CHIEF OF PARTY ZAMBIA

CARE Zambia seeks a Chief of Party (CoP) to be based in Lusaka for an upcoming, 4-year, USAID-funded project. Subject to funding availability, the anticipated project will focus on improving the livelihoods of vulnerable populations in Zambia’s Eastern Province, particularly women, through access to finance and increased economic opportunities. The project will have a strong emphasis on both the connecting the rural poor to markets and financial services as well as improved livelihoods opportunities. The project will have a strong emphasis on gender and nutrition as well as climate change/adaptation activities.

Position Summary:

The COP will lead the planning and implementation of the project, overseeing all aspects, including programmatic, financial, administrative, and personnel. S/He will ensure that all project interventions are of a high quality and lead to measurable impact. This includes, but is not limited to, overseeing the annual work-plan preparation, identifying external technical support needs, ensuring that appropriate management practices are being used in project implementation and the monitoring and evaluation systems are being used to provide timely management information. Additionally, the CoP will maintain appropriate levels of communication with all implementing partners, resource partners and sub-contractors and will coordinate all project activities with relevant institutions, CSOs and private sector partners.

Responsibilities:

• Overall planning, management and leadership of project activities;
• Serve as a primary contact point with USAID and bear responsibility for timely reporting;
• Provide strong technical leadership on savings led approaches to microfinance, capacity building of financial institutions and livelihoods programming.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with implementing partners, key Zambian ministries and private sector partners involved in improving access to markets and financial services;
• Oversee the design and implementation of capacity-building activities with CSOs and other relevant stakeholders;
• Oversee the delivery and management of subgrants;
• Oversee project monitoring, reporting and evaluation, including efficient delivery of results by implementing partners and sub-contractors;
• Provide guidance and support to staff and project partners.

Required Skills:

• Advanced degree in international development, public policy, social sciences, agricultural sciences or related field;
• 10+ years of experience with rural livelihoods, microfinance and value chain work, with at least five years at a senior management level;
• Previous experience in international development;
• Previous CoP/DCoP experience in financial services and/or livelihoods related project
• In-depth knowledge of USAID regulations, systems and procedures for managing complex grants programs with many partners and customers is mandatory
• Excellent knowledge of the constraints and opportunities to accessing financial services, preferably in the Zambian context;
• Extensive experience working with local implementing partners in support of their development;
• Extensive experience integrating gender into livelihoods programming
• Demonstrated success and ability to design and deliver large USAID funded programs.
• Ability to plan strategically to meet project objectives, manage budgets, oversee the work of implementing partners and produce donor reports

• Strong people management skills with the ability to provide guidance and support
• Proficiency in English; knowledge of Chichewa, Nsenga and Tumbuka is a considerable advantage;
• Computer literacy.

CHIEF OF PARTY ZAMBIA