Chief of Party, USAID Pakistan Foundational Learning Opportunity

Chief of Party (COP)

LOCATION: Pakistan

DEPARTMENT: Human Rights, Education, and Empowerment

REPORTS TO: Director of Child Labor and Education, Human Rights, Education, and Empowerment

POSITION SUMMARY:

Winrock International is recruiting applicants for the position of a Chief of Party (COP) for the anticipated U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Pakistan Foundational Learning Opportunity. The purpose of the Foundational Learning Activity is to enhance student learning outcomes in reading and math and to prevent school dropout by enabling teachers, head teachers, and local education administrators to improve the quality of education. The project will aim to improve student learning outcomes through enhanced institutional capacity, governance, and community engagement and improved quality of services.

The position is contingent upon receipt of donor funding.

The Chief of Party is responsible for overall project management, supervision, administration, and implementation of the Pakistan Foundational Learning Opportunity. They 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 USAID. They may also provide technical assistance on formal and non-formal education opportunities in crisis and conflict-affected areas to increase learning outcomes including developing appropriate teaching and learning materials and conducting learning assessments.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Essential responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Manage the Pakistan Foundational Learning Opportunity 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 USAID and Winrock;

• Maintain close communication with USAID, reporting regularly for formal review sessions and providing ongoing, informal updates of program progress;

• Provide technical assistance, support, and oversight to local partner NGOs and CSOs;

• Provide technical assistance, support, and information to national and local government officials;

• Develop strategies for working with local government, educators, community members, and youth;

• 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 salient experience implementing education programs, preferably funded by USAID in Pakistan or elsewhere in the region. Specific experience and specialization in the areas of formal and non-formal education ; gender equity and leadership training; creating/maintaining partnerships with Ministry of Education structures, CSOs, and youth and gender equality oriented organizations; experience in curriculum development and training of trainers; experience in education and security issues in disaster and conflict-affected areas; and knowledge regarding gender disparities and girl’s empowerment is strongly desired. Significant project management experience and leadership is highly desired. Pakistan nationals are encouraged to apply.

Education: Master’s level degree preferred in education, international development, leadership, 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 South Asia region is required, and Pakistan strongly preferred.

Management

Experience:

• 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;

• Demonstrated experience leading projects in conflict and crisis conditions;

• Ability to manage a contract and adhere to specific deliverables and timetables;

• Financial management, budget design, and budget management experience;

• Demonstrated success in recruiting, motivating and supervising diverse teams of employees in multiple locations;

• Demonstrated experience using project management and work planning tools to deliver quality programs;

• Ability to establish mechanisms to continuously assess the operating environment and program activities and make course corrections with agility;

• Experience in strategic planning and implementation of strategic plans;

• Experience designing and implementing or overseeing monitoring and evaluation systems;

• Strong track record building stakeholder buy-in and 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, political, and policy context governing adolescents and youth (especially girls) vis-à-vis education, gender-based violence, reproductive health, leadership development and empowerment and in developing countries.

• Experience providing support to formal and non-formal education programs, leadership trainings, and local organization capacity strengthening;

• Experience implementing programs in conflict-affected and/or high-risk security environments;

• Knowledge of US Government regulations, policies, and procedures or those of an equivalently complex international government funding organization;

• Knowledge of USAID and specific understanding of USAID’s Education Strategy, as well as girls’ education goals under the USAID/Pakistan Country Development Cooperation Strategy is desirable;

• Demonstrated effective interpersonal skills, creative problem solving, conflict, and ethical management skills;

• Proficiency in English required and in Urdu desired;

• Excellent written and oral communication skills;

• Computer literate in word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software (Microsoft).

Other:                  

• Ability to travel to certain areas in Pakistan (in compliance with Covid-19 and safety and security restrictions).

SALARY:

The annual salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Excellent benefits offered.

APPLICATIONS:

The deadline for submission of applications is November 10, 2024. However, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and Winrock reserves the right to make an offer prior to the closing date for applications. Applicants are thus encouraged to submit their applications at the earliest opportunity.

Applicants should go to https://www.winrock.org/join-us/careers/job-openings/ and submit a current resume and cover letter referencing Chief of Party: Pakistan Foundational Learning Opportunity. Winrock would like to thank all applicants for their interest but only candidates who meet all requisite criteria and are short listed will be contacted.

Winrock is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people and value diversity and inclusiveness. Winrock recruits, employs, trains, promotes and compensates regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, or any other basis protected by law.

At Winrock we have a clear mission: Empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity and sustain natural resources through unwavering dedication to accountability, equity, innovation, integrity and transformation.

Winrock knows that its success comes from the hard work and steadfast dedication of its diverse workforce. Winrock remains committed to maintaining diversity, inclusion and equity across the entire organization