The Chief of Party will be responsible for providing overall technical and programmatic leadership to an anticipated cross-sectoral project that will utilize evidence to develop and support county-level models that empower youth and connect them directly to social and economic opportunities to improve their livelihoods and well-being. The Chief of Party will be responsible for ensuring integration of activities and technical quality of program approaches, coordinating partner roles and setting performance expectations, and ensuring program deliverables and milestones are met.
This position requires a strong cross-disciplinary understanding of systems and holistic youth development approaches, and the ability to work effectively with a diverse set of actors. The position will be based in Kenya, most likely in Nairobi, and is contingent on project funding and approval by USAID.
Job Summary / Responsibilities
Plan, direct and coordinate technical and operational activities to ensure that project goals and objectives are accomplished with prescribed timeframes and funding parameters and in compliance with USAID regulations and FHI 360 policies
Provide overall technical and administrative leadership to the project implementation team, including development of strategies, budgets, work plans, monitoring and evaluation plans and reporting
Support national and county level Kenyan policies that align with the project objectives, and support of larger coordination efforts amongst youth employment actors to reduce duplication and maximize impact
Provide supervision to the project full-time personnel, consultants and subcontractors
Interact with USAID Mission and provide regular updates on project progress or issues that arise
Manage project engagement with and capacity building of youth leaders, youth cooperatives, youth-serving and youth-led organizations, and other beneficiaries and stakeholders
Serve as primary liaison to USAID, county and national governmental authorities, local NGOs, particularly youth-led and youth-serving organizations, universities and technical and vocational training institutions, private sector associations and employers, community organizations, and other donor organizations
Provide mentoring and professional development support to project staff, with emphasis on building capacity of national staff
Lead the development of program strategies, planning and implementation of program activities while ensuring cohesion among the program components
Oversee monitoring and evaluation of project indicators and knowledge management activities; oversee learning across project activities and with stakeholders; oversee project communications
Oversee the project’s financial and technical reporting requirements
Qualifications
Bachelor’s Degree required (however a Master’s degree is preferred) in a relevant discipline such as education, business administration, international development, sociology, economics, education, social sciences, or another relevant field.
Minimum of 8+ years of relevant professional experience, with experience managing programs and implementing activities related to research, youth livelihoods, youth engagement, youth services, education, private sector development, and/or workforce development projects, with at least four of those years in Kenya or countries with a similar context.
Proven success managing complex development programs that include multi-disciplinary programming, preferably in the Eastern Africa context, and on USAID-funded projects of similar size; prior experience as a USAID Chief of Party or similar leadership role preferred.
Proven abilities to set priorities, to multi-task, and to work collaboratively across technical disciplines.
Experience developing successful private sector partnerships in the context of youth engagement, education, or workforce activities.
Experience collaborating and establishing strong relationships with government ministries and officials, universities and technical and vocational training institutions, NGOs and donors, youth-led organizations, and community-based institutions, preferably in Kenya.
Outstanding professional reputation and have strong demonstrated interpersonal, written, and oral presentation skills.
Well-developed written and oral communication skills in English required, Kiswahili preferred.
Ability to organize systems to monitor results, identify learnings and adaptations; prior experience utilizing and/or managing USAID Collaboration, Learning, and Adaptation (CLA) principles preferred.
Demonstrated ability to lead a diverse team on activities of similar scale (financially, staff size, and activities). Ability to work well with others and to develop and maintain compatibility among project staff, subcontractors, consultants, and recipients of assistance.
This job description summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. This document should not be construed in any way to represent a contract of employment. Management reserves the right to review and revise this document at any time.
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FHI 360 is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. FHI 360 is an equal employment and affirmative action employer whereby we do not engage in practices that discriminate against any person employed or seeking employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information or any other status or characteristic protected under applicable law.
