Save the Children invests in childhood – every day, in times of crisis and for our future. In the United States and around the world, we are dedicated to ensuring every child has the best chance for success. Our pioneering programs give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. Our advocacy efforts provide a voice for children who cannot speak for themselves. As the leading expert on children, we inspire and achieve lasting impact for millions of the world's most vulnerable girls and boys. By transforming children's lives now, we change the course of their future and ours.
We are currently recruiting for a Chief of Party (COP) DRC who will have overall responsibility for planning and coordination of all project-related activities and personnel in DRC for this Family Cohesion Program valued at $8.1M over five years (three years plus a two-year extension) which is currently starting its extension period. S/he promotes, develops and strengthens services and systems that support family cohesion and respond to the separation of children in DRC through collaboration with other stakeholders and implementation of best practices and information management as requested by the USAID. As COP, s/he is responsible to coordinate activities with other identified implementing agencies, ensuring that reports and activities are delivering on time and meet USAID standards.
Responsibilities
- Contribute to the development, review and revision of the project strategy under the technical supervision of the director of programmes. This will include participating in country child rights situational analysis, the development of technical strategies and work plans, monitoring programmatic, financial and administrative performance for the USAID project, supervising and ensuring that the field office follows standard project administrative and financial procedures, and maintaining effective communication with the USAID team;
- In conjunction with the SMT and Field Managers and under the technical supervision of the director of programmes, lead the Project Team in developing the Project’s overall annual plan according to Save the Children guidelines, and ensuring effective delivery of the Project and engage in development and presentation of proposals;
- Oversee the overall implementation of the different activities by Project Staff with direction and support from the Senior Management Team (SMT);
- Lead in compiling the quarterly Project’s progress towards accomplishment of the annual plans;
- In conjunction with the Security Manager and Field Managers, maintain an overview of the political and security context in the project location and how changes and developments may affect the project’s work and ensure that this is communicated regularly to the Senior Management Team through the Director of Operations;
- Liaise with partners to ensure coherence of the programme strategy and overall implementation;
- Work with the Field Managers and project teams to ensure smooth day-to-day running of field operations and ensure that project plans are clearly prioritized;
- Strategically identify capacity gaps and arrange for appropriate training of field office staff to adequately equip them with the skills and knowledge required to accomplish their responsibilities;
- Work closely with the Operations Director and Field Managers in project locations to ensure adequate support in Logistics, Procurement, Administration and Construction to deliver the project effectively at a high standard.
Requirements
- Masters degree in management, international development, administration or the field of development or other social sciences;
- Extensive practical senior management experience preferably in post conflict recovery and development programmes and in Sub-Saharan Africa;
- At least 3 years of experience of managing the project cycle, including assessments, project design, proposal and report writing, implementation, monitoring and evaluation;
- At least one experience as Chief of Party;
- Excellent planning, coordination, and reporting skills, with the ability to organise a substantial workload comprised of complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities;
- Highly developed research, analytical, monitoring and evaluation, and report-writing abilities;
- Experience of delivery in USAID program/project implementation - in complex environments;
- Strong, demonstrable, financial management skills, particularly in budgeting and reporting;
- Practical knowledge of current thematic issues and debates in developing countries, and of the major institutional donors;
- Experience in, and a commitment to, the implementation of robust Performance Management and staff capacity building and development;
- Strong communication, people management and interpersonal skills in English, with experience in leading multicultural, multi location, values driven teams;
- Willingness to work and travel in often difficult and insecure environments;
- Computer literacy, particularly in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint;
- Strong representational and communication skills;
- Commitment to Save the Children UK’s Child Safeguarding and other global policies, and to Save the Children values.
- Excellent understanding of child rights programming.
- Fluent in English and French
HOW TO APPLY:
Qualified candidates should apply on-line. Please visit our website at: www.savethechildren.org and select “Careers” and then “Search US Jobs.” Please choose location as “Democratic Republic of Congo.” and you can submit your CV directly through our on-line site. EOE
