How to succeed as a chief of party

Working on a project-by-project basis — oftentimes abroad and away from loved ones — along with the large teams, budgets, and strategies to manage, the life of a chief of party can be an unusual one. To do it well, those who have done it before say it requires a mix of tenacity, technical know-how, and “a big heart.” “You’re a project team leader, directly responsible for strategic direction of the project, providing guidance to the entire team, managing resources, liaising with different donors financing the project so you need to be an all-round individual,” said Seraphine Olanya Ramto, a development expert who has held several deputy chief of party and chief of party roles across projects in Africa. The term chief of party is inherited from the U.S. Agency for International Development nomenclature and refers to the most senior member of key personnel in the projects it funds. To qualify, candidates need to have a wealth of experience in managing development projects and in handling similar sized-budgets. For 2023, USAID has a budget of $29.4 billion to allocate to various development projects. Implementing organizations must hire these positions prior to receiving USAID funding and submit their information as part of the proposal process. Should the bid be won, ideally the nominated chief of party would still be available or else have to be quickly replaced. Last year, over 1,100 roles for chief of party or deputy chief of party were advertised on the Devex jobs board. Catholic Relief Services, according to Jason Hoke, CRS’ talent acquisition manager, is hiring for this role on a regular basis with around 10 active positions at the time of writing. It’s the same for Democracy International, said its senior vice president, Evan Smith. Once hired, former and current chiefs of party explained there are a variety of key attributes individuals would have to have in order to be successful and effective in the unique role — which typically spans a three to five year project — and to embrace the all-encompassing lifestyle it comes with. Calling it the best time of his life, Marc Barrera, who held various deputy chief of party and chief of party roles with USAID and RTI International between 2011 and 2017 in Iraq and Philippines, said “you have to have an understanding as chief of party that it's not a nine to five job.” Instead, he described a position that, as a representative of the U.S. government, means being cognizant of how you’re being perceived within a community, creating a team dynamic outside of work, and embracing a local culture; components that apply more if deployed as an expatriate chief of party. “Are you going to be a chief of party that just stays in your room and doesn't go out and do anything? People want to see how well you can immerse yourself in that culture… Can you strike up a conversation with anybody in a small jitney? Can you eat local food?,” Barrera asked. He recalled taking an interest in Iraqi football and boxing in the Philippines as a means of connecting with the culture and bonding with staff. Here, those who have experience in the role lay out what qualities are needed in order to be a successful chief of party. Managing stress and risk While USAID is pushing for local “leadership, ownership, decision making,” international staff are still often deployed, including to remote and potentially risky places. In Iraq for example, Barrera — now U.S.-based and vice president of procurement for emergency management at infrastructure company Louis Berger — described the constant fear of kidnapping his team faced and the need to consider how to get to work and adopt behaviors that would ensure safety. Being sensitive to such stressors is part of being a good leader, he said. “I'm not going to push [staff] at 100% or say, ‘you have to have this’… Let them breathe, let them work,” Barrera said, adding that a chief of party also has to have a big heart. Those considering taking on such a role must understand that the position is about more than being a boss and is a 24-hour role, he said. “You're a chief of party but maybe you're a part-time psychiatrist because you're dealing with individuals that are under stress,” Barrera explained. This is why he made a point of organizing team barbecues and karaoke nights while having an open door policy so people could share both professional and personal problems. A balance of soft and technical skills When Democracy International is hiring for this role, “the way you treat people is top of our list,” said Smith. To determine this, he told of a program assistant who would do a first round of interviews with potential chief of parties and, as a young female and someone lower in the hierarchy, she would share how she had been treated by the candidate. “All that was helpful to know and doesn’t come across on a CV,” Smith said. While Hoke and Ramto stressed the need for program management skills and technical experience in the sector as a plus, Kimberly Mahling, who is currently a chief of party in Senegal for a USAID-funded project with EnCompass LLC, said the soft skills of leadership and management are “absolutely necessary.” “I think you can compliment a chief of party who has limited technical experience with people who are technical experts, but compensating for lack of management or lack of leadership Is really tough,” she said. Early career development professionals, she advised, should look for opportunities to build out and demonstrate those skills if they’re thinking of a chief of party role in the future. Applying nondevelopment experience For Smith, a high energy level and enthusiasm are part of those crucial soft skills while diversity of experience beyond international development is a plus. Ramto came from an accounting and finance background, for example, while Pamela Bowen, Washington Business Dynamics’ principal and current U.S.-based chief of party for USAID’s Private Sector Engagement Support project, worked in banks and management consultancies. “I enjoyed my work, but I felt like I wanted to do work that had a greater impact and I wanted to do some good in this world,” she said. “Sometimes you have to be willing to get out of your comfort zone if you want to build your career.” She initially joined USAID as a certifying officer within the West Africa Regional Mission, progressing through the ranks by making her hallmark organizational effectiveness. “I was in Ghana, then I was in Lesotho, and then I was in Liberia, and I had to move around a little bit to find my space.” For others looking to make a transition into the USAID system, she suggested tracking the agency’s priorities. “That's an extremely important aspect of being an effective chief of party, because, at the end of the day, we work for the U.S. government directly and we are, in our own way … a sort of a quasi ambassador,” Bowen said. “It's important to know the values that the agency holds at that moment and sometimes it shifts from one administration to the next.” Amid all of that though, she said the key to being a good chief of party is to “stay true to your core strength and surround yourself with … people who know things you don't know. Surround yourself with people who are better at things than you.” Our in-house recruitment specialists are currently compiling talent pools based on specific global development skill sets, including for chief of party, and experts on gender, food systems, and climate change. These lists are exclusive to our top recruiting organizations. Candidates can update their Devex profiles to be considered, and employers can learn more here.