Deputy Chief of Party-Implementation

Chemonics seeks a Deputy Chief of Party-Implementation for the USAID Heshimu Bahari (“Respect the Ocean”) Project. The five-year project aims to improve the ecological resilience and productivity of Tanzania’s high marine biodiversity areas. Tanzania’s coral reefs are among the world’s fifty most climate-resilient reefs based on biological and oceanographic characteristics, and Tanzania’s marine and coastal ecosystems support a diverse range of coral reefs, seagrasses, open-ocean pelagic habitats, and mangroves. Not only do the ecosystems support species such as dugongs, sea turtles, and sharks and rays, but they also support a variety of livelihoods such as artisan fishing, aquaculture, and marine/coastal-related tourism activities. Overfishing, poorly planned infrastructure projects, and climate change all threaten not only these ecosystems and their fauna and flora, but also livelihoods and food security. These obstacles, together with the lack of a functional marine management area (MMA) framework, underdeveloped governance systems, insufficient funding, and an unincentivized private sector, severely limit effective management and measurable impact in marine biodiversity conservation.

To help address these challenges, Heshimu Bahari aims to establish an enabling environment and science-driven framework for sustainable MMA and wild-caught fishery co-management by government, communities, and the private sector. The Project has four integrated objectives:

1. Strengthening the enabling framework for a network of MMAs and Fishery Replenishment Zones to support biodiversity conservation, climate resilient communities, and sustainable wild-caught fisheries.
2. Community co-management of MMAs/wild-caught fisheries and climate resilience strengthened.
3. Private sector investment in MMAs and wild-caught fisheries expanded.
4. Integration of relevant science to MMA and fisheries policy and management improved.

The Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP)-Implementation will collaborate with Heshimu Bahari’s leadership to manage the Project’s work and operational plans. The DCOP-Implementation will provide managerial oversight of and effective management of work plan activities, compliance with the contract, and integration with monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) activities that provide implementation feedback and opportunities for adaptative management. In particular, the DCOP-Implementation will ensure effective collaboration between the technical, grants, MEL/communications, and operations teams to implement the project cycle, from intervention design and planning to implementation, iteration, and knowledge sharing. The DCOP-Implementation will deploy effective personnel and resource management skills to ensure that Heshimu Bahari’s work plan activities are completed on time, are of high quality, and are cost-effective. The DCOP-Implementation will collaborate effectively with team members, consortium partners, counterparts, USAID, and other development partners. In collaboration with the Chief of Party (COP), the DCOP-Implementation will also foster conditions for learning, including an environment for sharing ideas, solutions, and challenges as well as the skills to detect, analyze, and respond quickly to implementation challenges.

Responsibilities Include:

• As a member of the leadership team, collaborate closely with the COP and Finance & Administration Director to provide technical and managerial oversight for Heshimu Bahari, including the development and implementation of the Project’s annual work plan, budget, and operations plan; quarterly and annual reports; other project deliverables; and responding to USAID requests.
• Maintain rigorous focus on the achievement of Heshimu Bahari’s key performance indicators and on fulfilling the terms of the Project’s contractual scope of work and annual work plan/deliverable schedule; and collaborate with MEL/communications staff to elevate learnings and ensure knowledge informs iterative implementation with the technical team, consortium partners, and grantees.
• Collaborate with the COP to effectively manage talent, the consortium, and team dynamics. Provide coaching and mentoring if needed to enhance skills needed to manage work plan activities and ensure appropriate monitoring and evaluation of activities to support learning and adapting.
• Support the grants, operations, and technical teams to implement the Heshimu Bahari intervention cycle ensuring efficient and streamlined grant management and implementation procedures.
• Support the COP to ensure that USG rules and regulations and Chemonics policies and procedures are followed; identify and mitigate risks to USAID, the Project, and Chemonics.
• Coordinate with the COP and operations team to determine resourcing strategies and priorities for optimal cost control and operational efficiency; manage these priorities and ensure compliance with and updating of the Project’s operations plan.
• Provide staff and grantees with support in financial management, procurement compliance, and technical planning, including developing tools and resources to facilitate implementation.
• Collaborate with communications specialist to develop communications products and provide editing, content quality control, and adherence to branding and marking plan on communications materials, reports, and deliverables.
• Facilitate the coordination of financial reports and communications procedures with Chemonics’ Project Management Unit to ensure accurate monthly forecasts.
• Supervise three to five technical and/or administrative staff.
• Represent the Project in meetings and workshops as requested by the COP.
• Serve as Acting COP and perform other duties as assigned by the COP.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree required in international development, business administration, political science, environmental science, natural resource management, public policy or related field. Minimum five years of relevant, progressively responsible project management experience on USAID-funded prime contracts required; experience working on USAID-funded prime contracts implemented in East Africa preferred.
• Experience with natural resource management, climate change adaptation, livelihood development, and/or private sector engagement preferred.
• Demonstrated capacity in project management and experience using relevant tools to implement activities adhering to international norms and standards; specific experience shall include procurement, grants and/or subcontract management, human resources, finance, and standards of business conduct.
• Proven experience with implementing partner financial cycles including budget planning, monitoring, forecasting, and reporting.
• Exceptional English written and verbal communication skills.

The position will be based in Dar es Salaam, reporting to the Heshimu Bahari Chief of Party.