Chief of Party

Call for Applications

Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA) under Ambassador’s Fund Grants Program (AFGP) is soliciting applications from qualified candidates. Interested candidates should submit their applications online by visiting http://tdea.pk/careers/

The last date for submitting application is February26, 2019.

Position:                                             Chief of Party

Reports to:                                         Senior Director Programs

No. of Positions:                                1

Salary Range:                                     As per TDEA policy

Expected Date of Joining:                ASAP

Duration of Contact:                         1 year, with potential extension

Location:                                             Islamabad, with significant required travel within Pakistan.

Project:                                                Ambassador's Fund Grant Program (hereinafter AFGP or the Program)

About the Employer: The Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA), established in 2008, is a nonprofit Pakistani development organization committed to strengthening public accountabilities by enhancing capability of citizens’ associations to work for civil liberties, improved governance, democracy and peace in Pakistan. TDEA seeks an experienced Chief of Party (COP) for its on-going multi-year USAID Ambassador’s Fund Grant Program (AFGP).

Description of the Program: The program aims to work with communities to empower vulnerable populations, encourage social entrepreneurship, develop small-scale energy solutions, promote culture and the arts, and build resilience along with creating relationships with nontraditional partners to implement projects that foster sustainable grassroots development. The program funds local development initiatives that benefit vulnerable populations including women, persons with disabilities, religious and ethnic minorities, transgender people, poor and other disenfranchised groups through community-based organizations.

The expectation from the role: The COP will be responsible for providing overall vision, leadership, and guidance for the program and must have at least 10 years of demonstrated experience in managing complex programs as well as a minimum of a master’s degree.

The COP is expected to have leadership qualities, depth and breadth of technical expertise and experience of AFGP thematic areas, a solid professional reputation, management experience, interpersonal skills and excellent written and oral presentation skills to fulfill the managerial requirements of the program. The candidate must also have a proven track record of working effectively with diverse groups of CSOs and exhibit effective personnel management, coordination, and decision-making skills along with an ability to troubleshoot.

The COP should have thorough knowledge of USAID procedures and policies, agreement compliance, financial planning and management, procurement, sub-award/sub-contract management, and other management support areas/functions, including the ability to manage multidisciplinary teams. Experience and familiarity with the political, economic, social, and cultural context of Pakistan is required. Experience of managing USAID-funded grant-making programs/projects of similar scale will add value to the candidature.

Summary of job responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of contact with USAID for procedural and substantive matters, and be responsible for quality control of the technical aspects of performance, procurement, personnel, reporting; effective and efficient budget management and execution; and other management-related requirements of the contract;
• Provide technical leadership for program activities including conceptualizing, designing, implementing and monitoring innovative, cutting-edge programming activities, capacity-building of the grantee organizations;
• Providing advice and information to USAID/Pakistan, Deputy COP (DCOP), and other key personnel to ensure activities, support program theories and assumptions;
• Build and manage relationships with partners and USAID counterparts, including meeting and consulting regularly with USAID regarding the program’s performance and direction;
• Making key decisions and solving problems in short time frames while ensuring operational and program integrity;
• Overall management of the relationship with USAID/Pakistan as the Contractor's (TDEA's) designated point of contact and in close collaboration with the TDEA’s management;
• Under the guidance of USAID/Pakistan's Contracting Office Representative (COR), overseeing the design and implementation of the assessment system at the activity level and ensuring that all activities are monitored and assessed in accordance with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Plan as approved by USAID/Pakistan;
• Overall responsibility for the management and oversight of systems (including sub-contractor(s), employees, etc.) that support the security of staff, as well as security of physical and information items related to the program;
• Travel within Pakistan, whenever required, to ensure effective management and oversight of programming and staff.

Required qualifications

• Minimum of a master’s degree in international development, governance and civil society, public policy, social science, or a related field of study;
• Minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in international development, with at least five years of senior managerial-level experience;
• Demonstrated capabilities in high-level strategic visioning and leadership, and experience working effectively with government officials, civil society, local, and national government authorities and with USAID and/or other development partners and donors;
• Demonstrated leadership/managerial, technical, and administrative skills in program management, including effectively managing budgets/program finances and personnel, motivating and supervising team efforts, and achieving success in complex activities;
• Demonstrated experience of working across ethnic, religious, and language groups, as well as marginalized groups such as women, youth, and persons with disabilities;
• Proven effectiveness in relationships with counterparts, partners, and clients, and strong interpersonal and organizational skills;
• Previous experience managing US Government-funded programs of similar scale and scope, including in particular USAID programs, will be highly preferred;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and Urdu.

Important note: Selection of final applicant is subject to USAID approval. This job description summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. This document should not be construed in any way to represent a contract of employment. Management reserves the right to review and revise this document at any time.

 TDEA is an equal opportunity employer –women, minorities, physically less abled /wheelchair users, visually impaired, and/or persons with any other disabilities who otherwise qualify for the position are encouraged to apply.  TDEA provides accessible work environment to its physically less abled employees through reasonable accommodations without compromising on the quality of work.

Only shortlisted candidates will be called for Interviews. Any attempt to influence the hiring process will lead to immediate disqualification of the candidate.

If you know someone who may be suitable for this position, please encourage them to apply and circulate this vacancy widely.