Chief of Party

TITLE:  Chief of Party – EAA OOSC NGO Consortium

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Programme Operations

LOCATION: Freetown with monthly field visits to operational areas

GRADE: 1

CONTRACT LENGTH: 12 months (renewable up to 3 years)

CHILD SAFEGUARDING: Level 3: The post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

ROLE PURPOSE: Save the Children is seeking a Chief of Party (CoP) for the anticipated Delivering Learning for Out of School Children (OOSC) Project. The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) in partnership with the Qatar-based Education Above All (EAA) Foundation seeks to implement a five-year program to facilitate enrolment into formal and non-formal learning programs for out of school children. The MBSSE through the World Bank will receive funding for a program aiming to provide effective accelerated learning programmes that support the enrolment, retention, completion, learning outcomes and transition of OOSC. An NGO Consortium led by Save the Children has been formed to co-implement this project alongside MBSSE.

The consortium will have a Project Management Unit; this Chief of Party position will lead the implementation unit, coordinating across consortium partners, with the GoSL and the WB

In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Director of Programme Operations

Staff reporting to this post: 5-7

Budget Responsibilities: $4m

Indirect or Matrix Management Reports:

Role Dimensions: The COP is responsible for the overall management and representation of the activity, and is ultimately accountable for the delivery of desired program results, an effective adaptive management approach, relationships with a range of stakeholders, and management of the program team and consortium.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY: 

• Lead overall program planning, putting in place team structures, technical and operational approaches, infrastructure, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and feedback loops required for program delivery and success. 
• Lead partnerships within the program consortium, as well as with external stakeholders as needed, to create the team work required for program success. 
• Represent the program to donor officials, host government officials, partner representatives, local stakeholders, and team members. In particular, maintain strong and productive relationships with Government of Sierra Leone officials and a smoothly functioning program consortium. 
• Integrate community-based, gender-transformative, and capacity building into activities, as appropriate and possible. 
• Lead annual planning processes and associated donor resource requests; monitoring implementation progress as compared to these plans. 
• Ensure the quality of all program deliverables, inclusive of activities, outputs, documentation and reporting. 
• Ensure sound program financial management and reporting. 
• Ensure sound program logistical and operational structures and management. 
• Ensure compliance with donor, host government and Save the Children policies and procedures. 
• Demonstrate a commitment to gender and youth integration in the programmatic and operational aspects of the activity, as well as in team composition and inclusivity. 
• Ensure that the program deploys an effective collaborating, learning and adapting approach, such that the activity is able to evolve in a changing context to achieve desired outcomes. 
• Ensure that program strategies and activities directly engage with local stakeholders to promote self-reliance and sustainable outcomes among the beneficiary population. 
• Oversee the program’s security management approach, working with country office counterparts. 

Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development

• Recruit, develop and manage the program team, ensuring that adequate and appropriate capacity building plans are in place and that Human Resources policies are appropriate for team retention and high performance. 

General

• Comply with Save the Children policies and practice with respect to child safeguarding, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.
• Provide regular reports and updates to individual’s line manager

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

QUALIFICATIONS DESIRABLE

•  A Master’s degree in a relevant field (development studies, international relations, social work, public health, education, business administration, etc.)

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Essential

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience leading and implementing programmes 
• Specific technical expertise in Education programming and experience of working in Education/NGO sector in Sierra Leone
• Demonstrated ability managing a program of a similar size and scope.
• Demonstrated strong ability to coordinate and manage multiple partners and maintain strong relationships with government entities, donors and coor
• Ability and willingness to travel frequently as needed to other locations, sometimes at short notice 
• Excellent written communication and presentation skills in English
• Excellent leadership, advocacy and interpersonal skills with expertise in program and staff management and capacity development;
• Demonstrated skills on process facilitation and coordination with high standards 
• Strong computer skills in Word, Excel, and Power Point.
• Good analytical skills; ability to solve problems creatively, understand underlying causes, and proactively identify and pursue innovative solutions (in consultation with others).
• Demonstrated ability to work across teams and departments, understanding complex and difficult issues from a range of perspectives.

Desirable

Ability and willingness to dramatically change work practices and hours as needed

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities 

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding:

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.