Back Chief of Party, Ukraine Monitoring and Learning Support Contract (UMLS)

The Chief of Party (COP) for the Ukraine Monitoring and Learning Support Activity (UMLS) leads and manages the overall UMLS contract, for performance on tasks and deliverables identified in the SOW. The COP works closely with USAID/Ukraine’s Program Office, USAID implementing partners and their COPs managing USAID activities, and national level stakeholders and must develop important professional relations with some of Ukraine’s most reputable social scientists and development professionals, in support of USAID/Ukraine’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning efforts.

More specifically, the COP provides strategic, managerial, and technical direction for the contract. The COP’s primary responsibilities are to provide leadership to, and supervision of, field team members; complete quality assurance on Activity tasks and deliverables; ensure clear and consistent flow of communication and coordination with EnCompass Headquarters (HQ); lead client communications; and empower the entire UMLS team, including STTA and sub-contractor(s), to ensure that products and services delivered under the Activity are on budget, timely, aligned with client need, and positioned to advance the objective(s) of the Activity in Ukraine. The COP provides an integrated vision of Activity success and ensures synergy among different components and actors while ensuring results defined in the contract. The COP works with various stakeholders, including high-level government and USAID officials; and coordinates closely with EnCompass HQ staff, in-country staff, subcontractors (including the security firm) to ensure technical delivery and quality, and contract compliance. The COP serves as a representative of EnCompass to USAID in Ukraine and other stakeholders involved in the Activity.

The position is based at the EnCompass Activity office in Kyiv, Ukraine. It is an unaccompanied post.

Position Duties and Responsibilities

Essential functions:

Management and Leadership

• In collaboration with the client, establishes the vision of the Activity/project and ensures the vision is operationalized through contract work; ensures the timely completion of quality deliverables and services in line with this vision; creates the enabling environment necessary to realize the vision
• Leads the UMLS team by establishing and monitoring objectives and standards for individual, team, and cross-team performance in alignment with the vision, client need, and EnCompass standards
• Supervises the UMLS team in alignment with EnCompass supervision policies and processes; directly supervises DCOP, Operations Lead, and senior level consultants
• Provides oversight and leadership on, and is responsible for compliance with EnCompass systems and policies, planning according to budget ceilings, and jointly ensuring compliance with all parts of the contract (together with the HQ Technical Director and Contracts Point of Contact)
• Oversees strategic collaborations with the client and leads the development of the annual workplan and quarterly workplan updates; provide overall leadership and support to technical unit leads as he/she design and carry out technical aspects of the vision
• Manages the team’s work, including subcontractors work under the workplan to ensure internal and milestone deadlines are met and issues mitigated
• Serves as the primary point of contact with the client with regards to day-to-day activity implementation and management
• Manages client demand, and ensure alignment of demand to team budget, capacity, and contract scope
• Leads subcontractor relations by ensuring a productive and collaborative relationships at all levels of the activity, identifies and resolves issues, and oversees technical quality, compliance, and budget discipline, in collaboration with EnCompass HQ
• Liaises with the UMLS country and HQ teams to establish and manage systems to ensure consistent and compliant contract implementation
• Represents EnCompass and UMLS activities to external audiences
• Serves as the main in-country liaison with the security subcontractor to ensure duty of care for UMLS staff and consultants

Technical

• Assures that all products and services under the contract, whether developed by the core team in Kyiv, at HQ, or by consultants, are technically sound and appropriate given the contract and client need
• Ensures that the team follows established quality standards across all component work
• Leads development of all standard reports (such as the quarterly and annual reports)
• Other activities required for project execution

General

• Engages fully as a member of the EnCompass staff team, including participating in staff meetings and other applicable EnCompass meetings and discussions
• Fosters an environment of collaboration, learning, and adapting within the UMLS team, and exemplifies appreciative leadership and management in all contexts
• Other duties as assigned within the domain of the UMLS contract

Position Requirements

Qualifications

Academic Qualifications

• Advanced degree (i.e. MA, PhD) in management, international relations, statistics, economics, demography, political science, or other social science field is required
• At least 10 years of demonstrated leadership, strategic thinking/planning, and management experience, and a proven track record of programmatic accomplishment, professional achievement, and management competence

Experience and Skills

• In-depth understanding of international development processes, actors and cultures, with technical expertise within one or more social development sectors, such as democracy and governance, economic growth, health and critical infrastructure , among others
• Demonstrated excellent communication skills, including high quality products (proposals, reports, and other communications) and public speaking/facilitation
• Demonstrated completion of high quality products on time and within budget
• Ability to work sensitively in multi-cultural environments and build effective working relations with clients, colleagues, and staff
• Experience managing USAID projects in complex and security challenged environments
• Familiarity with Eastern Europe/former Soviet Union region (and particularly Ukraine) development issues, and Ukrainian skills, preferred

Management

• At least ten (10) years of management experience, including direct supervision of staff and assembling teams working on aspects of MEL, in multi-faceted international development programs
• Success with interpersonal skills, staff supervision, and mentoring
• Strong strategic planning, organization, and problem-solving skills
• Experience managing complex, multifaceted, multi-year tasks and projects in international development
• Ability to support/mentor team members managing complex contracts and tasks
• Ability to work in an appreciative, strengths-based environment and guide others in using an appreciative approach
• Familiarity with human resource, financial management, and procurement processes

Technical

• Familiarity with the USAID Program Cycle, and experience engaging USAID mission staff within the Program office and Development Objective (DO)/Technical Office (TO) teams on MEL initiatives. Understanding of USAID MEL policy and guidance required.
• Experience strengthening monitoring, evaluation and learning capacities of staff, preferably governmental staff, implementing partners, and their counterparts highly preferred
• Deep experience with participatory approaches to MEL, and facilitating collaboration, learning, and adapting
• Thorough technical knowledge in concepts such as monitoring, evaluation methods, collaboration and learning, adaptive management, indicator development, data collection and analysis, and performance reporting.
• Strong qualitative and/or quantitative monitoring and evaluation skills, including sample design, mixed method designs, instrument development, managing complex fieldwork efforts, data analysis, and reporting
• Ability to think strategically and integrate diverse information from varied sources
• Experience managing activities in complex and security challenged environments
• Exceptional proficiency in written and spoken English