Deputy Chief of Party – Programs (Guatemala)

Overview

Location: Guatemala

Background:

Creative Associates International is a dynamic, fast-growing global development firm that specializes in education, economic growth, democratic institutions and stabilization. Based in Washington, D.C., Creative has a field presence in more than 25 countries with a strong client portfolio that includes the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department, among others. Since its founding in 1977, Creative has earned a solid reputation among its clients and is well-regarded by competitors and partners alike.

Position Summary:

Creative Associates seeks a Deputy Chief of Party – Programs (DCOP-P) for an anticipated USAID-funded program in Guatemala. The DCOP-P ensures that program activities are designed, implemented, and completed in accordance with a fast-paced program strategy. The DCOP-P takes a lead role in the development and implementation of regional, cross-border and action-research activities, and provides technical support to the Regional Program Manager and the Program Development Officers. The DCOP-P leads the Analysis, Learning and Reporting Team as well as the Grants Team. The DCOP-P supports the COP, acts for the COP as needed, and conducts any other tasks assigned by the COP to ensure proper technical implementation of the Task Order.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities

• Activity Development and Implementation
• * Oversees the development, design, implementation, and closeout of all small grant activities.
• * Take a lead and direct role in the development of regional and action-research activities (learning, support activities).
• * Reviews activity ideas, narratives (purpose tabs, implementation plans) and budgets in coordination with the Regional Program Manager.
• * In coordination with USAID/OTI, schedules and leads activity development and implementation meetings.
• * Oversee the function, effectiveness, and compliance of the Grants Department to ensure all activities are conceived, delivered, and closed in compliance with the approved Activity Cycle, and Activity Manual Addendum (Grants Manual).
• * Manage short-term technical assistance (STTA), as well as Task Orders for technical and research partners, including the development of their scopes of work (SOWs) and ensuring the final reports are accurate, well-written, and meet expectations.
• * Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
• * Provide management oversight of the M&E and research functions on the program, ensuring coordination and mutual support between Program and M&E teams, and establishing feedback processes to ensure that activity lessons and research outcomes feed into and inform the activity design process.
• * Works closely with the USAID/OTI MEL cadre to develop and maintain program and cluster-level MEL framework and documents.
• * Contributes to the design and procurement of cluster and program-level evaluations.
• * Plans and schedules internal and external learning calls, events and products, developing agendas, coordinating and reviewing presentations, and ensuring participation of all stakeholders.
• * Provides overall quality control for activity-level learning products, including Final Evaluation Reports and Success Stories.
• * Communications, Reporting and Media
• * Oversees activity reporting and amplification of activities successes, ensures that standards for documentation, reporting and database management and analysis are adhered to.
• * Reviews and edits programmatic and atmospherics reports as needed, providing strategic direction and quality control.
• * Takes a lead role in the production of the semi-annual and program-level reports.
• * Ensures that media products, including short videos, meet program objectives and the interests of intended audiences.
• * Capacity-building and Representation
• * Develops and implements a comprehensive and ongoing training program for the MEL staff as well as the broader team, including but not limited to outcome harvesting, final evaluation report writing, qualitative data collection techniques, and activity writing.
• * Represents the program before a range of audiences and in a variety of platforms, at the national, state, and regional levels.
• * Travels regularly to work with teams to meet local partners and support activity development, implementation, and monitoring.
• Qualifications

Required Skills & Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field required, Master’s degree in relevant field preferred.
• * Experience on one or more OTI projects required, including supervisory experience. Field experience working in Latin America, and especially Guatemala, is strongly desired.
• * Demonstrated experience in planning, development, and implementation of Grants Under Contracts, including the utilization of in-kind, Fixed Amount Award, and Simplified grant mechanisms.
• * Experience working on high-pressure/high-visibility activities. This includes rapid turnaround of materials, talking points, data, and being prepared to speak articulately on the project with a moment’s notice.
• * Experience leading Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL), research, and context analysis, including applying complexity-aware MEL approaches and applying context analysis and learning findings to small grant activities and program strategy.
• * Experience managing diverse program teams, in-person and remotely. This should include training, mentoring, and capacity building of senior staff.
• * Demonstrated ability to develop and sustain relationships with USAID counterparts and in clearly elucidating program strategy and programmatic information. This should include leveraging experience and relationships to articulate responses to regular USAID requests.
• * Demonstrate excellent problem-solving skills, multi-tasking, and decisive decision-making capabilities in a fast-paced environment.
• * Complete fluency in written and oral Spanish and English are required.
• Position contingent upon donor funding.
• Only finalists will be contacted. No phone calls, please.
• Creative Associates International Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer: Disability/Veteran.
• PI232261611

https://www.click2apply.net/XRkndrsV4ZWwKhkmxUeK2w