acceptance, ability to discuss sensitive issues.

Qualifications:

• All applicants under consideration will be required to pass security certifications.
• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO): The U.S. Mission provides equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, or sexual orientation.

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Job Overview

Reporting to Head of Acquisitions, incumbent receives, searches, and verifies accompanying financial documentation for all information materials in all formats for the Library of Congress (LOC) and approximately 30 academic institutional participants of the African Cooperative Acquisitions Program (AfriCAP). Creates Initial Bibliographic Cataloging (IBC) records for all new publications selected using the LOC Integrated Library System (ILS) according to Resource Description and Access (RDA) cataloging, as well as other cataloging metadata creation rules and LOC policies. Incumbent initiates the payment process by creating and updating Purchase Orders and holdings records, thereby authorizing fiscal processing and approval for payments.

Acquisitions, Receiving and Invoice Verification 50%

• The incumbent receives high volumes of incoming packages of publications in all formats, purchased or otherwise acquired from 30 countries in the Sub-Saharan African region covered by the LOC-Nairobi Office. Verifies contents of packages against cover letters, invoices and receipts, and packing or shipping lists from different suppliers. Determines the source and method of acquisitions (purchase, gift or exchange). Maintains records of incoming shipments for each Bibliographic Representative and country. Determines the categories of incoming information resources, i.e., serials, monographs, and non-book materials. Using specialized search knowledge and skills, searches ILS, CAPS (LOC-Nairobi’s finance and acquisitions system) as well as other Online Public Access Catalogs (OPACs) to verify LOC and AfriCAP participant holdings for all received materials. Attaches various forms or selection slips to the serial or monograph for appropriate processing by other Sections and passes them to the Library Acquisitions Specialists for selection and subject/profile assignment. 

Initial Descriptive Cataloging 35%

• Incumbent creates initial descriptive cataloging for all new publications approved for retention from the 30 Sub-Saharan countries covered by LOC-Nairobi Office, using the MARC format for new monographs in ILS and for new serials in OFORS. This requires knowledge of Resource Description & Access (RDA), LOC cataloging standards, MARC tags and record formats, and a good knowledge of ILS procedures and policies. The record created must be accurate and meet LOC standards, as it forms the basis for further cataloging by both LOC catalogers and others. Incumbent checks relevant databases for consistency of title, avoidance of conflicts, and for complete bibliographical control. Materials cataloged include books, maps and government documents, as well as sound recordings, video recordings, compact discs (sound and or digital data), microforms, and other non-print or digital formats. Materials cataloged may be in any languages used in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as the Indian Ocean Islands. Some may require working with language consultants or translation sheets sent by Bibliographic Representatives or vendors. Cataloging is done online using ILS and the proper template for the type of format. These records are accessible to libraries throughout the world through OCLC (an international cooperative cataloging utility). If a Program in Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) record is available in OCLC, the incumbent does IBC Copy Cataloging/Z-Processing. In this case, the incumbent adopts the PCC record and modifies the necessary MARC fields as required by LOC’s policies. Assigns the official Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) and the item’s barcode for each piece acquired for LOC. Enters the LCCN and barcode into the IBC in the correct MARC fields. 

Serials Check-in 15%

• Incumbent checks serials issues into ILS using specialized software knowledge and skills to locate ILS bibliographic record, holdings, and item record, and to determine whether the item in hand matches the item in ILS before updating the holdings/item record. Notes any changes/variations in the title, volume and numbering system of each serial system. Using specialized software and knowledge, incumbent updates and/or create holdings records summary statements in the ILS database for reference by LC Washington and other users as material awaits to be shipped to LOC Washington, thereby eliminating the possibility of acquiring duplicates. Update’s location data, enumeration, chronology and status in item records and re-sequences item records. Identifies errors and uses special validation techniques to reduce errors.

Note: This position description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by incumbent. Incumbent will be required to perform other duties as assigned by the agency

Qualifications and Evaluations

Requirements:

All selected candidates must be able to obtain and hold a:

• Security certificate; or Public trust security clearance. Education Requirements:
• University degree in Library or Information Science required.Evaluations:
• You will be evaluated against the qualifications and requirements in this vacancy announcement. 
• You may be asked to complete a pre-employment language or skills test.
• You must complete the application form and provide the required documents.  Your application must address all the position qualifications and requirements including education, experience, language, and any knowledge/skills/abilities listed.  If you fail to submit a complete application, then your application may be disqualified for this position. 

Qualifications:

Experience:

• Minimum of two years of work experience in a library setting, experience with online searching and cataloging required.English:   Level 4 - Fluent; speaking/reading/writing, may include the ability to translate.Kiswahili: Level 3 - Good working knowledge; speaking, reading & writing.
• Please address this language requirement in your ERA application. 

Job Knowledge:

• Knowledge of Machine-Readable Cataloguing (MARC) formats, and Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd ed. (AACR2) or Resource Description and Access (RDA) cataloging rules, and database management systems required. Good working knowledge of bibliographic formats and database searching.
• Please address this factor in your ERA application under Major Duties and Responsibilities.

Skills And Abilities:

• Strong computer skills including library management systems and MS Office required. Basic keyboarding skills required. Basic numerical skills required. Ability to organize work, place priorities and manage time effectively.