Chief of Party, Let Girls Learn, Malawi

The COP will be responsible for providing technical leadership and overall management direction for the project. S/he is also responsible for project inputs, program strategy, operations, external representation and coordination with project counterparts, USAID, the Government of Malawi, other donors within the sector and other programs as necessary. The COP is ultimately responsible for compliance with the agreement results and the oversight of project activities that will meet the stated objectives within the targeted districts.

• Lead the project’s strategic, financial, and operational planning, including the annual work planning process and development of an appropriate exit strategy (15%);
• Oversee the timely submission of all deliverables to USAID, including quarterly and annual reports, annual work plans, performance indicators, financial reports, and regular results reporting as needed in addition to overall quality control (15%);
• Represent the project with USAID, the Government of Malawi, donors, and partners. (15%)
• Supervise all program staff and manage the work of all sub-grantees (15%);
• Ensure good practice by supporting the development of strong M&E mechanisms and a robust monitoring process (10%);
• Fully inform Save the Children’s home/field office on all matters relating to the project, and maintain appropriate links with partner home/field offices (10%);
• Ensure that efficient systems to support all aspects of the project (including sub-grant management, financial, capacity building and performance monitoring and reporting) are in place and support the effective use of project resources in compliance with USAID regulations and Save the Children policies (10%);
• Provide overall coordination of the institutional/organizational capacity building of local NGOs and other key stakeholders (10%)

Required Qualifications

• A Master’s Degree in Education, Administration, Management or related field is required;

• At least 7-10 years demonstrated technical and management experience in the education sector, with experience working in Africa preferred;
• Technical understanding of primary and secondary education, teacher training and gender-sensitive issues;
• COP experience in education with an emphasis on girls’ education strongly preferred;
• USAID related experience managing school construction desired;
• At least 8 years of demonstrated excellence in senior level management and leadership, including direct supervision of professional and support staff, evaluation of staff performance, and contract/grant management is preferred;
• Experience with addressing quality of education, including retention rate and transition from primary to secondary;
• Experience in institutional capacity building of government counterparts at the national and/or local level is preferred; strong analytical skills related to this technical area a plus;
• Ability to identify, address and resolve communication issues within the activity and with external stakeholders and strong coordination skills are critical;
• Demonstrated problem solving skills, a collaborative and flexible manner, creativity and willingness to innovate;
• Ability to establish and maintain collaborative working relationships with USAID/Malawi, host government partners at the national and district levels, and personnel within the activity is required; strong visionary leadership and demonstrated professional accomplishments;
• Excellent representational and interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to lead and work effectively in team situations;
• Strong working familiarity with USAID regulations, procedures, documentation and policies;
• Fluent oral and written English communications skills is required. Knowledge of local languages preferred.