Position Title: Chief of Party -Strengthening Civic Engagement Activity (Kazakhstan)
Position Status: Full-Time
Vacancies: 1 – Hiring for this position is contingent on funding.
Location: This position can be based in Almaty or Astana, Kazakhstan and will require frequent travel throughout the region.
Salary: Commensurate with experience. PartnersGlobal offers a competitive salary and benefits package.
This position is not covered under a Collective Bargaining Agreement between PartnersGlobal and the Office and Professional Employees International Union, Local 2, AFL-CIO.
ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND
PartnersGlobal (previously Partners for Democratic Change), established in 1989, is an international, non-governmental organization committed to building sustainable capacity to advance democratic institutions, civil society, and a culture of peaceful change and conflict management worldwide. PartnersGlobal specializes in organizational development and social entrepreneurship, having provided the seed capital and technical assistance to establish 21 independent, local Centers around the world.
PartnersGlobal adheres to the values of participatory decision-making, collaboration, and consensus-building as the fundamentals of an inclusive, democratic society; and we promote the application of these skills in all aspects of our work. The PartnersGlobal team includes process and technical experts, facilitators, and trainers who apply those collaborative skills to achieve concrete results in technical areas such as rule of law development, women’s empowerment, security sector reform, and natural resource management. Our network of local Centers is renowned for undertaking cutting edge work and applying our process expertise to convene disparate parties to jointly tackle some of the most complex development challenges.
POSITION OVERVIEW
PartnersGlobal seeks a Chief of Party (COP) to provide strategic guidance and leadership for the anticipated five-year USAID- funded Strengthening Civic Engagement activity in Kazakhstan. The objective of the activity is to cultivate an independent and effective civil society to expand the rights of Kazakhstani citizens and is structured around three core objectives:
- Strengthen Public Engagement: Foster collective action to advance Kazakhstan’s reform priorities.
- Support Innovative Solutions: Empower civil society to apply innovative approaches to help people claim their fundamental rights.
- Enhance Regulatory Environment: Improve the regulatory framework to enable civil society to maximize their contributions to society.
The COP holds overall responsibility for ensuring that all assistance provided under the award is technically sound and appropriate for the needs to be addressed. This position involves the comprehensive management and supervision of all staff under the award to ensure proper oversight of Partners’ personnel, financial management and administrative policies. The COP will also be responsible for establishing strong partnership and serve as Partners principal liaison to USAID Mission staff.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Serve as the primary liaison with USAID, ensuring effective communication and alignment of project objectives.
- Oversee all project activities to ensure they are technically sound and meet the needs of the program.
- Manage and supervise all project staff, providing leadership and guidance to ensure high performance.
- Develop and implement strategic plans, ensuring alignment with program goals and USAID requirements.
- Oversee operational and financial management of the project, ensuring compliance with USAID regulations.
- Lead conflict mitigation and negotiation efforts, promoting effective problem-solving.
- Foster relationships and networks with the international donor and diplomatic community in Kazakhstan.
This job posting summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. PartnersGlobal reserves the right to review and revise duties and responsibilities at any time to ensure project success.
QUALIFICATIONS
Required:
- An advanced degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, International Development, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred).
- At least 5 years of progressive experience as a Chief of Party and/or Deputy Chief of Party managing and leading development programs of similar size and scope in Kazakhstan, with a focus on governance, democracy, civil society strengthening, and human rights.
- required.
- Demonstrated leadership and skills in strategic thinking, planning, operational and financial management, conflict mitigation, and negotiation.
- Expertise in cultivating partnerships and fostering collaboration diverse stakeholders, in line with PartnersGlobal’s mission of promoting authentic partnership and accompaniment in building resilient civic spaces.
- Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and deliver quality outputs under pressure.
- Ability to lead and manage project team and operations remotely and ability to adapt management approaches.
- Broad knowledge of and networks with the international donor and diplomatic community in Kazakhstan.
- Must have professional-level English and Kazakh proficiency, both written and oral.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Prior work experience in Central Asia, Caucasus, or Eastern Europe (preferably within Kazakhstan).
- Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with individuals and teams at all levels, both internally and externally.
- Demonstrated skills in leadership, mentoring, motivation, and supervision of multicultural teams within a dynamic setting.
- Commitment to inclusive programming that encourages full participation of individual regardless of gender, disability status, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or other marginalized status.
- Demonstrated ability to cultivate relationships with civil society organizations as well as government officials.
- Russian language skills preferred.
- Kazakhstan citizenship or residency with work authorization strongly preferred.
Leadership Core Competencies:
The ideal candidate should demonstrate leadership core competencies including but not limited to:
- Accountability– Holds self and others accountable for measurable high-quality, timely, and cost-effective results. Determines objectives, sets priorities, and delegates work. Accepts responsibility for mistakes.
- Decisiveness– Makes well-informed, effective, and timely decisions, even when data are limited, or solutions produce unpopular consequences. Perceives the impact and implications of decisions.
- Problem Solving– Identifies and analyzes problems. Weighs relevance and accuracy of information. Generates and evaluates alternative solutions and makes recommendations.
- Flexibility– Is open to change and new information. Adapts rapidly to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles.
- Constituency Credibility–Anticipates and meets the needs of both internal and external constituencies. Delivers high-quality products and services. Commits to continuous improvement.
- Conflict Management—Encourages creative tension and differences of opinions. Anticipates and takes steps to prevent counter-productive confrontations. Manages and resolves conflicts and disagreements in a constructive manner.
- Human Capital Management– Builds and manages workforce based on organizational goals, budget considerations, and staffing needs. Ensures employees are appropriately recruited, selected, appraised, and rewarded; takes action to address performance problems.
PartnersGlobal is an EEO Employer
At PartnersGlobal, we have a clear vision: to be the place where a diverse mix of talented people want to come, to stay and do their best work. Diversity is more than a commitment at PartnersGlobal—it is the foundation of what we do. We are fully focused on equality and believe deeply in diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin and all the other fascinating characteristics that make us different. As an equal opportunity employer, PartnersGlobal recruits, employs, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, HIV/AIDS status, political affiliations or belief, pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please contact our Director of Human Resources & Talent Management, Edith Kardouni, at ekardouni@partnersglobal.org for assistance. We welcome the opportunity to discuss accommodation of your disability and ensure fairness in our hiring process.