Deputy Chief of Party

Chemonics seeks a Deputy Chief of Party for the USAID Uganda Targeting the Learning Crisis (TLC) Activity. This five-year activity will seek to address the current educational crisis in Uganda by substantially increasing the literacy and numeracy skills of primary school students in grades P1-5 including out-of-school children (OVCs) and refugee populations. The Uganda TLC Activity will leverage the global evidence base to implement cost-effective, sustainable, and impactful programming, to close gaps in foundational literacy and numeracy skills through interventions such as targeted instruction approaches like teaching at the right level for P3-P5 pupils, remediation for P1-P2 pupils, and supporting the transition from pre-primary to primary. This position will be based in Kampala, Uganda. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

Responsibilities:

• Work alongside the COP to promote and effect a coherent and strategic vision for the implementation of the project with buy-in from USAID and key counterparts and stakeholders.
• Responsible for working with the COP to liaise with relevant government ministries, donors within Uganda, and will assist the COP in developing appropriate capacity building mechanisms at national, state, and local government levels.
• Supervise and manage technical leads across project components, ensuring cohesive collaboration, effective resource allocation, and successful implementation of project objectives.
• Assist the COP with leading the efforts in designing overall program strategy and implementation resulting in measurable impacts and outcomes, the development of meaningful and achievable component indicators and targets, and oversight of the technical activities to ensure that technical results meet program requirements.
• As a member of the management team, ensure accounting, procurement, and operational compliance with existing administrative/office procedures, Chemonics’ policies and best practices, and USAID regulations.
• Draft, review, and submit contract-related approvals to USAID.
• Support the COP and the operations team with personnel and recruitment strategy to ensure the most efficient and talented team composition, and support efforts to build staff capacity and boost morale.
• In the absence of the COP, serve as the acting COP, including overseeing the operations, procurement, finance, and M&E teams, and authorizing payments and signing contracts with vendors and long-term/short-term staff as dictated in the DCOP’s delegation of authority and power of attorney.
• In coordination with the COP, serve as a key liaison between USAID/Chemonics and relevant government ministries and affiliates, including obtaining the necessary government orders and approvals to initiate project activities and working with technical staff to organize consultations with Ugandan partners.
• Manage the project’s donor coordination efforts, including organizing meetings with other donors working in education to synchronize activities and co-fund mutually beneficial activities and initiatives.

Qualifications:

• At least six (6) years of relevant work experience and a minimum of master’s degree preferred bachelor’s degree or eight (8) years of relevant work experience with a bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum four (4) years of experience leading the technical direction of education programs preferred.
• Proven capability in conducting rigorous and ethical research, with a strong focus on both academic and applied research methodologies.
• Has a deep understanding of the Ugandan education system, including in-service and pre-service teacher training, central and decentralized systems, and experiences with evidence-based methodologies for improving fundamental literacy and numeracy skills among pre-primary and primary students in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following core areas: foundational literacy and numeracy skills, early childhood development, education intervention activities, education in emergencies, inclusive education and universal design for learning, curriculum and material design, and/or capacity development in the education sector
• Experience supporting education reform in Eastern Africa required; experience supporting education reform in Uganda highly preferred.
• Ability to cultivate constructive relationships with local communities, government authorities, implementing partners, and donors.
• Experience providing technical direction across multiple work streams.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
• Strong interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills and demonstrated ability to coordinate complex technical activities in high-paced work environments.
• Demonstrated leadership, versatility, and integrity.