Deputy Chief of Party

Job Description

Arizona State University (ASU) is seeking applications for a Deputy Chief of Party for the anticipated USAID Advancing Higher Education for Afghanistan’s Development (AHEAD) project that will improve the employability of professional Afghan men and women through tertiary education programs. Tertiary programs include academic education, but also advanced vocational or professional education. Exemplar institutions are public or private universities, colleges, research institutes, and training institutes, including those that prepare teachers. The project is expected to improve the capabilities of tertiary programs to produce graduates who possess workplace skills that respond to market-driven needs in Afghanistan. The capabilities the project will improve in the tertiary institutions include academic, administrative and management functions as well as enhanced support services for students, faculty and administrators.

Deputy COP who will serve as a deputy to the COP and also serve as the activity’s compliance officer to ensure adherence to all applicable regulations, and award terms and conditions. S/he must have demonstrated experience in a technical area relevant to the application’s approach and complimentary to that of the COP. S/he must have experience in managing economic growth-related activities and sufficient relevant experience in complying with donor-funded grant requirements. The Deputy COP must be able to ensure that the program adheres to USAID assistance award policies and procedures. The position will be based in Kabul, Afghanistan. Recruitment is contingent upon successful award of the project and the selection of final applicant is subject to USAID approval.

Job Description

• Provides technical support to the program with focus on advancing higher education utilizing institutional capacity building, training, and partnership building.
• Provides support for project implementation and compliance for administrative, financial and programmatic matters related to the project per USAID and ASU processes and procedures.
• Provides support to Afghan partners in the areas of strategic planning; operational effectiveness; development and execution of various plans (i.e. Life-of-Project plan, workplan, strategic plan, hiring plan, sustainability plan, etc.); and policy and procedure development.
• Supports the COP in developing the annual project planning cycle on the development of comprehensive annual work-plans and budgets in accordance with the USAID annual planning cycle and overall financial compliance over the life of the project
• Leads report preparation to meet USAID and corporate reporting requirements to document program performance and monitor overall award compliance, including monthly, quarterly and annual project progress reports to USAID, Ministry of Higher Education and other partners

Required Qualifications

• A master’s degree or its equivalent in international education, human development or in a related field, such as social sciences or economics preferred
• A minimum of 10 years of project management experience with at least five years of experience in Afghanistan with progressively increasing responsibility designing, implementing, managing large development programs involving multiple partners, stakeholders and geographic target areas in a conflict or post-conflict setting
• A minimum of five years prior experience as with a leadership role of similar size and complexity
• Demonstrated experience leading technical activities for advancing education initiatives, capacity building, training, and scientific research.
• Demonstrated experience managing economic growth-related activities and sufficient relevant experience in complying with donor-funded grant requirements
• Demonstrated experience to establish and maintain productive working relationships with a wide network of partners and stakeholders
• Excellent interpersonal, writing and oral presentation skills in English

This job description 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. ASU reserves the right to review and revise this document at any time.

About the Organization

Our mission at Arizona State University is no less than revolutionizing the model for public higher education. We call it the New American University, and we began our transformation in 2002, led by President Michael Crow. Six years later, Newsweek hailed ASU as “one of the most radical redesigns in higher learning since the modern research university took shape.” By 2016 and again in 2017 and 2018, U.S. News and World Report named ASU the most innovative university, ahead of Stanford at #2 and MIT at #3. The ASU model has relevance for developing countries seeking to meet escalated expressions of challenges that we face in the United States. In 2015, ASU established ASU International Development to support cross-university pursuit of development projects. ASU ID provides a single point of contact for donors and partners seeking to access the university’s myriad resources. Since 2015, ASU has successfully implemented projects for USAID, the State Department, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, the Inter-American Development Bank, and private sector donors including foundations such as MasterCard and Gates. Countries of work include Brazil, Barbados, Haiti, India, Pakistan, West Bank, El Salvador, Vietnam, Indonesia, Peru, Mexico, Kenya, Nepal, Jamaica, Aruba and the Pacific Islands. ASU provides strong back-office support to its partners as one of the few university research enterprises to be ISO 9001-compliant.

ASU is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.