Chief of Party – East Africa Trade and Investment Hub – Kenya Full Time

Background:

DAI – www.dai.com – a global development consulting firm implements the USAID-funded East Africa Trade and Investment Hub (the Hub) project. The objective of the Hub is to boost trade and investment with and within East Africa by deepening regional integration, increasing the competitiveness of select regional agricultural value chains, promoting two-way trade with the U.S. under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and facilitating investment and technology to drive trade growth intra-regionally and to global markets. The Hub is the U.S. Government’s flagship project under the presidential Trade Africa initiative.

Objectives and Duties:

The Chief of Party (COP) will assume ultimate responsibility for achieving program results and reporting to USAID. He/She will be the primary contact between the Hub, USAID, other U.S. government agencies involved in Trade Africa, Kenyan officials, subcontractors, grantees, other key stakeholders to develop and implement program activities to promote critical trade negotiations and investment opportunities within the East Africa region. The COP will be responsible for articulating the vision of the Hub, engaging the client and regional stakeholders, technical leadership and in-country management of the project in achieving project results. The COP will meet frequently with the technical and operational team leaders and managers to discuss achievements, plans, and options for meeting project challenges that arise during implementation. S/he will directly supervise the Component Leaders and two Deputy Chiefs of Party.

The COP will be responsible for, but not limited to, the following detailed tasks:

• Provide overall leadership and direction of the project and have full corporate authority to make decisions;
• Articulate the vision, integrated strategy and objective to the team, USAID partners, counterparts, and other key stakeholders to ensure a cohesive and integrated approach in achieving the Hub’s objectives;
• Serve as primary liaison between USAID, government counterparts and private sector and non-governmental stakeholders on program communications and technical implementation activities;
• Serve as primary liaison between field project staff, and DAI home office management, ensuring clear communications and consistent expectations across all parties;
• Manage, lead and oversee a team of expatriates and locals in achieving project results;
• Oversee activities that promote trade and investment in the East Africa region and selected countries, including Ethiopia, Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius, for relevant value chains such as garments and textiles;
• Oversee EATIH activities within the EAC member countries, including engagement with project stakeholders: USAID bilateral mission staff and other USG partners, EAC and other regional bodies, national government staff, business and trade associations, and private sector partners.
• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with other USAID projects, stakeholders identified above and international organizations to achieve program objectives;
• Oversee development of public-private partnerships and other cross-sectoral relationships to encourage trade and investment and ensure sustainability beyond the program’s lifecycle;
• Ensure adherence to the subcontracting and grants management plans and overall contract compliance, reporting, security policies, and program results;
• Develop annual work plans, quarterly reviews, and updates, including technical programs with the technical managers in collaboration with USAID to achieve targets and objectives;
• Oversee the participatory planning process to produce a strategic plan for project deliverables;
• Direct overall technical strategy for integrating the project’s technical components and ensuring that all work plan benchmarks are met;
• Ensure that the communications strategy engages USAID and all stakeholders with timely, relevant information about trade and investment activities and opportunities; widely disseminates EATIH’s role and activities in support of the Trade Africa Initiative, and supports programs by engaging key stakeholders that own and drive the initiatives.
• Coordinate closely with related regional programs, including TradeMark East Africa, Africa Lead, and relevant bilateral programs in EAC countries.
• Oversee implementation of Monitoring and Evaluation Plan.
• Provide timely reporting to USAID.

Qualifications:

• Minimum Master’s degree required, Ph. D. preferred in economics, international trade, trade policy, investment or finance, business administration, international relations or related area or equivalent is strongly preferred.
• At least ten years of relevant experience, eight of which shall be in developing countries preferably in East Africa, with experience in managing and implementing USAID projects and, preferably Feed the Future Programs.
• At least five years of managing and coordinating complex development programs in Africa
• Prior experience as a Chief of Party or significant management responsibilities for a program of comparable complexity.
• Demonstrated experience working with senior-level host-country counterparts and experience in overseeing complex development programs and/or working with governing institutions.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with institutional and private sector partners and stakeholders in a multi‐country setting.
• Previous management experience of large, multi-faceted, USAID-funded or other donor projects.
• Previous experience serving in an advisory capacity to high-level government officials on trade, economic policy, technology, or competitiveness.
• Demonstrated understanding of USAID requirements for M&E, knowledge management, and reporting.
• Ability to use the latest ICT technology and computer software program.

Excellent English writing, speaking, reading, with good communication skills Supervisory Responsibilities:

The COP will supervise the four Component Leads, DCOP, and Director of Communications and Knowledge Management.

Base of Operations:

Nairobi, Kenya