Chief of Party at Plan International

Dimensions of the Role

The COP will serve as the key liaison with USAID, the Government of Kenya, and implementing partners, and partners involved with the programme. Primary responsibilities include providing overall leadership, management, and general technical direction of the programme, assuring an integrated vision among different components and actors, and ensuring programme performance, achievement of programme requirements and adherence to donor regulations and reporting. S/he will be required to work with various stakeholders, including high level government and USAID officials.

The Chief of Party will work with the existing Plan Kenya office and report to the Country Director.  S/he will work closely with the Program Team at the US National Office.

Candidates for this position should be senior level professionals with a proven track record of having managed and successfully implemented community based Health & HIV and/or Child Protection programs.

Job Responsibilities

• Provide overall technical and managerial oversight and leadership for the project, including provision of guidance that responds to promising practices and new approaches;
• Serve as the primary liaison for USAID and key government counterparts;
• Ensure efficient management of financial resources, including the review and approval of program budgets and monitoring expenditures;
• Identify risks and issues related to program implementation in a timely manner and suggest appropriate program adjustments,
• Provide oversight for field operations, administration, logistics and procurement;
• Oversee management, delivery, and monitoring of sub-grants;
• Supervise program monitoring, evaluation, and reporting and ensure quality control and timeliness of all deliverables as required by the grant and donors;
• Assure full compliance with all USAID, Plan, and other fiduciary regulations;
• Serve as a principal liaison with Government of Kenya, USAID, project partners and stakeholders, and other donors to ensure effective program implementation and to build lasting relationships.

Dealing with Problems:

The position will require regular and structured analysis to identify any emerging issues as well as identify any potential strategic risks. The position holder should hence be able to manage any emerging issues, anticipate risks within the area of business.

Communications and Working Relationships:

The position requires day-to-day communication and good working relationships with USAID Kenya, Government of Kenya agencies at multiple levels, civil society partners and Plan International Kenya and USA.

Qualifications

• Minimum of a Master’s Degree in social sciences, public health, management, business administration, or a related field;
• At least seven years’ experience in managing complex orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC) programs, social services programs, and/or public health programs of similar scope and size;
• At least seven years demonstrated state-of-the-art experience as senior staff in at least three of the following areas: child protection, economic strengthening, social protection, education, health and nutrition including HIV/AIDS care and support; social service systems strengthening; quality improvement/quality assurance; M&E; and operations research;
• Demonstrated knowledge about gender and development, and demonstrated experience and proficiency in managing programs that mainstream gender;
• At least five years international experience in development, managing, overseeing, or evaluating comprehensive social services programs of similar size and complexity;
• At least five years demonstrated skills and experience in partnership building, especially with the GOK, donors, private sector, NGO and local community organizations;
• At least seven years of experience in program management and administration, financial management, award cooperative agreement compliance, sub award management, and tracking project performance and costs;
• Professional level of oral and written fluency in English language; working knowledge of Swahili would be an added advantage;
• Strong management and communication skills, strategic vision, leadership qualities, professional reputation, ability to create synergies where applicable, interpersonal skills, and written and oral presentation skills to fulfil the diverse technical and managerial requirements of the project description;
• Significant experience managing large-scale, multi-year US government-funded child centred and community based program for an international NGO would be an added advantage;
• Demonstrated knowledge of USAID project management including USAID rules and regulation and reporting requirements.

Skills

• Demonstrated ability to implement projects with rigorous timelines and deliverables and to track program quality through donor approved monitoring and evaluation systems;
• Experience working and collaborating with diverse sets of stakeholders, such as local NGOs, government officials, donor representatives, local and international staff;
• Ability to respond on short notice and plan and execute several activities at once;
• Ability to work under pressure, as part of a team or independently, and meet deadlines consistently;
• Proven experience hiring, training, and supervising teams of international and local staff.
• Proven leadership, inter-personal and cross-cultural skills, and ability to build and motivate diverse teams;
• Excellent English oral and written communication skills; knowledge of Swahili preferred;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel and Outlook.