Chief of Party At Pact

Pact is an international nonprofit that works in nearly 40 countries building solutions for human development that are evidence-based, data-driven and owned by the communities we serve. Founded in 1971, Pact works with partners to build resilience, improve accountability, and strengthen knowledge and skills for sustainable social impact.

Department

Programs – Pact strives for a world where all people are heard, capable, and vibrant. The Programs Team helps realize this objective by bridging program management, technical support, and business development, enabling Pact to achieve its global strategy. We ensure program excellence through continuous learning, monitoring and evaluation and provide organizational and industry-wide thought leadership by leveraging a complementary set of cross-functional, multi-disciplinary skills, expertise, and experiences. The Programs team: influences progressive change through the development and implementation of global and regional strategies and business plans; supports advancement of innovative solutions; pursues new business opportunities; and drives effective internal and external engagement to maximize Pact’s impact across the globe. Across all aspects of its role, the Programs Department adheres to and promotes a culture of inclusion, accountability, and respect.

Position Overview

Pact seeks a Chief of Party (COP) for the USAID Bolstering Civil Society (BCS) Activity, which will assist Sri Lanka in maintaining a vibrant civil society that empowers citizens to advance democratic values, protect their rights, and advocate for the meaningful participation of all. This is anticipated to be a five-year activity. This position is contingent upon award.

The COP will be responsible for technical leadership and the overall management and operations of the activity. She/he will supervise high-quality project implementation and ensure the project meets stated goals, expected results, and reporting requirements. The COP will take a leadership role in coordination of all activities across all relevant parties, including: USAID, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), key stakeholders, and implementing partners. She/he will also oversee all project staff and sub-partners to results-oriented planning, leadership, and coordination of project activities and products.

Key Responsibilities

The specific duties to be carried out by the successful candidate are listed below:

• Ensure high-quality, results-oriented technical programming through hands-on guidance and support grounded in the program’s strategic objectives and approved annual workplans and adhering to expected technical quality and reporting requirements.
• Lead the technical and programmatic design of award and partner programs;
• Serve as key representative to USAID; responsible for all communications with USAID officials, etc.
• Act as a liaison to and ensure effective relationships with relevant donors, GoSL, national policy actors, sub-partners, and other key stakeholders ensuring strong cooperation and collaboration.
• Lead all project planning responsibilities, including the production of annual workplans and budgets and performance monitoring plans (PMPs), ensuring alignment of the budget to expected results and ensuring cost-effective use of Pact’s resources.
• Ensure a highly adaptive, systems-driven approach to promoting innovative and sustainable approaches to empowering civil society and promoting civic engagement.
• Review and approve annual budgets and quarterly reports, ensuring they are completed and submitted in a timely manner. Ensure compliance with USAID and Pact HQ requirements, policies, and regulations.
• As relevant, manage all local grantmaking mechanisms, ensuring compliance with USAID regulations and Pact policies; coordinate and/or conduct monitoring visits to grantee programs.
• Provide and/or ensure the provision of training and mentoring to partners to strengthen their capacity for technical service delivery and compliance with donor rules and regulations.
• Lead and provide oversight for an innovative approach to capacity development and CSO support aimed at effectively strengthening diverse civil society partners, including sub-national CSOs who are often not effectively supported by donor-funded programs.
• Recruit and directly supervise local and international project staff in line with Pact human resource (HR) policies; oversee the management and development of project office HR to ensure a diverse, skilled, and productive workforce, an effective leadership team, and an organizational culture where Pact’s values are practiced.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Basic Requirements

• Master’s or bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as social sciences, law, or development studies, etc.;
• A minimum of ten (10) years demonstrated experience in the successful implementation of international development programming experience, with preference given to democracy and governance activities, five (5) years of which shall have been in senior program management including direct supervision of professional and support staff;
• In-depth understanding of the role of civil society in development and experience in building capacity for civil society organizations and networks/coalition strengthening in Sri Lanka;
• Demonstrated ability through previous experience in strong leadership and management skills to effectively and efficiently implement complex and politically sensitive international projects through evidence and data driven decision making;
• Demonstrated experience with gender and social inclusion (GESI) mainstreaming approaches;
• Demonstrated technical expertise in advocacy, accountability, research, media campaigns;
• Demonstrated ability through previous experience to establish and maintain productive working relationships with a wide network of partners and stakeholders, including international organizations, NGO partners, government institutions, private sector entities, and donor community;
• Demonstrated knowledge of and experience with working with the USG; and
• Excellent interpersonal, writing, and oral presentation skills in English.

Preferred Qualifications

• Preference for candidates who have a demonstrated track record of managing highly adaptive programs, as well as applying systems-driven approaches and/or thinking and working politically (TWP) principles;
• Experience managing USAID contracts and cooperative agreements;
• Sri Lankan nationals encouraged to apply.

Pact is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, citizenship status, genetic information, matriculation, family responsibilities, personal appearance, credit information, tobacco use (except in the workplace), membership in an employee organization, or other protected classifications or non-merit factors.