Job Description

The Chief of Party is primary contact and lead of the upcoming USAID-funded RISE II project focused on resilience and natural resource management (NRM) in Niger and Burkina Faso. This position will be based in Niamey, Niger or Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso with frequent travel between the two countries.

ESSENTIAL AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

• Serves as NCBA CLUSA’s top representative and executive in Niger and Burkina Faso by establishing and/or maintaining excellent working relationships with donors, government officials at all levels, the private sector, the customers of the project, suppliers, bi-lateral and multi-lateral agencies, and other rural and financial development practitioners;
• Serves as the project’s main contact point with USAID, maintaining home office as point of contact for report submissions and all official documentation regarding the award;
• Maintains constant communications with the home office, reporting on implementation progress and challenges encountered and working in collaboration with the home office team to solve project challenges;
• Ensures the team implements quality programming in a cost-effective manner and oversees the timely expenditure of approved budgets, avoiding both under spending and overspending on budgets;
• Recruits, trains and motivates top professional talent;
• Designs, negotiates, and executes annual project work plans that are tied to specific project deliverables;
• Oversees with the Deputy Chief of Party project monitoring, reporting and evaluation, including participating in the design of PMP and M&E system;
• Manages internal controls, policies and procedures that are in-line with US Government and NCBA CLUSA compliance regulations;
• Supervises the management of sub-grants;
• Provides leadership, advice, and mentoring of support staff and project partners;
• Designs, market tests, and ramps up the delivery of new and innovative farming systems, resiliency models, marketing strategies, and the accompanying tools;
• Provides leadership, advice, and mentoring of rural smallholder agribusiness associations, cooperatives and depot committees;
• Prepares project implementation and impact reports and other programming/project documents as needed for the effective oversight by head office and marketing of NCBA CLUSA achievements and capabilities;
• The COP will lead in innovation and helps to find new solutions according to articulated needs on behalf of the Government, beneficiaries, and the donor;
• Represents NCBA CLUSA at national, international, and regional conferences and donor meetings, as appropriate;
• Coordinating with country office, the COP ensures that the program is compliant with local labor and tax laws and NCBA CLUSA human resource policies and procedures.
• The COP ensures that all staff are aware of and understand NCBA CLUSA policies and procedures;
• The COP promotes staff capacity building and works with senior managers and the home office staff to identify gaps, anticipate problems and innovate and implement solutions.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES

• Bachelor’s degree required in NRM, Agribusiness, Economics, Business or related field, Master’s degree preferred;
• Minimum 12 years’ experience implementing USG projects, preferably in the areas related to NCBA CLUSA’s core focus sectors: democracy and governance, natural resource management, cooperative development, food security and agriculture, and integrated women and gender initiatives;
• Minimum 6 years’ experience in International development based in Africa; strong knowledge of local political institutions and culture:
• Direct relevant experience managing a large, multi-year program, which is USG funded;
• Proven ability to develop systems for project and program design;
• Expert in Organization Development, Institutional Capacity Building and Agribusiness Management and Marketing;
• Excellent leadership and management skills, communication and interpersonal skills;
• Experience managing project communications and compliance with NCBA CLUSA and donor regulations;
• Demonstrated ability to lead people and get results through others;
• Proven ability for strategic thinking and planning capacity to support five-to ten-year time organizational plans and trends in development initiatives;
• Ability to organize and manage multiple priorities;
• Skills in problem analysis and problem resolution at a functional and strategic level;
• Strong customer orientation;
• High performance and strong team player;
• Commitment to company mission, vision, principles, and values;
• Strong negotiation skills;
• Knowledge of geographic region;
• Excellent computer skills (Outlook, Word, Excel).
• Fluency in French, required.

About the Organization

The National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA) is the primary voice for people who use cooperative businesses to build a better world and a more inclusive economy. NCBA CLUSA provides cross-sector education, technical assistance, and advocacy that helps co-ops thrive. For over 100 years, NCBA CLUSA has sought to advance and protect cooperative enterprises, highlighting the impact that cooperatives have in bettering the lives of individuals and families. In the last 60 years, NCBA CLUSA has worked in over 85 countries in the areas of food security, agricultural development, strengthening of communities and farmer organizations, community-based health, natural resources management, and empowerment of smallholder farmers, women, and youth. We currently work in in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.