Bangladesh: Chief of Party, Bangladesh Food for Education Project

Position Description

POSITION TITLE: Chief of Party, Bangladesh Food for Education Project

LOCATION: Bangladesh

DEPARTMENT: Civil Society & Education

REPORTS TO: Unit Director or designee

Position Summary:

The Chief of Party will be responsible for implementing a high-quality, results-oriented program focused increase literacy and quality education, reduce hunger and improve nutrition among primary school-aged students in Bangladesh. The Chief of Party will oversee the school feeding program, literacy and teacher training activities, as well as work to strengthen local communities and government capacity to maintain a school feeding program. The position is contingent upon receipt of donor funding.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Chief of Party is responsible for overall project management, supervision, administration, and implementation of a high-quality program. S/he will establish and maintain systems for project operations; ensure that all agreement deadlines are met and targets are achieved; coordinate and maintain working relationships with project stakeholders (including government and private industry stakeholders, subgrantees and/or subcontractors); lead collaborative initiatives with private companies; and oversee the preparation and submission of technical and financial reports to US Department of Agriculture.

• Manage the Bangladesh Food for Education project which includes developing and overseeing annual planning; timely, high quality implementation of activities; and monitoring and evaluation of project implementation and deliverables;
• Oversee project budget and ensure that all financial activity is carried out in accordance with annual budget allocations, Winrock policy, and donor guidelines;
• With support from field and home office staff, prepare and submit timely and accurate activity, financial, and procurement reports to US Department of Agriculture and Winrock;
• Maintain close communication with US Department of Agriculture, reporting regularly for formal review sessions and providing ongoing, informal updates of program progress;
• Oversee literacy and teacher training activities in target school communities;
• Oversee the school feeding program;
• Provide technical assistance, support, and oversight to partner NGOs and CSOs;
• Provide technical assistance, support, and information to national and local government officials;
• Oversee the program’s sustainability strategy working with local government, school communities and teachers to maintain a school feeding program;
• Oversee the program’s sustainability strategy, including local capacity building and private sector engagement;
• Oversee monitoring and evaluation to measure impacts
• Hire and supervise local project staff and annually evaluate their performance;
• Represent the project and Winrock to donors, local and national government entities, the media, local NGOs, and the local business community;
• Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Successful candidates will have strong management skills as well as relevant experience implementing education and literacy programs, preferably in Southeast Asia. Specific experience and specialization in the areas of literacy, teacher training, school feeding, addressing nutrition and health in schools, creating/maintaining partnerships with local government, communities and CSOs; additional experience addressing disparities and access to girls’ education is strongly desired. Significant project management experience and leadership is highly desired.

Education: Master’s level degree required in international development, education, political science, or a relevant social science discipline.

Technical Applicants must have a minimum of 10 years’ experience working on education programs, including a minimum of 4 years’ of demonstrated managerial and/or team leadership experience.

Experience in the Southeast Asia region is required, and Bangladesh strongly preferred.

ManagementExperience:

• Experience managing to the highest ethical standards international projects
• Demonstrated leadership and administrative skills in the management of complex, multi-activity programming, on time and on budget.
• Financial management, budget design, and budget management experience.
• Demonstrated success in motivating and supervising diverse teams of employees.
• Experience in strategic planning and implementation of strategic plans.
• Experience designing and implementing or overseeing monitoring and evaluation systems.
• Good track record working with and/or partnering with a variety of individuals and organizations, including senior US and host country government officials, international agencies, private sector companies, and donor organizations.

Skills/Knowledge:**

• Knowledge or understanding of social, economic, and political context governing youth, education, and nutrition issues in developing countries.
• Experience providing support to formal and informal education programs, leadership trainings, and local organization capacity building.
• Knowledge of US Government regulations, policies, and procedures or those of an equivalently complex international government funding organization.
• Demonstrated effective interpersonal skills, creative problem solving, conflict, and ethical management skills.
• Fluency in English, and Bengali preferred.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Computer literate in word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software (Microsoft).

Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply online at: https://www.appone.com/MainInfoReq.asp?R_ID=2392782