Deputy Chief of Party

Deputy Chief of Party_Resilience in Education

With over 70 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.

Come join our 33,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

Employee Contract Type:
Local – Fixed Term Employee (Fixed Term)

Job Description:

The business forecast for USAID Resilience in Education focuses on enhancing the capacity of sub-national governments to prepare the education systems for current and future shocks, including pandemic and natural disasters, and increase their capacity to limit risks, reduce the impacts on beneficiaries, and maintain service delivery. To disseminate this concept in the lower level, as local level has the main role in the forefront for implementation of the SSMP.

The position will be responsible for supporting the Chief of the Party (COP) in planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting. They will also be responsible for liaising with counterparts and partners at the technical level, providing opinions on the soundness and feasibility of new approaches, training staff on key concepts and improving their technical competencies, and managing an effective learning process to adjust as needed.

As per the business forecast for USAID Resilience in Education, the estimated project fund is USD 4M – 9.99M.

Please note that this position is contingent upon funding and donor approval.

Ensure Operational Effectiveness

• Provide strategic and operational oversight to the Resilience in Education project, ensuring mechanisms and tools are in place for effective/accountable implementation of the program (end on time, on target, and within budget) and compliance to donor requirements and regulations, including with sub-grant partners
• Assist in developing a culture of excellence about the planning and implementation of the program, including periodic and targeted reviews of challenges to ensure completion and optimum expenditure rates
• Ensure effective support mechanisms are in place to enable the program to identify, include, and benefit the target beneficiaries
• Facilitate the preparation of lessons learned and disseminate to all relevant stakeholders.
• Make continuous analysis of rapidly changing external context, ensuring that lessons of sound practices are well documented and disseminated
• Regularly visit project sites to monitor and ensure quality and timely completion of all activities as per objectives, to meet agreed-upon results
• Ensure to foster a culture of trust and mutual respect to empower staff
• Ensure proper coordination and communication with the implementing partner/s for effectiveness of the program and financial deliverables.
• Represent the project in absence of CoP

Foster Operational and Programmatic Planning and Implementation

• Develop and implement effective systems for strategic and adaptive management, ensuring operational plans are in place and the project team can make necessary adjustments to plans and budgets during implementation, in the interest of continuous improvement
• Ensure the project plans include clear strategies to strengthen the sustainability of outcomes and ensure progress towards sustainability is measured and reported
• Ensure program implementation is informed by technical standards, implemented with quality and operational viability to meet program goals
• Cultivate an atmosphere of trust for the creation and delivery of high quality, effective, and accountable programming
• Collaborate with lead partner and implementing partner/s for effective planning and timely implementation.
• Work as head of the project for WVI-Nepal and thematic contact point to WVI-Nepal to guide and support lead and implementing partners in the technical aspects.
• Ensure effective assessment and monitoring of project impact, through collection of quality data, with accurate analysis and utilization to inform project planning, reporting of impact, and sharing of learnings.

Foster Internal and External Engagement

• Support in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with government authorities, UN agencies, networks, peer NGOs, Local NGOs, USAID and World Vision stakeholders, NSET and implementing partners.
• Promote information-sharing mechanism and internal stakeholder engagement to encourage cross-functional coordination amongst all functions and field operations and actively address issues that affect project success

Ensure Systems are in Place to Promote Audit Compliance and Good Stewardship

• Ensure all door and organizational policies, procedures, and compliance regulations are in place, understood, and followed
• Ensure awareness of donor and Support Office requirements, including the timely preparation and submission of quality narrative and financial reports
• Ensure that Donor, Partnership and National Office financial policies and guidelines are adhered to by all operations staff.
• Coordinate and monitor financial and budget execution for maximum operational efficiency and timely financial reporting and accountability
• Work closely with the Finance and support programme teams to develop, manage, and monitor project budgets, ensuring value for money and that project expenditure is within agreed budgets
• Champion the implementation of audit recommendations
• Spearhead risk planning and ensure control measures are in place and in use
• Ensure in identifying and resolving challenges which impact audit compliance and/or contribute to risk
• Cultivate an atmosphere of good stewardship, accountable ministry, and diligent compliance with internal and donor-imposed processes

