Chief of Party – Liberia

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

Plan International has been working in Liberia since 1982, and has been implementing grants funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, since 2005 (Round 4 funding cycle) in various roles of Principal Recipient (PR), Sub- Recipient (SR) and Sub Sub-Recipient (SSR). Plan International continues to implement Global Fund Programs in 10 West and Southern Africa countries with highly satisfactory results and excellent performance.

Plan International Liberia has been selected as PR to implement the TB/HIV/RSSH grant from January 1st, 2024 to end of December 2026 and C19RM grant from January 1st, 2024 to end of December 2025. This will be done in coordination with multiple partners including Ministry of Health entities like NACP (National AIDS and STIs Control Program) and NLTCP (National Leprosy and TB Control Program), as well as various civil society organizations and UN agencies. As Principal Recipient, Plan International Liberia will be coordinating a total of 5 sub recipients, 10 sub-sub recipients and 2 service providers throughout the 3 years with national scope of intervention. The total budget for this 3 years national program represents 70 million USD, with 45 million USD for the GC7 TB-HIV-RSSH grant and 25 million USD, 28% of this budget being dedicated to the purchase of health products.

Role purpose

Plan International Liberia (Plan) requires a Chief of Party (COP) to lead the implementation of a large-scale Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH) program alongside the Liberian Ministry of Health in addition to community-based HIV and TB prevention efforts.

The COP is responsible for the overall delivery, performance and management of the grant and will provide leadership and adequate management of a PR team of over 30 staff with diverse professional backgrounds.

The COP has overall responsibility for ensuring: (1) a high-quality TB/HIV, C19 and RSSH program is delivered and performance targets are met; (2) contractual obligations, including effective budget management, are met in a timely and cost-effective manner; and (3) sub-grants to all sub-recipients and implementation partners are well managed. The COP will also ensure that Plan as PR performs as an excellent partner with other stakeholders in Liberia, including the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), Ministry of Health, key government ministries, UN agencies, multilateral and bilateral donors and non-governmental stakeholders, the Local Fund Agent, and the donor: The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Duties and Responsibilities

Technical Leadership, Management and Oversight (50%).

• Provide overall management, strategic direction, and leadership to the project to achieve expected project results within budget and timeframe-
• Ensure high quality TB/HIV/RSSH/C19 technical programs are implemented, and also resources for technical leadership at the project and MOH levels are in place for the program.
• Ensure that the overall program team, including sub-recipients and implementation partners, are fully familiar with program design and targets agreed to in the performance framework.
• Ensure high level of coordination and nurture relationships with The Global Fund, Ministry of Health (MoH) of Liberia, the Liberia Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), other related Government departments, and other stakeholders, including partner organizations from civil society organizations.
• Liaise with other donors and implementing agencies to ensure coordination of and synergy with other TB/HIV prevention, care and treatment efforts as well as RSSH programming in Liberia.
• Ensure program delivers results, suggest changes or adjustments based on strategic, tactical and operational feedback.
• Lead team in ensuring proper coordination among sub-recipients, national level Technical Strategy Groups, and other key stakeholders.
• Oversee a team of senior technical, program, and finance staff and ensure clear roles and responsibilities and lines of communication are maintained amongst the team members.
• Identify risks in advance and proactively mitigate these risks to ensure smooth implementation.

Reporting and Documentation (20%)

• Oversee quarterly and semesterly report preparation and submission to meet donor and organizational grant reporting requirements to document program performance, monitoring, and overall grant compliance.
• Lead preparation of work plans, project activity updates, and other project-related communication and reporting materials
• Ensure that a properly phased detailed implementation plan is in place and that programmatic and finance teams review and adjust the plan on a quarterly basis based on implementation achievements and needs.
• Ensure program monitoring tools and systems are in place to support high quality implementation by partners.
• Ensure good practice by supporting the development of strong M&E mechanisms and identify gaps in the standards of delivery of the TB/HIV/RSSH programs by partners through a robust monitoring process and in full collaboration with the MOH and other partners as needed
• Ensure risk register and CAT outcome register are monitored on a monthly basis and actions are taken and documented.

