Chief of Party

Chemonics seeks a Chief of Party for the anticipated USAID-funded Feed the Future Nigeria Value Chain Activity. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world. The activity is expected to improve agricultural productivity by connecting smallholder farmers to resources and promoting access to and adoption of new technologies; develop inclusive and resilient markets whereby farmers, producer organizations and MSMEs are linked to commercial supply chains; strengthen household and community resilience to shocks and stresses; improve the nutrition of women and children; and strengthen policy systems related to resilience, agriculture, and nutrition. The Activity is expected to focus on current Feed the Future target value chains—maize, rice, soybeans, cowpeas, and aquaculture—in current target states—Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kebbi, Niger, and Yobe. The final scope and priorities of the activity may change in response to USAID’s activity design.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities include:

• Provide overall direction, leadership, and management of the activity to ensure smooth and steady needs- and results-driven activity implementation, supported by evidence, learning, and adaptation.
• Ensure quality control and the overall responsiveness of development assistance provided under the activity, including necessary adjustments to operations to match USAID requirements.
• Oversee strategic work planning, performance management, strategic communications, partner and stakeholder outreach and relationship management, grantee and subcontractor management, financial management and budgeting, human resource management, and compliance and business ethics.
• Oversee the timely preparation and delivery of all deliverables, including but not limited to annual work plans and reports and other progress reports and technical deliverables, as applicable.
• Responsible for the overall and direct implementation of activities, and ensures all technical assistance is high quality, technically sound, and appropriate to achieve desired results.
• Foster and manage productive relations with relevant government counterparts and the private sector, and effectively coordinate and collaborate with other donor and international organizations’ that are also supporting Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
• Establish and maintain an inclusive office environment that ensures integrity, honesty, open communications, and commitment to compliance with local laws, USAID rules and regulations, and Chemonics’ policies and procedures.
• Supervise, coach, and mentor technical and administrative staff, consultants, grantees, subcontractors, and partner organizations to achieve expected results.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for the project with USAID and key stakeholders.

Required Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in agriculture, business, economics, public administration, or a related field.
• Previous experience in one or more of the following technical disciplines: agronomy, agribusiness, agricultural productivity, climate smart agriculture, agricultural trade, agricultural finance, agriculture policy, and/or other relevant technical areas.
• Previous experience implementing activities/projects applying market systems development, value chain competitiveness, and/or resilience methods/approaches.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of relevant management, supervisory, and technical experience with minimum (5) years’ experience leading USAID or other donor-funded projects.
• Demonstrated supervisory work experience including supervision of technical teams and grantees and/or subcontractor partners to work effectively and efficiently towards achieving a common goal.
• Practical experience leading multi-stakeholder initiatives with national and local governments, the private sector, NGOs, CSOs, media organizations, academia, other donor projects, etc.
• Demonstrated experience as a thought leader in the subject area.
• Demonstrated experience applying adaptive management practices to achieve results.
• Prior work experience in West and Central Africa and experience in the Nigeria preferred.
• Fluency in English with excellent oral and written communication skills required.