Deputy Chief of Party/Programs

Job Description

LINC is a mission-driven US-based small business organized around a commitment to local organizations leading their own development. We do this by implementing programs and delivering consulting and training in the areas of monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL), capacity-strengthening, and collective action. The recipient of USAID’s Small Business of the Year award in 2017, we are a team of reflective and passionate development professionals. Our country experience spans Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe. For more information on LINC, please visit www.linclocal.org.

In Ethiopia, LINC is implementing the new five-year, USAID-funded Resilience Learning Activity (RLA). The activity supports USAID and its resilience partners with learning, collaboration, and research around resilience issues in Ethiopia. RLA serves as a “learning sidecar” to USAID/Ethiopia and its implementing partners, helping them to better understand what relief and development interventions can help make households, communities, and systems more resilient to increasingly persistent shocks and stresses. RLA provides support with learning processes and frameworks, development and consolidation of learning and research agendas, and support to resilience partners for adaptive management, results measurement, and the increased integration of systems thinking and rapid feedback into their respective toolboxes. 

Position Description 

The Deputy Chief of Party/Programs will support the Chief of Party with leadership, day-to-day management, and technical support for the activity. The Deputy Chief of Party will focus primarily on ensuring exceptional technical delivery and building the capacity of local staff and partners.  The Deputy Chief of Party will serve as Acting Chief of Party as needed.

**The position is open to Ethiopian nationals only.**

Responsibilities 

• Support the Chief of Party with overall leadership of the activity, including program planning, technical execution, financial management, and operations, ensuring seamless coordination among all activity components.
• Support the management, training, and mentoring of activity staff.
• Draft technical scopes of work for and supervise the performance of consultants and subcontractors, ensuring the timely provision of responsive, high-quality deliverables.
• Oversee design, development, and implementation of collective impact/coordination activities, resilience evidence generation, CLA and MEL activities, including the development of MEL tools, collective impact methods, data collection and management, report generation, knowledge sharing, and training and capacity building activities.
• Coordinate and provide MEL and CLA technical assistance, including workplans and theory of change development, to USAID implementing partners.
• Plan, organize, and facilitate learning activities for USAID staff and partners.
• Coordinate and provide MEL/CLA technical assistance to USAID implementing partners and Ethiopian partner organizations.
• Lead coordination and consultations with USAID, government of Ethiopia, implementing partners, and other key stakeholders and audiences as required.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable USG, USAID, and LINC rules and regulations.

Job Requirement

Skills and Qualifications 

• A Master’s degree in international development, social sciences, or a related field.
• Minimum 10 years of demonstrated experience managing complex activities and in a team environment.
• Proven external stakeholder relations, team management, and operations management skills.
• Strong technical expertise in traditional and innovative approaches to MEL, CLA, research design, and adaptive management.
• Prior experience designing, managing, and implementing USAID learning platform activities preferred.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills required.
• Fluency in spoken and written English and Amharic
• Prior experience working in Ethiopia and East Africa is strongly preferred.
• Understanding of USAID regulations and policies, including but not limited to the Automated Directives System 201, Evaluation Policy, and the Journey to Self-Reliance.