Financial and Grant Management, Contractual Compliance (15%)

• In full collaboration with the Deputy Chief of Party, Finance, the COP will provide overall financial oversight of the grant budgets over the life of the project, and ensure collaboration between program and financial team members in determining budget projections and project budget phasing and/or opportunities for reprogramming.
• Oversee the control of expenditures within budgets and against quarterly projections and according to grant and organizational regulations.
• Ensure contract compliance with grant and organizational regulations and procedures, including compliance with all Special Conditions and Conditions Precedent.
• Ensure appropriate implementation, oversight and monitoring of sub-grants to all sub-recipients and implementation partners, including the management of a zero-cash policy currently in place in Liberia.

Representation and Networking (10%)

• Represents the project as a member of the Plan Liberia Country Management Team (CMT)
• Represents Plan Liberia as the PR with MoH, CCM, World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Program (WFP), the Government of Liberia, as well as Liberian civil society organizations.
• Represents Plan Liberia as the PR with the Local Fund Agent.
• Represents Plan Liberia as the PR with The Global Fund, maintaining positive relationships with GF Secretariat Liberia Country Team-
• Represents the project at regional, national, and international fora, including technical groups or conferences
• Represents Plan Liberia in its partnership with Plan International Canada

Human Resources Management and Development (5%)

• Lead, manage and supervise the project coordination team to meet project objectives, especially with Deputy Chief of Party staff.
• Conduct periodic reviews of staff performance in keeping with Plan performance management system and mentor staff to ensure high levels of motivation, commitment, capacity, and teamwork.
• Participate into the recruitment for the project, in collaboration with People and Culture department, to ensure optimum service delivery through recruitment of competent and qualified staff;
• Proactively anticipate gaps in staffing and communicate to Country Director where surge support is required.
• Ensure Unit staff possess the requisite knowledge and skills to perform all assigned job responsibilities.
• Ensure the management of unit staff members promotes organizational values such as teamwork, empowerment, risk taking, customer responsiveness and communication.
• Ensure Unit staff fully understand and comply with internal operating policies and procedures.

Technical Expertise, Skills and Knowledge

Technical and management skills

• Master’s degree (required) or PhD/Medical degree (preferred) with experience in business or public administration, finance, accounting, law, social sciences, technical sciences, management or related disciplines;
• At least 15 years progressively responsible working experience in project/program development and implementation, management, and strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, team and office management or related field, of which 10 should be with some experience in a senior management position.
• Proven experience in building and maintaining institutional linkages required.
• Proven experience building a dynamic partnership and co-managing a program with the Central and Decentralized Agencies of Ministry of Health is required.
• Significant demonstrated senior leadership experience in an international development context specifically working with Government and national systems on TB/HIV and RSSH is required.
• Demonstrated experience working with key population groups and civil society and understanding of the important role of community-led approaches to TB and HIV.
• Knowledge of the prevalence, transmission patterns and experience with response to TB and HIV in West Africa;
• Experience in monitoring and evaluation;
• Understanding of Procurement and Supply Management issues in large scale public health programs
• Excellent skills in report writing and proposal development.
• Knowledge of key Plan policies, procedures and regulations, front-line team management, central and local governments, and community development preferred.
• Excellent knowledge of monitoring, research and evaluation using quantitative and qualitative principles
• Good knowledge of data management software (SPSS, Epi Info, EXCEL, Power Point, Access)
• Understands Plan’s work, and implements processes and practices that support achievement of organisational objectives
• Experience with participatory methods and partnerships required.
• Public relations skills required.
• Understanding of and experience with humanitarian development organizations, and accompaniment and capacity-building principles in local partnerships highly desired.
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally as required.

Personal skills and attributes

• Be able to work closely and co-manage with State Agencies;
• Ability to use, interpret a complex set of information for decision-making;
• Ability to perform short- and long-term forward-looking management and planning;
• Ability to take responsibility, make decisions and monitor their implementation in a timely manner;
• Strong capacity for ingenuity, generating creative ideas and applying them to action.
• Risk aware and able to manage contingencies.
• Managing complexity through prioritization
• Proven negotiating and judgmental skills
• Strong team working skills.
• Capacity to coach and mentor
• Credibility, Personal accountability and driven to serve others
• Cultural sensitivity, patience and flexibility
• Strategically thinking

Plan International’s Values in Practice

We are open and accountable

• Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
• Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
• Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
• Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
• Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people

We strive for lasting impact

• Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
• Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
• Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
• Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.

We work well together

• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
• Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We are inclusive and empowering

• We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential
• We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge equality in our programs and our workplace
• We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives.