Call for Resumes: Chief of Party USDA Programs

Call for Chief of Party Candidates for USDA Programs

Counterpart International is seeking experienced Chief of Party candidates for upcoming USDA bids, including the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition (MGD) and Food for Progress (FFPr) and Food for Peace (FFP) programs. Candidates should indicate which USDA program(s) they wish to be considered for.

Summary

Counterpart International is seeking Chiefs of Party (COP) for anticipated five-year USDA-funded projects, including the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, which utilizes U.S.-donated commodities to reduce hunger and improve literacy and nutrition among school-age students, the Food for Progress program, which utilizes U.S.-donated commodities’ sales to fund and support agricultural, economic, or infrastructure development programs, and the Food for Peace program, which utilizes U.S.donated agricultural commodities to address hunger and malnutrition through emergency and non-emergency food assistance, strengthening food security, nutrition, and resilience among vulnerable populations. With the support of the local and headquarters staff, the COP will provide vision, technical leadership, financial and administrative oversight of the program and will serve as the principal institutional liaison to USDA, local implementing country organizations, and host government agencies. The COP should have extensive past experience relevant to leadership, management, project implementation, and training of staff. The COP will also provide staff management and development, and ensure the highest quality of project monitoring, evaluation, reporting and communications.

• Provide overall project leadership, management, quality control, and technical direction, while ensuring compliance with donor requirements and regulations and Counterpart policies and procedures.
• Lead design and implementation of all program components and activities, building an integrated vision among diverse project components and stakeholders, with a focus on achieving results.
• Serve as primary liaison to USDA, Country headquarters, local and national governmental authorities, local NGOs, community organizations, farmers, agricultural associations, civil society organizations, other donor organizations, and other local partners to coordinate activities and facilitate monitoring and reporting of project objectives and achievements.
• Identify obstacles and risks related to implementation in a timely manner and suggest appropriate adjustments to the home office and donor.
• Provide overall leadership, recruitment, training and supervision of project personnel, partner organizations, subcontractors, and grantees, with a focus on achieving work plan targets and core results in a timely manner.
• Provide mentoring and professional development support to project staff, with emphasis on building capacity of national staff.
• Oversee budget preparation and provide overall financial oversight to ensure strict fiscal accountability, including field office finances and administration of sub-contracts and sub-awards.
• Ensure compliance with Counterpart and USDA rules and regulations, particularly with respect to financial and grant management.
• Oversee field office HR practices, ensuring hiring, employee evaluations and promotions are in compliance with Counterpart policies and procedures.
• Ensure the highest quality of program implementation, monitoring, evaluation, reporting and communications, and that all project assistance is technically sound and appropriate.
• Facilitate learning and integration of Counterpart’s best practices on school feeding, education, agriculture, WASH, food security, and nutrition initiatives and the program’s technical areas.
• Participate in specialized content (technical) events such as workshops and roundtables, support knowledge management, and share learning across key networks.
• Coordinate activities between the field office and Counterpart headquarters.
• Leverage networks, program investments, and project successes to seek opportunities for program expansion and promoting Counterpart’s practice areas.

Qualifications

Required

• Minimum of 15 years’ experience in food security and nutrition, with a specific focus on school feeding, formal education, and literacy training; and/or agriculture development and trade, with a specific focus on market systems, private sector engagement, and working with US cooperators; and/or food assistance, commodity distribution, nutrition, and resilience among vulnerable populations.
• Successful track record leading implementation US Government-funded projects (USDA or USAID) in developing country contexts, including oversight and management of personnel, finances, partnerships, host country relationships, and administration.
• Experience working on programs pertaining to commodities management, proven track record working with a range of government and community actors and managing teams in multiple offices and locations.
• Experience with national-level education systems policy, regulatory, and financial advocacy and strategy (McGovern-Dole programs).
• Excellent organizational, analytical, oral and written communications skills.
• Demonstrated supervisory and leadership skills in multi-cultural contexts.
• Professional proficiency in English, oral and written required.
• Good command of Microsoft Office, particularly Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Preferred

• Master’s Degree in a relevant field.
• Experience managing USDA programs.
• Additional language skills are preferred.

Counterpart International is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. It is the policy of Counterpart International to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.