Chief of Party

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 40 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 delivers 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 has been working in Bangladesh for over 5 years implementing direct programming in the areas of WASH, education, livelihoods, reproductive health, gender-based violence, and child and youth protection and development. With an annual operating budget of over $ 1 billion (2021), IRC successfully runs a global portfolio of both humanitarian as well as development interventions and has significant experience implementing large-scale programs requiring substantial and sustained collaboration with multiple actors.

Position Summary
The IRC is seeking a Chief of Party (COP) for the five-year, $50 million USAID-funded Community Safety & Protection (CSP) Activity. This project will encompass a set of innovative interventions, with an overall goal of addressing the Human Rights situation in the country particularly for vulnerable minority communities.

The COP will lead a consortium of NGOs and other partners in managing and implementing all aspects of the project, providing overall technical, administrative, operational, and logistical management, with a focus on achieving the project’s objectives/results. This role will be the primary liaison for the project with USAID, relevant Government of Bangladesh Ministries, other donors and institutions, implementing partners, technical agencies and other stakeholders.

This position will report to the IRC Country Director and is contingent on the IRC being awarded funding. It is anticipated to begin in Nov 2024.

Job Responsibilities:

• Responsible for managing and implementing all aspects of the project, providing overall technical, strategic and administrative management, with a focus on achieving the project’s objectives/results.
• Responsible for ensuring quality and timeliness of all deliverables.
• Provide overall leadership, strategic oversight and guidance to the consortium members in order to achieve overall objectives of the project
• Represent the IRC, the project team and the consortium of partners in donor meetings and events.
• A critical part of the COP’s responsibilities will include ensuring effective coordination of activities with those of relevant Government of Bangladesh ministries, international organizations, and other USAID-funded activities in the country.
• Manage consortium partnerships and maintain collaborative partner relations;
• Represent the project and the organization in public, as assigned, and support the distribution of information about project achievements and lesson learned;
• Support project staff by creating and maintaining a work environment that promotes teamwork, trust, mutual respect, and empowers staff to take responsibility.
• Ensure project delivery meets all IRC standard operational policies and procedures;
• Ensure implementation is in accordance with USAID regulations, liaising regularly with USAID agreement officers, technical support staff, sub-grantees, and implementers of other USAID-funded initiatives as required.

Experience/Qualifications:

• Hold a master’s degree or higher in a relevant field and have technical skills which complement those of the activity’s key technical specialists
• Have at least 10 years of successful experience as Project Director/COP/DCOP of large donor-funded technical assistance.
• Demonstrated experience managing similar projects in Bangladesh or Asia region, involving management of multi-million-dollar budgets/portfolios and coordination with multiple programs and partner institutions.
• Demonstrated experience engaging with the private sector as well as private sector institutions such as Chamber of Commerce, Business Associations and Financial Institutions.
• Demonstrated experience working with governmental institutions, particularly local government divisions, departments of forest and livestock & fishery. Prior experience engaging with the Hill Tract Authorities is a plus.
• Be adept in strategic planning, budget review, adaptive management, and supervision
• Strong leadership, analytical and organizational skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to interact professionally with donor, project stakeholders, in-country collaborators and staff at all levels of the organization.
• Understanding of USAID procurement processes and procedures.
• Strong MS Office skills, including Word and Excel.

**Local applicants and women strongly encouraged to apply**

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.