Chief of Party, RFSA Somalia

Job Description

As member of the Building Resilient Communities in Somalia (BRCiS) Consortium, IRC in partnership with BRiCS Members, is seeking a Chief of Party (COP) for a USAID-funded 5-year project in Somalia to sustainably improve food and nutrition security and resilience among poor and chronically vulnerable households and communities in selected regions. BRiCS is seeking a Chief of Party (COP) for a USAID-funded 5-year project in Somalia to sustainably improve food and nutrition security and resilience among poor and chronically vulnerable households and communities in selected regions. The COP will be responsible for ensuring that the proposed project is implemented in accordance with the cooperative agreement, USAID regulations, and internationally recognized quality of assistance standards. The COP will work closely with the country program, regional, and HQ leadership to ensure that the project is implemented in accordance with BRICS policies and principles. The COP will lead an equitable partnership amongst its consortia members, modeling power sharing and information sharing to deliver the highest quality results. In addition, the COP will be the primary representational link with USAID staff and will liaise with the Mission to provide project updates, discuss strategies, obstacles, performance plans, and progress against targets. The COP will liaise with USAID agreement officers, technical support staff, partner organizations, outside contractors, and implementers of other USAID-funded initiatives as required. The COP will represent the project to all key stakeholders, government officials, and donors at coordination fora and other related meetings. The COP will ensure that project initiatives achieve the expected results of the RFSA. This position is contingent on the BRICS being awarded funding and is anticipated to begin in 2024.

Job Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic and technical leadership and direction, define and implement activities to achieve the greatest impact toward project goals and objectives;

• Develop, review, and monitor in coordination with key project staff, annual work and performance plans to ensure long-term and short-term priorities are on track;

• Oversee technical direction and project delivery to ensure activities are in line with the performance framework and meet all standard operational policies and procedures;

• Oversee the Deputy COP in managing partners and providing financial and operations support that optimizes resources through sound budgets, consistent financial tracking, and timely submission of reports to the donor;

• Report to USAID through both formal and informal debriefings, annual and semi-annual reports;

• Maintain active and cooperative relationships with all key stakeholders, including government officials, project partners, other implementing agencies, and related institutions;

• Represent the project and the organization in public and ensure distribution of information about project achievements and lesson learned;

• Oversee the overall risk management of the project from all aspects including fiduciary, implementation, and upholding principles of do no harm.

• Support project staff by creating and maintaining a work environment that promotes teamwork, trust, mutual respect, and empowers staff to take responsibility.

Requirements:

• Advanced degree (PhD or MA) from an accredited university in agribusiness, international development, or related field; equivalent experience may be substituted for graduate degree;

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in similar food security intervention activities, and experience managing complex international donor-funded development activities in challenging environments.

• Experience managing supply chains and title II commodities.

• Significant previous experience working in conflict or crisis situations;

• Experience working in the East Africa and/or Somalia on food security or nutrition programming, including previous RFSA or DFSA experience.

• Previous experience as COP of USAID-funded programs preferred;

• Strong negotiation skills and the ability to develop relations with local counterparts, donors, and other stakeholders;

• Demonstrated innovation and success in staff capacity-building and in participatory, flexible, and gender-sensitive programming and implementation;

• Strong communication skills, both oral and written;

• Fluency in English required; additional proficiency in local languages a strong plus.

BRiCS is a multi-donor, multi-programme consortium comprised of international and local NGOs implementing community-based resilience programmes in Somalia with a shared committed to high quality technical delivery, learning and innovation. The consortium includes eight NGO Members and more than ten local civil society partners with Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) as the lead agency. For the purposes of this application, only a subset of BRCiS Members are participating and candidates may be contacted by IRC and NRC on this requisition.

Qualifications