Dr. Jay Singh is a Senior Advisor in the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS) and a career member of the Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired from the service in July 2025 and formed The Development Impact Global Group LLC. Since the formation of his company in July 2025 he jumped back into international affairs by supporting US companies to invest overseas as well as lead a successful relief mission to respond to Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica in 2025 that was recognized by the country’s leadership.
Dr. Singh has managed and led complex missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mali, Afghanistan, Djibouti, South Sudan, Azerbaijan and Jamaica in diverse sectors including energy, agriculture, health, conflict and stability operations. More recently, he served as one of the principals of a unique interagency effort related to protecting and securing supply chains for critical minerals, early pharmaceuticals, agricultural inputs, construction materials and computer chips that are crucial for US and allies’ security. The initiative collaborated with Canada, UK, Australia, France, South Korea, Israel and India on securing these supply chains.
Prior to his last assignment as the USAID Country Representative to Jamaica he was the longest serving USAID/Azerbaijan Mission Director in Baku from July 2018 to July 2022. In Baku, in close collaboration with the U.S. Ambassador, he significantly enhanced an enduring partnership with Azerbaijan. He pioneered a unique private sector and diplomatic engagement to focus on expanding US-Azerbaijan trade ties, increasing agricultural output and trade, supporting market-based energy legislation while making women’s economic empowerment a key focus of the Mission’s work.
Before arriving in Baku, he served in a senior leadership position as the Director of USAID’s Office of Development Cooperation in the Bureau of Policy, Planning and Learning (PPL/DC). He managed strategically important relationships with bilateral and multilateral development partners as well as managed USAID’s participation in high-profile international conferences including the United Nations General Assembly and World Bank annual meetings, and, conducted development dialogues with partners such as the United Kingdom, Japan, the European Union, and China as well as emerging donors to advance USG priorities. Jay oversaw Foreign Service Development Counselors at the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the European Union, the World Bank and in China and Japan. While serving in PPL/DC he co-authored the 2018-2022 State-USAID Joint Strategic Plan (JSP).
In August 2016, he returned from Bamako, Mali as the Acting USAID Mission Director where he also oversaw the Mission’s Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) portfolio. Upon his return, he was assigned to the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (CFBCI) to be the acting Director during the political transition. The CFBCI is a White House priority and reports directly to the Administrator of USAID. He also served in Bosnia-Herzegovina as the Director of the Democracy Office and lead for CVE and counter-corruption. Preceding Sarajevo, he was the Development Counselor in Embassy Tokyo where he managed global cooperation and coordination between the U.S. and Japan in development and humanitarian assistance programs and served as the principal adviser to the U.S. Ambassador on these issues. He worked with Japanese authorities responsible for foreign development assistance to explore avenues for cooperation between the U.S. and Japan. During his time in Japan, he was able to leverage $1.5 billion from Japan for USG priorities in the Middle East, Somalia and Global Health. He also supported civil military and private public partnerships that enhanced US Japan relationships. While serving in Tokyo in 2013, he was called on to support the U.S. Special Envoy to Somalia based in Nairobi to develop an engagement strategy for the new government. Later that year he was asked to serve as acting Mission Director in Mali where he co-authored a postcoup and CVE strategy for the Mission in coordination with the embassy in Bamako. He is a recipient of the Superior Honor Award.
Jay served as first the Office Director of the Office of Transition and Conflict Mitigation (OTCM) for the newly independent Republic of South Sudan at USAID/South Sudan from 2011-12. As OTCM Director, he provided strategic and technical leadership to USAID's $40 Million+/year transition and conflict mitigation program, comprising several high-profile activities. Jay was a member of the Mission's Senior Management Team and advised the U.S. Ambassador on conflict and stability issues. He regularly engaged with high levels of the Government of South Sudan (up to the level of minister), the UN, donors and US Congress.
In Afghanistan he served as a senior member of an interagency counter-insurgency team. He was instrumental in developing a major District Delivery Program in Afghanistan, which was an Afghan led and USG supported governance program. Preceding Afghanistan, he was the first Senior Development Advisor to the US Commander, Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, Djibouti. He enhanced cooperation and coordination among US regional and bilateral missions, and the development and humanitarian communities and CJTF HOA on development and humanitarian activities. For his service at CJTF-HOA, he was awarded the Joint Services Commendation Medal, one of the first civilians at the task force to be given this award. At USAID's Regional Mission in Nairobi, he worked on regional issues related to conflict sensitive development, mitigating extremism, regularizing trade in minerals that fuel conflicts (such as conflict diamonds) in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region of Central Africa. He was instrumental in setting up the interagency East Africa Counterterrorism Initiative. Prior to Nairobi, he was a conflict advisor/specialist in the Conflict Management and Mitigation Office in USAID's Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance where he focused on conflicts related to natural resources. In his positions at USAID, Jay spearheaded a number of interagency strategies related to conflict, natural resources and combating terrorism in coordination with Departments of Defense and State.
Jay has a broad international affairs and development experience, which includes the World Bank, IFC, US Institute for Peace, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Nuclear Nonproliferation Project). He has a doctorate from the University of Washington, Seattle and a Master’s in Business Administration and a second Master’s in international diplomacy.