Chief of Party, USDA Food for Peace

Save the Children US•,

About The Position

Save the Children is seeking Chief of Party candidates for the anticipated USDA Title II Food for Peace Non-Emergency Program. The program aims to enhance and complement international emergency food assistance by increasing food security, nutrition, and resilience in communities experiencing recurrent food crises. It will use a Graduation through Agriculture-led Development Approach, combining the Graduation model with targeted market systems strengthening focused on agricultural value chains and U.S. agricultural commodities. The Chief of Party will oversee and represent the activity and be accountable for its results, adaptive management, stakeholder relationships, and management of the program team and consortium. The position will be based in the country of implementation for the anticipated two-to-five-year performance period. Hiring depends on USDA approval of the candidate and award of the project to Save the Children.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and at least 10 years of progressively increasing management responsibility in agriculture, market systems development, food security, livelihoods, graduation programming, or a related field.
Proven senior-level experience designing, managing, and implementing large projects of similar size, scope, and complexity in developing countries, ideally in conflict-affected and non-permissive environments.
Demonstrated experience leading consortia and building and maintaining partnerships with government institutions, donors, local organizations, private-sector actors, and other stakeholders.
Demonstrated experience recruiting, developing, and managing staff, and managing programmatic and financial reporting.
Demonstrated experience with commodity management.
Professional proficiency in spoken and written English and either Portuguese or Spanish.
Excellent communication, representation, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills.
Demonstrated commitment to fostering and maintaining an environment of belonging.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree.

Responsibilities

Lead overall program planning, including team structures, technical and operational approaches, infrastructure, monitoring and evaluation, and feedback loops.
Lead partnerships within the consortium and with external stakeholders.
Represent the program to donor officials, host government officials, partners, local stakeholders, and team members.
Oversee and quality-control program thematic approaches and implementation, making course corrections as needed.
Lead annual planning and related donor resource requests, and monitor progress against plans.
Submit timely, high-quality donor reports on project outcomes, impact, and key performance indicators.
Provide senior oversight of U.S. agricultural commodity management and monetization where applicable, including coordination, risk management, compliance, and appropriate use of proceeds under USDA requirements.
Ensure sound program financial management and reporting.
Ensure sound logistical and operational structures and management.
Ensure compliance with donor, host government, and Save the Children policies and procedures, including financial controls, risk management, and anti-fraud measures.
Recruit, develop, and manage the program team; ensure appropriate capacity-building plans and human resources policies that support retention and high performance.
Ensure an effective collaborating, learning, and adapting approach so the activity can respond to changing contexts and achieve its outcomes.
Oversee program security management with country office counterparts.
Train, develop, coach, lead, and supervise staff; communicate priorities and how staff work contributes to the mission; and foster a working environment of belonging.