CARE seeks a Chief of Party (COP) for the anticipated USAID-funded Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) in Somalia to improve and sustain the food and nutrition security of vulnerable populations. This Activity will work at the individual, household, community, and institutional levels to address the underlying causes of food insecurity and malnutrition and strengthen transformative opportunities. The Activity is intended to strengthen resilience in populations vulnerable to acute, chronic hunger, and malnutrition; recurrent shocks, stresses, and crises; and to reduce the need for ongoing or future emergency food assistance.

The COP will be responsible for leadership, management, and technical direction of staff and consultants, project activities such as implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation, and partner coordination. They will serve as key liaison with USAID, government counterparts, and local partners. The COP will manage and supervise the work of program personnel and subcontractors/subgrantees and ensure that all program assistance is technically sound and appropriate. The COP also oversees program work planning, performance management, and strategic communication.

This position is pending donor approval and funding.

Location: Mogadishu, Somalia. This is an unaccompanied post location.

Specific duties and responsibilities:

• Lead the project, providing vision, direction, and technical guidance. Supervise staff and consultants to fulfill project strategic goals and objectives.
• Oversee completion of all technical requirements, including project results and deliverables, in accordance with the project work plan.
• Build and maintain productive working relationships with USAID, project partners, and key stakeholders. Serve as the primary liaison among all project stakeholders.
• Manage operational, financial, and administrative priorities, and direct planning and budgeting processes. Create or adapt management systems in line with CARE’s standard operating procedures, ensuring adherence to USAID policies and regulations, and relevant national policies and laws.
• Build partnerships among international-, national- and community-level stakeholders.
• Design and oversee an annual project cycle in accordance with USAID’s annual planning cycles. Ensure documentation and dissemination of findings, impact, innovations, and lessons learned, and utilize a collaborative and adaptive learning approach to the project cycle.
• Establish and maintain formal and informal communication mechanisms with government, community partners and other stakeholders.
• Remain current with similar or related programs and best practices in-country and internationally, ensuring CARE staff apply these consistently.
• With staff and partners, translate project goals and objectives into implementable strategies and plans.
• Oversee M&E function, including preparation of quarterly and annual project activity reports, M&E reports, and other deliverables, as specified in the agreement.
• Supervise and mentor senior staff, delegating responsibilities as appropriate. Clearly communicate expectations for staff performance.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Agriculture, Economics, or international development preferred. Experience in the fields of food security, livelihoods, rural development, and related work also relevant.
• A minimum of 12 years of progressively responsible senior experience in international development as Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, or senior management experience on large ($30M+) food security, development, or humanitarian relief projects.
• Deep technical experience with and understanding of USAID resilience food and nutrition programming.
• Experience managing USAID cooperative agreements and/or contracts.
• At least 3 years’ experience working in/on fragile or post-conflict states, Somalia experience strongly preferred.
• Experience managing complex activities involving coordination with multiple program partner institutions.
• Demonstrated commitment to principles of Gender Equity, Diversity, Belonging and Inclusion.
• Demonstrated commitment to Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Harassment (PSEAH).
• Experience managing required programmatic and financial reporting requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with host governments, donors, other donor-funded projects and stakeholders, local organizations, and partners.
• Strong oral and written communication skills; excellent demonstrated interpersonal and negotiation skills.
• Experience recruiting, developing, and managing staff and teams.
• Fluency in English required; Somali language skills strongly preferred.

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