Deputy Chief of Party - USAID/Kenya and East Africa at Palladium International

This Opportunity:  

The purpose of this Activity is to promote inclusive agricultural-led growth, with a focus on climate-smart approaches that leverage private sector resources and catalyze investment in the agricultural sector; strengthen the resilience of people and systems; and improve nutrition, especially among women and children.  

 Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

The Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) shall provide support to the COP with strategic leadership and oversight of the Activity. They shall have depth and breadth of technical expertise and experience, a solid professional reputation, interpersonal skills, and professional relationships to fulfill the requirements of the activity description, and close working relationships with key stakeholders in Kenya. The DCOP must have experience managing large, complex activities and demonstrated experience working with and through the private sector. Primary duties and responsibilities include: 

• Serve as a member of the senior leadership team of the program and support the Chief of Party in oversight of project staff and activities 
• Co-lead and oversee programmatic functions, i.e., development of work plans, budgets, quarterly/annual reports, and ensure effective implementation of program strategy 
• Maintain effective and open communication throughout the project with Chief of Party, USAID, Project Director, technical leads, project operations teams, and other relevant stakeholders 
• Work with the Chief of Party and other project staff to continuously refine implementation processes by integrating lessons learned and best practices 
• In collaboration with the local staff in-country, identify program opportunities and potential local partners as needed 
• In collaboration with the M&E team, ensure relevant staff use, maintain and regularly upload data to the project M&E system 
• With the MEL & CLA Specialist, identify project analysis and data needs to build and share evidence with the Kenyan government, donors, USAID, and other stakeholders 
• Ensure interventions reflect high technical quality and are in line with the project's scope of work.  
• Serve as Acting Chief of Party as needed   

 Key Competencies Required:  

• At least 10 years’ experience managing large and complex activities, preferably in the Kenya or the region and preferably experience with market-led agricultural, resilience and/or natural resource programming. 
• Must demonstrate commitment to market-led, private sector engagement approaches. 
• Excellent managerial and operational experience, preferably in managing large donor projects involving coordination with multiple implementing partners or institutions in Kenya or the region, and sub-recipient / complex partnering relationships, preferably in Kenya. 
• Minimum 3 years’ experience managing USG and/or other major donor-funded projects with a focus on knowledge and expertise in financial rules, regulations, and oversight at a senior level. 
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in developing activity work-plans, budgets, managing implementation, staff, and short-term technical assistance. 
• Excellent written and oral communication in English.