People Management and Capacity Building

• Must promote high team morale, especially within highly stressful fragile contexts and environments
• Ensure quality staff are attracted, retained, and developed to effectively work
• Ensure there are clear and deliberate retention plans specific to individual staff members and succession plans in place
• Effectively line manage and coach the Team Managers, ensuring a shared vision, teamwork, effective communication, and active engagement in decision making and management approaches, as well as ensuring staff care measures are in place and followed
• Promote people management systems
• Champion performance management mechanisms, ensuring full participation and quality results to promote staff engagement and a culture of excellence
• Cultivate an atmosphere of staff empowerment and motivation leading to active participation in programme initiatives, led by example, and actively engage with all staff
• Coordinate and collaborate with lead partner and implementing partners for developing staff management plan and undertaking capacity building initiatives.

Ensure Safe and Secure Working Environment

• Ensure a functional security and risk mitigation measures are in place and in use
• Ensure adherence to Core Security Requirements
• Ensure that staff have the necessary tools to complete the tasks as assigned to them, including, but not limited to, communications tools such as telephones, and internet access
• Lead the timely implementation of security recommendations
• Promote a culture of security awareness and risk reduction amongst staff

KNOWLEDGE/QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE ROLE

Required Professional Experience

• 5 to 7 years of experience in progressive management experience operating in the education / emergencies field in Nepal
• Previous experience as DCOP for a USAID or manager for other large-scale grant projects preferred
• Holds a well-established relationship with the government ministries and departments(Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Center for Education and Human Resource Development (CEHRD), Curriculum Development Centre, Education Review Office, Provincial Education Training Center, Ministry of Home Affairs National Disaster Risk Reduction And Management Authority (NDRRMA), Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration and UN agencies, networks, universities and other like-minded organizations.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Demonstrated outstanding leadership, effective organizational development, partnership-building, managerial, team-building, and communications skills.
• Must be able to work with multiple deadlines and high demands

Required Education, training, license, registration, and certification

• Master’s degree in Education, Social Science, International Development or a related field
• Minimum of 5 to 7 years of professional experience in a senior Managing complex/ multi sectoral projects
• 2-3-year experience in monitoring US Government grants
• Three years of field-based experience

Preferred Knowledge and Qualifications

• Contextual awareness of Nepal’s Resilience in Education and development sector
• Knowledge on the USAID (or similar) GESI framework and its application in Resilience in Education is an advantage.
• Familiarity with USAID programs, their history and their development; mastery of USAID regulations governing such programs
• Have experience working in the field of education and DRR
• Have experience working with minority groups

Travel and/or Work Environment Requirement Work environment: Office-based with some travel. The position requires ability and willingness to travel domestically (in different provinces and districts) up to 25% of the time.

Language Requirements

• English.
• Nepali
• Other local languages are preferable contextual to Madhesh Province.

“World Vision is committed to achieving diversity, as the diversity of our teams is critical to our overall success. WV welcomes applications from qualified professionals all over Nepal. Women, people with disability, and members from other marginalized groups are strongly encouraged to apply.”

“Children and vulnerable adults who come into contact with WV as a result of our activities must be safeguarded to the maximum possible extent from deliberate or inadvertent actions and failings that place them at risk of abuse, sexual exploitation, injury, and any other harm. One of the ways that WVI Nepal shows this on-going commitment to safeguarding is to include rigorous background and reference checks in the selection process for all candidates, in accordance to its Child and Adult Safeguarding Policy. WVI Nepal has zero tolerance to child rights’ violations, by employees and/or affiliates.”

WVI Nepal reserves all rights to qualify/disqualify applications in any case.

People & Culture Department

World Vision International Nepal