Deputy Chief of Party

Chemonics seeks 2 deputy chiefs of party for the anticipated USAID Feed the Future in Democratic Republic of the Congo. The project aims to enhance agricultural productivity by empowering Congolese organizations with sustainable revenue streams, fostering organizations to enhance US Government compliance, and spearheading coordinated efforts within the Zones of Influence of Kongo Central and Kasai Central to support agri-food system development. It seeks to bolster agricultural growth, to help value chain actors to expand their markets, and to address constraints hindering growth in the agriculture sector. Additionally, the Activity aims to increase food security, to reduce food loss, to ensure continuous access to safe and nutritious foods, to create job opportunities, to increase the uptake of improved variety seeds, and to promote climate-smart agriculture initiatives in alignment with USAID/DRC’s climate strategy. The deputy chief of party will support the chief of party in developing and implementing key management systems for project planning, reporting, financial management, procurement, subcontracts, grants, and personnel. The deputy chief of party will identify and address challenges affecting project implementation, working with the chief of party and USAID to develop and implement solutions. These positions will be based in Kasai and Kongo of the DRC. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

Responsibilities include:

• Support the chief of party in developing and implementing key management systems that will support project planning, reporting, and performance management; financial management; property and technical procurement systems; subcontracts and grants management; and personnel management.
• Identify challenges, obstacles, and difficulties affecting the operation and effectiveness of project implementation, develop strategies to solve these problems, and work with the chief of party and USAID as needed to install and implement these strategies
• Ensure accurate tracking of field office expenditures, produces annual budget forecasts, and monitors overall financial performance of the project
• Monitor and support the standardization of operational systems and policies for project in-person and remote staff
• Oversee compliance with U.S. government regulations, Chemonics’ corporate policies, DRC law, and any supplemental policies developed specifically for the project
• Directly supervise and provide regular and constructive feedback to project staff
• Participate in the development of the annual work plan and formulation of other deliverables and reporting to USAID
• Facilitate the use of tools and systems required for the planning, implementation, tracking, reporting and quality control of the project’s technical activities. This will include work planning, monitoring and evaluation, scopes of work, progress reporting, and other documentation submitted to USAID
• Oversee recruitment and hiring of all local staff
• Perform other duties as required

Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s Degree in agriculture, agronomy, natural resource management, international development, rural development or a related field plus eight years of work experience in agriculture, agribusiness, food systems/value chain development, or private sector development projects preferred; or a Masters in agriculture, agronomy, natural resource management, international development, rural development or a related field plus six years of work experience in agriculture, agribusiness, food systems/value chain development or private sector development projects preferred
• Prior experience as DCOP or similar position managing 10 or more staff in a complex, multi-disciplinary activity preferred. Demonstrated experience of this kind in very remote and logistically challenging geographies is preferred
• Demonstrated expertise in leading, coordinating and convening broad stakeholder groups, particularly those composed of international development partners and the United Nations family of organizations, and in reaching consensus among stakeholders on approaches best suited to advance development objectives in a sustainable manner while avoiding undue market distortions is preferred
• At least five years of demonstrated experience working in active or post-conflict settings with significant humanitarian assistance presence
• A successful record of leading similar activities supporting food security and nutrition, organizational strengthening, resilience, and food systems development