USAID chief of party system is flawed, applicants and recruiters say

“They wanted an expat for this position.” That’s the reason Yulia Yesmukhanova said she was given when the U. S. Agency for International Development didn’t approve her as chief of party for a Ukraine-based program. She had been deputy chief of party of the project for several years, was acting chief of party at the time, and had been recommended by the contracting organization. According to Yesmukhanova, who is currently a deputy chief of party on the USAID-funded Azerbaijan project on social engagement support, this situation is not unusual. “To get into this role, usually the bidders are looking for a person who already has had a similar position in a similar project. … Often the local staff don’t have the similar experience,” she said. Enveloped within a broader USAID procurement system, it is just one of several barriers that development professionals said they can face when navigating USAID’s chief of party system. “It’s very difficult to break through to these key personnel positions,” Yesmukhanova said. The role, similar to that of a CEO or director, is considered key personnel within a USAID-funded project, which means, in order to receive USAID funding, a contracting organization must already have selected a chief of party and submit their CV and a 1420 biodata form as part of the proposal. However, whether the candidate actually gets the job is dependent on project approval from USAID and their approval of the candidate. If approved, the chief of party would be responsible for managing the implementation of a development program complete with a significant size of team, a set timeframe, and potentially a multimillion-dollar budget. “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. At the time of publication, there are 371 active postings on the Devex job board for chief of party, including roles with World Vision in Bangladesh, with Deloitte in Guatemala, and Pact in Malawi. But navigating the hiring process with so much uncertainty can be difficult to do, especially when combined with preconceived notions and biases that favor certain candidates, say the former and current chief of parties that Devex spoke to. An up-hill climb for new candidates It’s common for USAID requests for proposals to have requirements for the kinds of chiefs of party it will accept within projects. As part of its proposal review, USAID scores the nominated chief of party, along with other key personnel, assessing them on how closely they match the criteria. “They will have education requirements, years of experience requirements, and there may be knowledge requirements to be able to demonstrate your experience in a certain area,” said Kimberly Mahling, who is currently a chief of party in Senegal for a USAID-funded project with EnCompass LLC. The stipulation of prior experience managing a similar size project can create a Catch 22 for first-time applicants, said Evan Smith, senior vice president at Democracy International, which hires numerous chiefs of party each year. Applicants can’t get experience without experience. But, from an organization standpoint, it would be counterintuitive to winning the bid to put someone in a funding proposal without the stated experience, Smith explained. “We’re dealing with this right now with a candidate who we think would be amazing and USAID is a little hesitant to take that risk,” he said. Yesmukhanova believes, as a first-time candidate, there might be a better chance of being hired if a project has already been approved by USAID and there is an issue with the chief of party initially selected. “This is where it’s easier to get in … because it’s a timing issue,” she said. That is how she got her first deputy chief of party role in 2016. Some of Democracy International’s best chiefs of party, Smith said, have been promoted into the role during an ongoing program. Being so focused on donor requirements can also mean hiring organizations don’t pay enough attention to a candidate’s personal skills, Yesmukhanova said. “I’ve seen chiefs of party going from country to country without positive histories but, since they [have experience] working on a [certain] size of project, the bidder is inclined to take them,” she said. USAID, Smith said, has, however, “done a great job recently” in moving away from a list of requirements for each key personnel role to a combined set for the overall team. “That’s been really helpful in deciding what we [want to] prioritize for that chief of party position,” he said, adding that a team can then be built who, together, meet USAID’s requirements. Progression barriers for locally based staff Marc Barrera, who has held multiple deputy chief of party and chief of party roles with USAID and RTI International in Iraq and the Philippines, said the appeal of an expatriate can be that they are not bound by the cultural or political issues of that country. For example, in Iraq, he explained that there would be people in power who were Sunnis — members of the largest denomination of Islam — and only hired other Sunnis. “Not knowing the parties or any cultural barriers, [expatriates] are more open to accepting, more open to inclusion and diversity,” he said. But the negative side to that, he explained, is the connotations of colonialism. In recent years, USAID has put an emphasis on more locally led development, highlighting the agency’s aim to “shift more leadership, ownership, decision making, and implementation to the local people and institutions.” It encourages organizations to consider local candidates, while current USAID administrator, Samantha Power has also committed to increasing the amount of USAID funding going toward local partners by 25% in the next four years. “Administrator Power and her team get it — if we want to reimagine the future of global development, you've got to take on every structural feature that perpetuates the status quo, and that starts with who you choose to lead the work,” Walter Kerr, executive director and co-founder of Unlock Aid, said in an email. “The reality is there are thousands of highly impactful organizations already based and operating in USAID partner countries that are solving hard development problems. No need to fly-in anyone from abroad,” he added. Catholic Relief Services, according to Jason Hoke, CRS’ talent acquisition manager, and Democracy International work on the basis that someone who understands the context is the ideal candidate. Smith concurred. “A lot of the time we limit it to one, if any [international staff],” he said. Technical skills versus leadership experience While some chiefs of party are technical experts — doctors, engineers, and data scientists — who have progressed through projects pertaining to their specialty, others have a leadership or management background. For Barrera, there can sometimes be a misconception that a technical chief of party is best and that “an engineering project should have an engineering expert be chief of party.” “People get too focused, laser-eyed on somebody that’s a technical expert … but how many technical experts do you know making apps that are CEOs of companies?” he asked. Instead, he believes a chief of party’s role is to implement USAID’s strategy and the goals set by the U.S. government for assistance, with other experts in the team on hand to address the technical programming. “You're driving a bus and you're just making it go right,” he said. According to Pamela Bowen, Washington Business Dynamics’ principal and chief of party of USAID’s Private Sector Engagement Support project, it’s entirely dependent on the type of project as to the most suitable chief or party. “Some programs are so highly technical and specialized. … So naturally your chief of party has to have some deep technical knowledge,” she said. “Then some programs are more diverse in scope so you need more [of] the organizational type, who can coordinate all those moving pieces.” For Clarke, a chief of party can comprise a team of technical experts, “but compensating for lack of management or leadership is really tough.” Many candidates, but few are available “The system is awash in candidates,” said Bowen, who has helped put projects together in the past. But the challenge is whether or not they'll be ready when the bid is available, she explained. “If you're a Chemonics, DAI, or one of those, they tend to have a very deep bench that they can go to and shuffle people around. Their pool of ready candidates is greater than a small business,” she said, adding that as a smaller business, it’s “exceptionally challenging” because most staff are technically specific and already on projects. Smith echoed the difficulties in hiring a chief of party with so many competing organizations. “We’re recruiting a lot and that means we’re drawing from a pool that other people are drawing from at the same time to find literally the same perfect person for the same bid and it makes it really difficult,” Smith said. This means that an organization then has to sell a candidate on why it thinks it can win this bid, he added. “It’s a balancing act as far as speaking with, and attracting, qualified candidates who fit within the timeline of when we expect the project to actually be awarded and then start,” said Hoke. Our in-house recruitment specialists are currently compiling talent pools based on specific global development skill sets, including chiefs of party. These lists are exclusive to our top recruiting organizations. Candidates can update their Devex profiles to be considered, and employers can learn more here.