Overview –
Counterpart International is recruiting applicants for the position of Chief of Party for an anticipated US Department of Agriculture (USDA) McGovern-Dole Food for Education project in Senegal.
The objective of the project is to reduce hunger and improve literacy and nutrition among school-age students, especially girls.
Position is contingent upon receipt of donor funding.
Job Profile:
Critical aspects of the role of Chief of Party encompass:
• Implementing a high-quality, results-oriented program focused increase literacy and quality education, reduce hunger and improve nutrition among primary school-aged students, with particular focus on girls in Senegal.
• The Chief of Party will oversee the school feeding program, literacy and teacher training activities.
• In addition S/he will work to strengthen local communities and government capacity to maintain a school feeding program.
Primary Responsibilities
The Chief of Party is responsible for overall project management, supervision, administration, and implementation of a high-quality program. This would include establishing and maintaining systems for project operations; ensuring that all agreement deadlines are met and targets are achieved; coordinating and maintaining working relationships with project stakeholders (including government and private industry stakeholders, sub grantees and/or subcontractors); leading collaborative initiatives with private companies; and overseeing the preparation and submission of technical and financial reports to US Department of Agriculture.
Additional Responsibilities include:
• Manage the Senegal Food for Education (FFE) project which includes developing and overseeing annual planning; timely, high quality implementation of activities; and monitoring and evaluation of project implementation and deliverables;
• Oversee project budget and ensure that all financial activity is carried out in accordance with annual budget allocations, Counterpart International policy, and donor guidelines;
• With support from field and home office staff, prepare and submit timely and accurate activity, financial, and procurement reports to US Department of Agriculture and Counterpart;
• Maintain close communication with US Department of Agriculture, reporting regularly for formal review sessions and providing ongoing, informal updates of program progress;
• Oversee literacy and teacher training activities in target school communities;
• Oversee the school feeding program;
• Provide technical assistance, support, and oversight to partner NGOs and CSOs;
• Provide technical assistance, support, and information to national and local government officials;
• Oversee the program’s sustainability strategy working with local government, school communities and teachers to maintain a school feeding program;
• Oversee the program’s sustainability strategy, including local capacity building and private sector engagement;
• Oversee monitoring and evaluation to measure impacts
• Hire and supervise local project staff and annually evaluate their performance;
• Represent the project and Counterpart to donors, local and national government entities, the media, local NGOs, and the local business community;
• Other duties as assigned
Experience –
• Experience in the Western Africa region is required. Preference will be given to candidates who have prior experience in
• Minimum of 10 years’ experience working on education programs, and/or nutrition, including a minimum of 4 years’ of demonstrated managerial and/or team leadership experience.
• Prior USDA experience preferred.
• Successful candidates will have strong management skills as well as relevant experience implementing education and literacy programs, preferably in Western Africa. Specific experience and specialization in the areas of literacy, teacher training, school feeding, addressing nutrition and health in schools, creating/maintaining partnerships with local government, communities and CSOs; additional experience addressing disparities and access to girls’ education is strongly desired. Significant project management experience and leadership is highly desired.
Skills
Fluency in English and French is required.
• Experience managing to the highest ethical standards international projects
• Demonstrated leadership and administrative skills in the management of complex, multi-activity programming, on time and on budget.
• Financial management, budget design, and budget management experience.
• Demonstrated success in motivating and supervising diverse teams of employees.
• Experience in strategic planning and implementation of strategic plans.
• Experience designing and implementing or overseeing monitoring and evaluation systems.
• Strong track record working with and/or partnering with a variety of individuals and organizations, including senior US and host country government officials, international agencies, private sector companies, and donor organizations.
• Demonstrated effective interpersonal skills, creative problem solving, conflict, and ethical management skills.
Knowledge:
• Knowledge or understanding of social, economic, and political context governing youth, education, and nutrition issues in developing countries; knowledge of Senegal and/or West Africa a plus.
• Experience providing support to formal and informal education programs, leadership trainings, and local organization capacity building.
• Knowledge of US Government regulations, policies, and procedures or those of an equivalently complex international government funding organization
Education: Master’s level degree required in international development, education, political science, or a relevant social science discipline.
Additional Skills:
• Fluency in English and French is required.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Computer literate in word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software (Microsoft).