Deputy Chief of Party – Liberia

About the role: This is a new, 5 year role with accompanied terms based in Monrovia with frequent visits to project areas with a salary of Grade 4 of range from € 44,133 to 49,039

You will report to the Chief of Party and to the Programme Steering Committee. Regular day to day liaison and coordination will be with the Chief of Party and on occasion with the Programme Director. You will work closely with both local and international downstream partners and grantees, the Core Project Management Team, Concern’s Technical Advisors/Specialists, Programme Managers, Finance and system departments, Concern HQ and the donor

Start date is contingent upon award of the USAID grant, anticipated quarter 3 or 4 of 2022 (position subjected to grant approval)

Concern Worldwide is leading a Consortium, which intends to implement the Liberia Food Security, Nutrition, and Resilience (FSNR) Activity subject to award of the grant by USAID. FSNR will support smallholder farmers, subsistence farmers, cooperatives, women, and youth groups to achieve increased sustainable agricultural production and productivity. FSNR will target rural and peri-urban communities within the counties of Lofa, Bong, Nimba, Margibi, Grand Bassa, and Montserrado. This activity has four (4) specific objectives: 1.Strengthen smallholder farmers, women, and youths’ ability to sustainably produce a diverse mix of nutritious and high-value crops using climate-smart agriculture practices. 2. Increase aggregation, farm-level processing, value addition, and marketing of targeted staple and commercial crops to increase incomes and create employment opportunities especially for women and youth. 3. Support economic development and resilience through alternative livelihood opportunities, improved access, and participation in markets for smallholder farmers, agriculture cooperatives, women and youth groups, and subsistence farmers. 4. Enhance year-round availability, accessibility, and the utilization of nutritious food by households in targeted communities to enable them to improve their health and nutrition

Your purpose:

The Deputy COP will support the Chief of Party in providing overall leadership and technical management with an integrated approach for the program to achieve the desired results. The DCOP will work with COP and liaise with implementing partner heads, government and Concern programme and systems colleagues. The DCOP will supervise project staff including professional performance management and coaching.

You will be responsible for:

· Support the Chief of Party (COP) in the design and implementation of the project based on the strategy as set by COP

· Lead the delivery and focus on strategic priorities, project objectives, and activities to meet results planned and designed for the project.

· Providing line management to key Project Management staff in accordance with the project organogram as well as organisational policies and procedures.

· Developing and maintaining strong working relationships with downstream partners; maintaining regular communication, including managing their performances, addressing requisite revisions in project work, and addressing issues that may arise.

· Representing Concern and the partners in key meetings with donor technical staff and liaising with relevant government authorities. Support the COP in facilitating senior-level policy and dialogue with the sub-national governments and relevant Ministries and partners.

· Ensure and coordinate Concern’s presence at crucial Food and Nutrition Security meetings and events in the country.

· Ensuring compliance with organisational and donor rules and regulations, particularly with respect to financial and contract management, budget and expenditure monitoring.

· Ensure adherence/compliance with Concern’s Code of Conduct, Programme Participant Protection Policy, Safeguarding policy and associated policies.

· Promote and ensure accountability to programme participants and Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and Do No Harm principles, and ensure high ethical research standards, particularly given the sensitive nature of the topic areas throughout programme implementation.

· Provide overall technical and programmatic support throughout the implementation of the project across all pillars (while downstream partners will contribute specific areas of expertise).

· Ensure the effective use and coordination of USAID resources and the compliance of the financial systems and controls with USAID standards.

· Develop and manage a team that includes diverse backgrounds, including finance, marketing, monitoring, evaluation, and learning, to successfully co-create and support sustainable models for local and county level food and nutrition security. This would include to ensure that gender equality and diversity principles are upheld in the recruitment, orientation, performance and management of staff.

· Coordinate internal and external inputs for program planning and reporting, including annual work planning with sub-award partners.

· Provide operational leadership for the project and lead on quarterly and annual work planning, programme implementation, M&E and donor reporting.

· Ensure that efficient systems are in place to support all aspects of the project, including grant management, M&E systems, and technical assistance provision, in compliance with organizational procedures.

· Contribute to food and nutrition knowledge management, specifically coordinating internal and external communications and ensuring documentation of learnings.

· Support the design and dissemination of innovative solutions for food security and nutrition in Liberia, including providing effective guidance and support to technical members of the in-country management teams and staff assigned to the project.

· Contribute to food and nutrition project development by contributing to presentations, concept notes, and proposals.

Accountability

In line with Concern’s commitments under the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS):

· actively promote meaningful community participation and consultation at all stages of the project cycle (planning, implementation, M&E);

· work with relevant colleagues to ensure that the Complaints and Response Mechanism (CRM) is functional and accessible, that feedback and complaints are welcomed and addressed;

· work with relevant colleagues to ensure that information about CRM, safeguarding and expected staff behaviour is disseminated among programme participants and communities.

Your skills and experience will include:

Essential:

· Minimum of six (6) years of experience in designing and implementing USAID projects.

· Minimum of eight (8) years of work experience in developing countries, preferably in West Africa.

· Minimum three (3) years of successful experience as Deputy Chief of Party, Team Leader, Project Director or equivalent position for USAID or a similar donor agency-funded project.

· Master’s degree or higher in Agricultural Development, Agricultural Economics, Business, International Development, Public Policy, or another related field.

· Strong financial management and donor compliance skills.

· Experience in the design and use of monitoring and evaluation systems.

· Experience in helping to build effective relationships with senior representatives of donor, particularly USAID, INGO and Government structures and to represent at national or international level fora.

· Strong analytical, interpersonal, communication and organisation skills.

· Strong coordination skills specifically with the ability to effectively coordinate influence and negotiate with local partners and grantees.

· Strong understanding of and background in one or more of the following technical areas: climate-smart agriculture, market systems development, economic and environmental resilience, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, gender equality and social inclusion, and youth empowerment.

· Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

· Excellent written and spoken English languages skills.

· Liberian candidates strongly encouraged to apply

We would also like:

· Excellent interpersonal skills

· Cross cultural awareness and sensitivity.

· Good sense of humour

· Empathy with Concern’s goals and a commitment to capacity building, protection and participation.

· Excellent communication skills

· Demonstrated experience of team building and working in a participatory manner.

· Flexible and adaptable approach to working in a changing environment.