Chief of Party, USAID/Nepal Integrated Nutrition Activity (INA) At Save the Children – US

Summary

Save the Children is seeking an experienced Chief of Party for the anticipated five-year USAID-funded Integrated Nutrition Activity (INA) program in Nepal. The program will focus on strengthening the government of Nepal’s (GON) commitment and capacity to improve nutrition outcomes and to ensuring a healthy and productive workforce.

The Chief of Party (COP) will be responsible for providing strategy, technical leadership and overall management direction for the project. This person is also responsible for project inputs, program strategy, external representation and coordination with project counterparts, USAID, the government of Nepal, other donors within the sector and other programs as necessary. The COP is ultimately responsible for compliance with the agreement results and the oversight of project activities, which will meet the stated objectives of the project. The position will be located in Kathmandu.

This position is contingent upon donor approval and funding.

What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

• Lead the project’s strategic, financial, and operational planning, including the annual work planning process and development of an appropriate exit strategy.
• Provide quality excellence across the activity in collaboration with government and other key stakeholders.
• Lead overall program planning, putting in place team structures, technical and operational approaches, infrastructure, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and feedback loops required for program delivery and success and submission of quality timely deliverables.
• Oversee the timely submission of all agreed deliverables to USAID and develop effective relationships with the donor to support critical programming.
• Recruit, develop and manage the program team, ensuring that adequate and appropriate capacity building plans are in place.
• Lead the full project team and maximize the collaborative working approach and engagement with key stakeholders.
• Follow USAID’s Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) framework and set of practices to help improve program effectiveness throughout the program life cycle for design and adaptive management.
• Provide overall coordination of the institutional/organizational capacity strengthening of local NGOs and other key stakeholders.
• Build and strengthen relationships with GON, donors, policy makers, key project stakeholders, technical and implementing partners, national and local nutrition networks disseminating key lessons learned.
• Lead partnerships and coordination within the consortium, as well as with external stakeholders as needed, to create the teamwork required for program success.
• Align this program with other donor-funded programs in country and facilitate government leadership and ownership in line with GON Nutrition Policies.
• Deliver the program strategy to support the country’s Journey to Self-Reliance goals.
• Ensure that efficient systems to support all aspects of the project (including sub-grant management, financial, capacity building, performance monitoring and reporting and support services) are in place and support the effective use of project resources in compliance with USAID regulations and Save the Children policies.
• Identify and effectively manage all key risks related to the project, including compliance with donor transparency and due diligence requirements.
• Encourage a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.

Required Qualifications

• Post-graduate education (Master’s or higher) in public health, nutrition, health sciences, management or related field.
• Minimum of seven years’ experience managing health and/or nutrition programs in developing country contexts and ideally, in Asia.
• Prior experience delivering large-scale nutrition (nutrition specific and sensitive) or multi-sectoral projects of similar or related nature, size, and complexity and demonstrated experience in management of large inter-disciplinary teams.
• At least five years of demonstrated experience in managing and supervising a technical team and oversight of project design and implementation.
• Experience in successfully establishing and managing collaborative relationships and partnerships with donors and government counterparts at the senior level.
• A history of productive involvement with governmental health systems, processes and service delivery models involving community in developing countries.
• Demonstrated leadership in Project Cycle Management approach with skills in strategic planning and thinking, management, supervision and budgeting.
• Demonstrated leadership abilities, problem solving skills, collaboration experience, creativity and willingness to innovate.
• Experience in the domain of social and behavior change communication in the context of public health, WASH or nutrition.
• Prior experience as COP/Project Director or Deputy COP/PD is ideal.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to lead and work effectively in team situations.
• Strong working familiarity with USAID regulations and policies.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and Nepali.
• Familiarity with the political, social, and cultural context of Nepal.