Chief of Party

Chemonics seeks a Chief of Party for the anticipated five (5) year $30-40 USAID/Malawi Investing in Diversified Agriculture-led Growth Poles for Inclusive, Sustainable and Resilient Wealth Creation (Growth Poles Activity). The purpose of this activity is to accelerate inclusive, resilient, and sustainable wealth generation and commercialization of smallholder agriculture in Malawi through private sector led approaches and partnerships with surrounding communities, smallholder organizations, cooperatives, and MSMEs in a growth pole approach. Using an approach implemented at the household, community, and system levels, driven by private sector actors, the Activity must catalyze rural economic growth transformation, strategically building a critical mass of multiple value-chain and/or geographically linked partnerships, product and service providers that have downstream and upstream impacts on jobs and incomes, resilience, and greater inclusivity of women and youth, e.g., broader positive impacts.

The Chief of Party will play a critical role in providing strategic supervision of all activities related to this program and have overall responsibility for the successful performance of the technical assistance team. The COP shall provide strategic leadership and bear primary responsibility for all administrative requirements of the contract, ensuring that the quarterly key performance indicators, objectives, and deliverables for the project are met. He or she will be responsible for ensuring the project follows USAID regulations, the contract, and Chemonics policies. The COP will be the official representative of the contractor and be primarily responsible for liaising with high-level USAID and government officials, and forging alliances with a myriad of businesses, organizations and stakeholders and managing multiple offices. This position will be based in Malawi. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

Key Responsibilities:

· Provide overall leadership, management, and technical direction for the project and serve as the primary liaison with USAID on strategic, managerial, and technical matters, including responsibility for making key decisions and solving programmatic challenges in a timely manner;

· Ensure compliance with all USAID rules and regulations, contract requirements, and Chemonics policies and systems;

· Liaise with and maintain effective working relations with senior Government of Malawi stakeholders, international organizations, private sector partners, NGOs, civil society, and U.S. Government agencies;

· Communicate clear expectations to project staff and establish an operating environment that encourages integrity, honesty, open communications, and commitment to compliance with local laws, USAID rules and regulations, and Chemonics’ policies and procedures; and

· Provide general oversight of the project, including overall responsibility for the project’s operations, strategic vision, fiscal integrity, quality and timing of deliverables, and coordination with partners.

Qualifications:

· Advanced degree preferred in agriculture, economics, finance, public administration, or an equivalent combination of education and work experience in a related field;

· A minimum of 10 years of experience in the design, implementation, and management of USAID funded agriculture and wealth creation or Growth Poles projects, or in other related fields in an international context;

· Previous experience working in Africa required, experience working in Southeast Africa strongly preferred;

· Proven record of building teams and fostering collaboration with diverse stakeholders to achieve project goals, meet project milestones, and produce quality project results;

· Demonstrated leadership, versatility, and integrity; and

· Fluency in English with excellent oral and written communication skills required