El Salvador: Chief of Party

Organization: Creative Associates International
Country: El Salvador
Closing date: 30 Sep 2017

Creative Associates seeks a Chief of Party for the Crime and Violence Prevention Project (CVPP), a USAID-funded contract works to address high levels of homicide, robberies, assaults, and other crimes by improving the ability of communities, municipalities and national institutions to address violent crime*.* This Chief of Party (COP) position is similar to that of a Chief of Party under a USAID/Office of Transition Initiatives program, where he/she serves a more traditional responsibility of a Chief Operating Officer due to the USAID – Contractor relationship and key decision making processes. The COP will take a leadership role in coordinating with the donor, other implementing partners, other donors, and any other key stakeholders. The COP will have demonstrated ability to work in complex environments and manage diverse teams to deliver impact.

Reporting & Supervision:

The COP will report the Project Director at Creative headquarters.

Expected Outcomes:

To lead the ramp up and implementation of a high paced small grants program focused on violence prevention in highly violent communities in El Salvador
To successfully manage ongoing crime and violence prevention programming in partner municipalities
To build and maintain productive working relationships with USAID, key government and non-governmental stakeholders, other relevant USAID partners working in the same geographic and thematic areas, and local beneficiaries.

Primary Responsibilities:

A strong COP for CVPP should:

Be willing to have close, daily collaboration with USAID’s designated staff providing direction to the program;
Take programmatic and strategic direction from USAID staff;
Have strong management, mentorship, and leadership skills;
Be flexible.

The Chief of Party is responsible for:

Making key operational decisions and solving problems in short time frames while ensuring operational and program integrity. Overall program direction is provided by USAID through the COR and Alternate COR;
Financial and program management, oversight, and reporting of contractor progress and quality of performance in meeting the activity undertakings in this program;
Overall management of the in-country relationship with USAID;
Supervising program design, implementation, and management under the guidance of the USAID; and
Contributing to the design and implementation of the M&E system at both the activity level (ensuring that all activities are monitored and evaluated) and beyond the activity level (outcomes and impact).

Required Skills & Qualifications:

The COP may be an expatriate, third-country or cooperating country national.
A university degree in a related field such as Law, Social Work, Criminal or Juvenile Justice, Public or Business Administration, Community Development; a higher degree—Master’s, J.D., or Ph.D. is desirable;
The candidate must have demonstrated experience in working with senior government officials and municipal authorities across partisan lines and the private sector to support a program’s objectives;
Experience working with donor-funded youth at-risk, crime and or violence reduction, public safety or community development programs, and proven capacity to facilitate coordination amongst diverse sectors;
A minimum of 7 years of experience in a progressively more responsible position with at least three years as a COP for a small project under $6 million) or two years as a deputy COP for a large project (over $7 million);
A minimum of 5 years of experience supervising complex, high-speed and challenging field operations in developing countries;
Experience with programs that provide quick delivery of assistance in response to emerging windows of opportunity;
Experience with grant management, preferably in-kind and small grants;
Financial management experience, including budgeting and financial management (tracking, reporting and accounting);
Experience with activity design, development, and implementation; and
Spanish and English fluency in speaking and writing is required (FSI IV).