Country: Ethiopia

Organization: Save the Children

Closing date: 18 Aug 2023

Save the Children is seeking a Chief of Party (CoP) for an anticipated five-year USAID-funded Disaster Risk Management activity in Ethiopia. The program will enable timely anticipatory and early action to preempt crises and reduce the impact of shocks in Ethiopia by strengthening disaster risk management (DRM) planning and preparedness, improving DRM coordination, and enhancing resource mobilization and management. The activity will also strengthen gender in emergencies (GiE) capacity, increase private sector engagement in DRM, and expand local organizations’ capacity to engage in DRM. The proposed program will be an integrated, multi-sectoral development program and will align with other USAID-funded programs in country. The CoP is responsible for the overall management and representation of the activity, and is ultimately accountable for the delivery of desired program results, an effective adaptive management approach, relationships with a range of stakeholders, and management of the program team and consortium partners.

Hiring is contingent upon successful award of the project and USAID approval of the proposed candidate.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Key Functions:

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.

Manage partnerships within the program consortium, as well as with external stakeholders as needed, to create the team work required for program success.

Coordinate formative research studies, ensuring that these remain on track and that findings are synthesized to inform revisions to the program’s design (including its theory of change), scope, targeting methodology and implementation approach.

Represent the program to donor officials, host government officials, partner representatives, local stakeholders, and team members. Ensure strong and productive relationships with Government of Ethiopia officials (at central, regional and local levels) and a smoothly functioning program consortium.

Lead annual planning processes and associated donor resource requests; monitoring implementation progress as compared to these plans.

Ensure the quality of all program deliverables, inclusive of activities, outputs, documentation and reporting.

Ensure sound program financial management and reporting, logistical and operational structures are aligned with program goals.

Ensure that strong and compliant resource transfer operational management plans, procedures and structures are in place.

Ensure compliance with USAID, host government and Save the Children policies and procedures.

Recruit, develop and manage the program team, ensuring that adequate and appropriate capacity building plans are in place and that Human Resources policies are appropriate for team retention and high performance.

Demonstrate a commitment to gender and youth integration in the programmatic and operational aspects of the activity, as well as in team composition and inclusivity.

Ensure that the program deploys an effective collaborating, learning and adapting approach, such that the activity is able to evolve in a changing context to achieve desired outcomes.

Allow for alignment of program strategies and activities to engage with local stakeholders to promote self-reliance and sustainable outcomes among the beneficiary population.

Required Background and Experience

Master’s degree in a relevant field (development studies, international relations, risk management, economics, climate change, business administration, etc.) combined with at least 10 years of progressively responsible experience leading and implementing international development programs.

Specific technical expertise in disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and/or resilience programming.

Demonstrated ability managing a program of a similar size and scope, preferably in East Africa.

Prior experience as COP or Deputy COP is preferred.

Ability and willingness to travel frequently.

Excellent written communication and presentation skills in English.

About Save the Children

No matter your role when you join Save the Children, each and every day you will challenge yourself to devote your skills, talent and expertise to changing the world for kids. It’s an ambitious goal, and a meaningful one no matter how you see yourself professionally: an accountant, a writer, a data analyst, a teacher, a driver, a designer, or any one of the hundreds of dozens of roles we’re looking to fill every day.

You see, Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.

Our work for children and their families requires that we commit—at every opportunity—to work together to identify and dismantle persistent systemic and structural racism, inequality, and any other forms of discrimination in this country and beyond. As an anti-racist organization, Save the Children will not tolerate discrimination in any form—in our employment practices, amongst our staff, in our leadership or toward the people we serve. We stand in solidarity with all people to fight for equal rights, justice, inclusion, and belonging.

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws.

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom we are in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse. In addition, it is Save the Children’s policy to create and proactively maintain an environment that aims to prevent and deter any actions and omissions, whether deliberate or inadvertent, that place children at the risk of any kind of child abuse. All our representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation.

Save the Children is committed to minimizing safety and security risks for our valued employees, ensuring all are given training, support and information to reduce their risk exposure while maximizing the impact of our programs for children and families. Our shared duty, both agency and individual, is to seek and maintain safe working conditions for all.

How to apply

Qualified candidates should apply directly through the Save the Children website using the following link from our Careers page: Chief of Party, Disaster Risk Management - Ethiopia | Opportunities (ultipro.com)