Requisition ID: req51685

Job Title: Chief of Party (COP)

Sector: Senior Executive Leadership

Employment Category: Proposal

Employment Type: Full-Time

Open to Expatriates: No

Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh

Work Arrangement:In-person

Job Description

The IRC has been working in Bangladesh for over 5 years implementing direct programming in the areas of WASH, education, livelihoods, reproductive health, gender-based violence, and child and youth protection and development. With an annual operating budget of over $ 1 billion (2021), IRC successfully runs a global portfolio of both humanitarian as well as development interventions and has significant experience implementing large-scale programs requiring substantial and sustained collaboration with multiple actors.

Position Summary:

The IRC is seeking a Chief of Party (COP) for the five-year, $20 million USAID-funded Responsive Local Governance (RLG) Activity Bangladesh. The COP will be responsible for the overall strategic management of the project and ensuring all project deliverables are met or exceeded within budget and in compliance with IRC and USAID rules and regulations and local law. This position will oversee project planning, donor engagement, staff and partner management, and coordination with local and international stakeholders. The COP will build and maintain strong and favorable relationship with the local mission of USAID in Dhaka.

This position will report to the IRC Country Director and is contingent on the IRC being awarded funding. It is anticipated to begin in Dec 2024. This position is contingent upon award and funding.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for managing and implementing all aspects of the project, providing overall technical, strategic and administrative management, with a focus on achieving the project’s objectives/results.

• Responsible for ensuring quality and timeliness of all deliverables.

• Provide overall leadership, strategic oversight and guidance to the consortium members in order to achieve overall objectives of the project

• Coordinate and communicate with USAID and IRC country office on technical and financial matters, and implementation of and reporting on programming.

• Interfaces regularly, formally and informally, with the USAID AOR on technical, management and key decision-making to ensure that activities meet expectations.

• In coordination with the USAID AOR, represents the activity and communicates with the Government of Bangladesh and other donor programs and stakeholders to coordinate and leverage additional resources.

• A critical part of the COP’s responsibilities will include ensuring effective coordination of activities with those of relevant Government of Bangladesh ministries, international organizations, and other USAID-funded activities in the country.

• Support project staff by creating and maintaining a work environment that promotes teamwork, trust, mutual respect, and empowers staff to take responsibility.

• Ensures timely completion of required plans, technical deliverables, and reports including work plans, monitoring and evaluation plans, quarterly and annual reports, success stories, and other written documents.

• Ensures that project financial controls and systems comply with accepted accounting practices that meet USAID standards and regulations.

Qualifications

• Hold a master’s degree or higher in a relevant field and have technical skills which complement those of the activity’s key technical specialists

• Have at least 10 years of successful experience as Project Director/COP/DCOP of large donor-funded technical assistance project.

• Demonstrated experience managing similar projects in Bangladesh or Asia region, involving management of multi-million-dollar budgets/portfolios and coordination with multiple programs and partner institutions.

• Solid experience and expertise in the areas of working with local elected officials, government institutions, government accountability, inclusive civil society engagement, empowering marginalized citizens, and enabling basic service delivery.

• A proven ability to work constructively with a diverse range of development actors and accommodate divergent interests and agendas.

• An understanding of and ability to effectively function in the Bangladeshi political, cultural, and social landscape, as well as a proven track record of working effectively with host-country governments at various levels.

• Experience working to integrate good governance across sectors to enable improved service delivery strongly preferred.

• Experience working in politically sensitive environments.

• English proficiency is required and Bangla language skills desired.

• A thorough knowledge of USAID and other USG assistance policies and reporting requirements is required.

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