Back Chief of Party - Sri Lanka

We are currently seeking qualified Chief of Party candidates to be proposed on an anticipated USAID/Sri Lanka project. The New Reconciliation Activity seeks to support Sri Lanka's continued journey toward reconciliation by facilitating constructive interaction across diverse entities and identities to address grievances and misperceptions, fostering inclusive and transparent collaboration to improve equitable access to services and socioeconomic opportunity, and building individual and institutional capacities and leadership to interrupt existent or potential cycles of violence. The program will likely seek to help Sri Lanka face the challenge of broader reconciliation issues, bring diverse groups together to promote national unity, recover from recent political and economic instability, integrate different groups into the mainstream political and economic system, and address local and national grievances that threaten the stability of the country. Activities will engage diverse communities across Sri Lanka, with a cross-cutting objective of empowering women and youth in reconciliation and peacebuilding processes.

Job Summary:

The Chief of Party (COP) will provide overall vision, leadership, management, and technical direction for the entire program, to ensure an integrated vision among different components and actors and achieve the results as defined in the cooperative-agreement. S/he will serve as the project’s main point of contact for USAID’s Sri Lanka Mission; local partners; and other program stakeholders. Further, the COP is expected to identify issues and risks related to program implementation in a timely manner, recommend appropriate program adjustment, and ensure smooth functioning among and between donor, grantees, partners, and other key stakeholders. S/he will supervise activity implementation and ensure that program activities meet the stated goals, objectives, and reporting requirements. The COP position requires strong and positive communication skills and political savviness, as s/he will interact with numerous institutions and senior-level national and subnational level government officials. The COP must have demonstrated ability to work in complex environments and manage diverse teams to deliver impact within agreed timelines. It is expected that the COP will be located in Colombo, Sri Lanka, with anticipated project-funded travel throughout the country.

Essential Job Functions: Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead FHI 360’s project team and serve as the primary point of contact with USAID regarding the day-to-day activity implementation and management matters relating to the agreement.
• Oversee technical implementation and ensure project activities are of high technical quality and delivered on time and on budget.
• Manage and supervise the work of experts/personnel provided under the agreement.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for information on the progress and current status of all activities under the award.
• Establish appropriate monitoring mechanisms to ensure that activity progress and specific implementation concerns are regularly and promptly reported and that project objectives are met.
• Manage the preparation and presentation of work plans, M&E plans, and all reports, ensuring the quality of all deliverables.
• Facilitate ongoing project learning and adaptive management.
• Ensure that solid relationships are built and maintained between and among FHI 360 and sub-awardee project staff, USAID, and key local stakeholders and partners.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Requires a Bachelor's degree in a directly relevant field from an accredited university (Master's degree preferred);
• At least 12 years of experience successfully managing complex international programs (implementation, logistics, budgeting, staffing), preferably those funded by USAID and conducted in South and/or Southeast Asia;
• Prior experience as a Chief of Party or Deputy Chief of Party preferred;
• Demonstrated success across the whole range of project management responsibilities including: strategic program planning; work planning and budgeting; financial, administrative, contractual management and oversight;
• Demonstrated successes in relationship management with multiple clients; oversight of program monitoring and evaluation; and documentation of results for USAID or other-donor funded programs;
• Demonstrated successes in relationship management and collaboration with local partners;
• Excellent interpersonal and intercultural skills with demonstrated ability to lead and work effectively in diverse team situations, build and maintain a cohesive team spirit, as well as mentor staff;
• Past representational experience with host governments, other donors, and civil society and demonstrated success with inter-agency coordination and joint programming;
• Demonstrated strategic planning, staff development and capacity building experience;
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, and analytical capacity;
• Experience working on civil society strengthening, social cohesion, reconciliation, social inclusion, conflict management, or peacebuilding;
• Fluency in speaking, reading and writing English required; familiarity with Tamil or Sinhala preferred.

Availability of position is contingent upon award to FHI 360. Selection of final applicant is subject to USAID approval.

This job posting summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. This document should not be construed in any way to represent a contract of employment. Management reserves the right to review and revise this document at any time.

FHI 360 is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer whereby we do not engage in practices that discriminate against any person employed or seeking employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.

Our values and commitments to safeguarding:FHI 360 is committed to preventing any type of abuse, exploitation and harassment in our work environments and programs, including sexual abuse, exploitation and harassment. FHI 360 takes steps to safeguard the welfare of everyone who engages with our organization and programs and requires that all personnel, including staff members and volunteers, share this commitment and sign our code of conduct. All offers of employment will be subject to appropriate screening checks, including reference, criminal record and terrorism finance checks. FHI 360 also participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS), facilitated by the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response. In line with the MDS, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any substantiated findings of sexual abuse, exploitation and/or harassment during the applicant’s tenure with previous employers. By applying, job applicants confirm their understanding of these recruitment procedures and consent to these screening checks.

FHI 360 will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws.

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