CHIEF OF PARTY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAM IN NEPAL At Care

CARE seeks a Chief of Party for the anticipated USAID-funded Equity and Inclusion in Education solicitation in Nepal. This procurement is expected to be a five-year cooperative agreement in the $10-$25M range. The project will support the Government of Nepal in reducing the number of children who are out of school and improving learning outcomes for marginalized students. It will provide targeted support to municipalities to implement evidence-based interventions that are driven by the local context in agreed upon provinces of either (Province 2, Sudurpaschim, and/or Karnali). Areas of focus include decreasing financial barriers to education, increasing use of targeted non-formal education, increasing enrollment in early childhood education, increasing relevance of education; improving equitable teaching practices, and supporting schools to implement prioritized minimum enabling conditions.

The procurement is expected to be released in October 2021 and awarded in March 2022. The Chief of Party is a Key Personnel position and as such, their candidacy is subject to USAID approval. This position is subject to project award and funding. This position will be based in Katmandu.

The Chief of Party (CoP) is accountable for strategic leadership, management, and technical oversight of a project related to Equity and Inclusion in Education. This position is responsible to oversee overall project planning, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, ensuring compliance with CARE and USAID rules and regulations. S/he will guide and supervise project team to fulfill the project’s strategic goals and objectives, and ensures technical quality, efficient allocation of resources and realization of anticipated project results.

The Chief of Party will establish and maintain relationships with technical leads of key stakeholders, other implementing partners, and Government of Nepal (GoN) partners, and ensure meaningful engagement with relevant government line agencies, civil society, private sector and other stakeholders. They will also support strong learning element, testing innovations, documenting successes and failures and scaling up successful approaches applying a mix of proven strategies and innovative ideas to achieve the program goal and disseminate the results of and learning from program activities to contribute to national policy discourse.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide leadership and strategic direction to project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation and ensure appropriate and timely allocation of resources and technical support for effective implementation of project interventions.
• Liaise with USAID Nepal on strategic and management issues, and engage effectively with diverse group of stakeholders including Ministry of Education, provincial and local government officials, civil society and partners to ensure smooth implementation of project interventions.
• Cultivate the culture of learning and sharing and innovation to maximize impact, minimize cost, and enhance efficiency and sustainability of the project.
• Ensure proper management of financial and other resources and manage associated sub-contracts and grants in an effective manner.
• Ensure documentation of project learnings, success and failures, and disseminate the results in relevant platform.
• Manage and guide the project team and support in capacity development ensuring that the team has required expertise and motivation to accomplish project activities and achieve expected results.
• Ensure project activities are complaint with CARE and donor policies and procedures, and donor and other reports are submitted on timely manner.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Social Science, Education, International Development and/or or relevant field.
• Minimum of seven years of experience in managing and implementing education and/or inclusion programs of a similar scope and size in a development context. Experience on ECED and formal education projects preferred. Previous experience with early education programs in Nepal or in the region is a strong advantage.
• Previous Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, or senior management experience on USAID-funded programs is required.
• Proven exceptional leadership in the design, management, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of similar-sized international donor-supported programs, with skills in strategic planning and thinking, management, supervision and budgeting, and experience managing complex activities involving coordination with multiple program partner institutions. Strong familiarity with USAID collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) principles and approaches preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in any one or more of the following areas: decreasing financial barriers to education, increase use of targeted non-formal education, increasing enrollment in early childhood education, increasing relevance of education; improving equitable teaching practices, and supporting schools to implement prioritized minimum enabling conditions, M&E and operations research.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with government representatives, for-profit private sector entities, local community organizations, donors and other stakeholders, particularly at the sub-national level.
• Strong management skills, strategic vision, leadership qualities, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to principles of Gender Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, as evidenced in previous management positions and programming. Demonstrated commitment to PSHEA (Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Harassment, and Abuse).
• Strong oral and written communication skills in English; excellent demonstrated interpersonal and negotiation skills.
• Experience recruiting, developing, and managing staff and teams.
• Track record of strong commitment to sharing knowledge, documenting experiences, supporting creative initiatives, and sharing credit.
• Ability to travel within Nepal as required.