Chief of Party, McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program

Global Communities

Islamabad, Pakistan

Global Communities is seeking a Chief of Party (COP) for a five-year, $29 million USDA McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition (McGovern-Dole) project in Pakistan. The key objective of the McGovern-Dole Program is to reduce hunger and improve literacy and primary education, especially for girls. By providing school meals, teacher training and related support, McGovern-Dole projects help boost school enrollment and academic performance. At the same time, the program also focuses on improving children’s health and learning capacity before they enter school by offering nutrition programs for pregnant and nursing women, infants and pre-schoolers. For over 24 years Global Communities has been a trusted USDA McGovern-Dole implementing partner with active programs in Central America and Africa.

The COP will lead and oversee the overall implementation of the program, including technical strategy, financial and operational leadership, and human resources. The COP is responsible for overall program implementation, strategic vision, and outcome achievement. The COP provides an integrated vision for the program and will manage a team of senior staff to ensure the quality, timeliness, and efficiency of all products and activities generated under the project. The COP will be responsible for communications with USDA, for publicly representing the project, and for liaising with Government entities and other institutions/stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Provide program leadership, direction, and supervision, including oversight of staff, consultants, and partners, monitoring and evaluation, and program implementation;
• Ensure implementation of technical interventions, resulting in concrete and specific outcomes;
• Lead regular work plan, budget, and implementation reviews to facilitate the cost-effective and timely achievement of contract deliverables;
• Manage team members, including highly specialized technical staff, to deliver against the annual workplan;
• Ensure project activities maximize impact and are completed in compliance with Global Communities, USDA rules and regulations, local laws, and donor agreement requirements;
• Lead in adaptive management, achieving peak performance and facilitate innovation;
• Wherever possible, identify opportunities to engage partners and create growth, and connect actors to find mutual opportunity and benefit;
• Oversee the production and submission of timely activity and financial reports to USDA, effectively and accurately communicating project progress, achievements, challenges, and utilization of funds;
• Analyze the in-country and local context, assess the risks, and report findings while seeking advice from the Global Support Team (GST);
• Meet program targets, as well as fiscal integrity of the use of program funds;
• Ensure establishment and maintenance of systems for project operations;
• Act as primary point of contact with USDA, Government counterparts, and other critical in-country stakeholders;
• Provide input and quality control for written reports and oral presentations on the program;
• Represent Global Communities and overall program interests as necessary and appropriate;
• Build and maintain strong working relations with key internal and external stakeholders, beneficiaries, prime and subcontractors, suppliers, and partners. Provide effective and timely responses to inquiries and concerns;
• Foster good working relationships with other agencies working on similar or complimentary projects, maximizing visibility and learning;
• Be the principal point of contact with other agencies and individuals working on related projects and activities;
• Ensure that lessons learned are disseminated and applied;
• Liaise with Global Communities colleagues to coordinate the inputs of gender and inclusion, monitoring and evaluation and other advisory inputs to provide cross-cutting support;
• Undertakes all other duties and projects as may be assigned from time to time.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a discipline related to international development with a minimum of 10 years of experience managing multi-sectoral projects with increasing responsibilities and duties; or,
• Bachelor’s degree in a discipline related to international development with a minimum of 12 years of experience managing multi-sectoral projects with increasing responsibilities and duties;
• Minimum of five (5) years’ experience as Chief of Party, senior management position, or equivalent, leading implementation of large international donor programs; prior experience with USDA Food for Education or Education Development programs preferred;
• Proven experience in a leadership position involving the administration of similarly sized, international donor-supported programs with skills in strategic planning, management, supervision, and budgeting is strongly preferred. International NGO or for-profit contractor experience is preferred;
• Work experience in South Asia a plus; work experience In Pakistan preferred;
• High level of interpersonal, technical, and analytical skills, including a demonstrated ability to interact effectively and collaborate with a broad range of public and private sector counterparts and other key stakeholders;
• Demonstrated knowledge and application of relevant USDA policies and strategies;
• Ability to develop effective working relationships with government officials, civil society organizations, private sector actors, implementing partners, international donors, and other stakeholders;
• Proven ability to communicate a common vision among diverse partners and the ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams is desired;
• Evidence of effective communication skills, both oral and written, to fulfill the diverse technical and managerial requirements of the agreement is desired;
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills, influencing and marketing skills, presentation skills, and report writing skills required; Urdu language skills a plus;
• A passion for the mission and values of Global Communities.