Chief of Party

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The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 50 countries and more than 25 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

The IRC began working in Jordan in The IRC began operations in Jordan in 2007 to respond to the needs of Iraqi refugees. Since 2012, in response to the Syrian crisis, the IRC has reached over 2.1 million people with multiple services and programs at our community centers, health clinics, and via mobile teams, including through our flagship Ahlan Simsim early childhood development program. IRC Jordan works with local partners through a client-centered approach to provide an array of integrated services that improve early childhood development, health, safety, and economic well-being while mainstreaming gender and climate crisis considerations

Scope of work

The IRC seeks a Chief of Party (COP) for an anticipated multi-million-dollar USAID early childhood education (ECE) project. The project will work to expand access to ECE services and to raise the quality of care while also addressing workforce participation issues by creating sustainable job opportunities in the education sector. The work will be undertaken in close collaboration with the Jordanian government and the private sector and civil society organizations. There is expected to be an emphasis on reaching more marginalized and underserved sections of the population, including children with disabilities and children from lower income families, refugee and rural communities.

Recruitment is contingent upon successful award of the project, and selection of final applicant is subject to USAID approval.

Job responsibilities

Strategic Oversight and Leadership

• Provide overall leadership and technical direction for the project, ensuring completion of project deliverables.

• Responsible for the overall planning, implementation, administration, and financial management of the project, as well as the achievement of all impact goals and objectives.

• Oversee the development, review, and monitoring of yearly work plans and project strategy documents to ensure long- and short-term priorities are on track.

• Lead consortium of partners to ensure overall program quality, proper reporting, financial management, and compliance and establish a shared and integrated vision among different partners

Learning, Partnership and External Collaboration

• Coordinate with government and other relevant stakeholders to ensure activities complement ongoing initiatives and adhere to country and global standards.

• Serve as the primary liaison with the donor and Jordanian Ministry of Education. Report to USAID through formal and informal debriefings, annual and semi-annual reports, etc.

• Represent the project and organization at regional, national, and international forums, including technical conferences and policy briefings, and share information about project achievements and lessons learned within the organization and wider development community.

Staff Management and Human Resources

• Supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting performance objectives, establishing a supportive environment while emphasizing accountability, providing regular and timely constructive performance feedback

• Work with HR lead to identify and implement recruitment and retention strategies.

• Maintain open communications with Jordan Senior Management Team, technical advisors, technical coordinators and HQ departmental staff.

• Model and encourage active practice of the principles of the “IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct”.

Requirements

• Minimum 10 years of experience designing, implementing, and managing large, complex projects that work specifically to improve access and quality of early childhood education services at scale.

• Minimum three years of senior project leadership experience on USAID activities; previous experience as COP of USAID-funded programs preferred.

• Master’s degree in education, international development, or related field is required.

• Significant previous experience working in conflict or crisis situations, preferably in the MENA region and/or Jordan.

• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain productive working relationships with a wide network of partners and stakeholders.

• Demonstrated ability to liaise with senior government officials, dignitaries, executives of NGOs, and senior members of the donor community.

• Demonstrated success incorporating innovation and participatory, flexible, and gender-sensitive programming into implementation.

• Experience working to incorporate issues of equity in education programs, including gender, ethnicity, and disability inclusion.

• Demonstrated experience in policy dialogue and education reform.

• Capacity to work well under pressure, and the ability to communicate appropriately and effectively cross‐culturally is critical.

• The candidate must be fluent in English with fluency in Arabic highly desirable.

Standard of Professional Conduct: The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.

Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.