USDA Food for Peace Chief of Party II

Catholic Relief Services | CRS • Baltimore, MD

1d • $112,838 - $137,943 • Onsite

About The Position

CRS is building a pool of qualified Chief of Party candidates for anticipated, multi-year USDA Non-Emergency Food for Peace projects across multiple countries. The projects are intended to combat chronic and acute malnutrition, especially among children and mothers, strengthen early recovery and resilience, and support communities. Locations are pending donor confirmation, and appointments are contingent on donor funding. The position will be based in the assigned country and is not remote.

The Chief of Party II provides vision, leadership, and overall management for large and complex projects. The role is responsible for delivering high-quality programming, advancing CRS’s position in the sector, meeting donor expectations, and proactively managing security risks. The Chief of Party serves as the primary donor contact, leads senior programming and operations staff, oversees budgets and compliance, and represents CRS in external forums. The role also supports learning, staff development, partnerships, sustainability, and communication of program results.

The position requires a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and substantial management, technical, donor-fund, and staff-management experience. A master’s degree and experience strengthening partnerships are preferred. Fluency in English is required; local-language fluency depends on the final assignment location. Travel may be up to 35%, depending on the award, country, and security context. Supervisory responsibilities apply.

CRS offers U.S.-based staff medical, dental, life, and vision insurance, as well as a retirement savings plan. Compensation and benefits for staff employed outside the U.S. are based on the country of employment and in-country office. CRS describes its culture as collaborative and mission-driven. Employment offers are contingent on legal work eligibility in the country of assignment, and positions requiring residence or frequent travel outside the candidate’s home country require pre-employment medical clearance.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in international development, international relations, or a relevant technical area.
• At least 8 years of relevant management and technical experience.
• At least 7 years of experience managing donor funds, including multi-country grants, and excellent budget-management knowledge and experience.
• At least 5 years of staff-management experience and abilities conducive to a learning environment.
• Experience coaching and mentoring senior program staff.
• Demonstrated successful program management, including management of complex, high-value, multi-activity projects with complicated logistics.
• Established sector leadership demonstrated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, or similar accomplishments.
• Fluency in English.
• Ability to represent and present at high levels.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Visio), web-conferencing applications, and information and budget-management systems.
• Excellent strategic, analytical, systems-thinking, and problem-solving skills, including sound judgment and decision-making.
• Excellent relationship-management abilities and the ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally and approach relationships strategically.
• Ability to lead diverse and multidisciplinary teams; coaching and mentoring skills.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, including the ability to develop tailored and persuasive messages for varied audiences.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented, and results-oriented mindset.
• Must be willing and able to travel up to 35%.
• Ability to legally work in the country where the position is performed; positions requiring residence or frequent travel outside the candidate’s home country require successful pre-employment medical clearance.
• Successful candidate must sign and adhere to the CRS Code of Conduct.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in a related field.
• Experience engaging partners and strengthening partnerships.
• Knowledge of CRS partnership strategy.
• Fluency in a local language, depending on the final assignment location.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, implementation, and consolidation of the assigned project, and communicate its contribution to sector thought leadership.
• Serve as the primary point of contact with the donor and with public, private, and nongovernmental stakeholders.
• Ensure project design and implementation meet donor expectations for timely, quality results and budget, including phase-out and sustainability strategies.
• Coordinate program and operations leads to ensure adherence to CRS program quality standards.
• Lead senior programming and operations staff; manage team dynamics and staff well-being; coach and mentor staff; tailor development plans; complete direct-report performance assessments; and oversee staffing plans and senior-staff recruitment.
• Monitor national and regional issues that could affect staff or programming, proactively manage and mitigate risks, and ensure CRS safety and security plans are updated and understood and followed by staff.
• Promote and model efficient use of agency and donor resources.
• Ensure donor-grant compliance, including financial tracking, oversight of partner budgets and operations, and donor reporting; approve program expenditures, budget adjustments, and donor cost-modification requests.
• Represent CRS programming in international forums, highlight innovative work, publish program results, and deliver presentations.
• Oversee communication strategies and materials in accordance with donor and CRS branding and marketing requirements.
• Manage consortium partner relationships, organize review and planning workshops, and coordinate member-organization staff roles and activities in line with CRS partnership principles.
• Create conditions for learning and safe sharing of ideas, solutions, and challenges; build internal capacity to identify, analyze, and respond to deficiencies.
• Identify performance gaps and training opportunities for CRS and partner staff, and ensure high-quality training and technical assistance are designed and delivered.
• Travel up to 35%, varying by award, country, and security context.

Benefits

• U.S.-based staff receive medical, dental, life, and vision insurance and a retirement savings plan.
• Salary and benefits for candidates employed outside the U.S. are based on the country of employment and in-country office.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior