Deputy Chief of Party – Regional Resilience in the Sahel

Deputy Chief of Party – Regional Resilience in the Sahel

CNFA – Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture

Burkina Faso

Project Background:

CNFA is currently seeking qualified Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) candidates for the upcoming USAID-funded Regional Resilience Activity in the Sahelian countries of Burkina Faso, Chad, The Gambia, and Mauritania. The activity will expand resilience by improving the ability of individuals, households, and communities to mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses. The activity will strengthen resilience capacities within communities, reinforcing supportive systems and individual capacities while tackling the core economic and political drivers of susceptibility to extremist organizations. Emphasis will be placed on strengthening social and ecological risk management systems, improving health, family planning, and nutrition outcomes, improving institutional and organizational governance systems, and enhancing economic and political agency of women and youth. This activity will incorporate climate-smart and adaptive approaches to strengthen livelihoods and will prioritize building capacities of local entities to deliver essential services. To achieve the above objectives, the activity will establish strong and transparent relationships with and between private and public sector actors to holistically support the continued growth of inclusive economic opportunities.

Position Description:

The Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) is responsible for supporting the Chief of Party (COP) with the overall management and oversight of the activity. The DCOP position will participate in developing technical approaches and strategies and oversee a staff of technical specialists. The position will supervise technical staff to ensure they are aligned with program strategies and activities identified by the core technical team members. The DCOP supports the COP in the quality control of donor reporting and serves as strategic advisor to Chief of Party (COP), and as Acting-COP in his/her absence.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support the COP in the overall management of the program for administration, operations, implementation, and fiscal compliance to ensure achievement of objectives within set timelines, scope, and budget allocations following USAID regulations and CNFA internal policies;
• Lead and closely work with the program team to provide effective coordination and guidance among smallholder farmers, the private sector, government entities, service providers, research and academic institutions, and other key stakeholders. Support the development of strategic plans, annual and quarterly work plans, and other deliverables in line with USAID guidelines to achieve objectives and ensure implementation following the set course;
• Support the development of strong monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, program monitoring tools, and efficient systems to ensure high-quality implementation;
• Represent CNFA with partners and key stakeholders at conferences, workshops, meetings, and other industry gatherings;
• Manage relationship with USAID and CNFA and serve as project point of contact;
• Manage and track activity implementation progress by personnel, consultants, and subcontractors, ensure it adheres to the approved workplan and deliverable schedule, and troubleshoot deviations;
• Ensure assigned activities are managed in accordance with USAID regulations and CNFA Procurement policies;
• Liaise with implementing partners to ensure proper M&E data capture and data quality to contribute to overall project M&E reporting;
• Support the project’s procurement and operational staff as needed;
• Identify issues and risks related to activity implementation on time;
• Other duties as assigned.

Key Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in a relevant field such as agriculture, agronomy, agricultural engineering, environmental science, or a related discipline, with a specific focus on resilience and governance;
• Minimum of eight (8) years of experience managing international development projects, preferably in West Africa;
• Experience working in Sahelian countries is required;
• Demonstrated experience managing and implementing development projects of comparable size and scope in the agricultural sector is required, experience managing projects related to democracy, human rights, and governance preferred;
• Previous experience supporting USAID-funded projects;
• Experience working on multi-sectoral projects including areas related to agricultural development, nutrition and WASH, food security, livelihood development, natural resource management, and conflict mitigation;
• Commitment to gender and youth integration into food security programming is required;
• Experience managing activities across multiple countries is preferred;
• Demonstrated ability to manage a diverse team of professionals and coordinate with project partners, local communities, and other stakeholders;
• Proven experience in project management, including planning, budgeting, and resource allocation;
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English and French;
• Sahelian nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.

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