Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC)

Job description:

CRRC-Armenia is seeking a Chief of Party (COP) for an anticipated RFTOP under USAID Armenia Learning and Evidence Platform contract, with a budget of up to $9.99 million over 5 years. The position is full-time and based in Yerevan. The Armenia Learning and Evidence Platform will provide support services to USAID/Armenia’s technical offices and implementing partners. The effort, with an emphasis on collaboration, learning, and adaptation (CLA) will advance better coordination across technical teams to achieve country development and cooperation strategy goals (CDCS) through improved evidence-based programming, measurement and performance, and importantly improved harmonization of MEL and CLA activities. Armenian citizens or citizens from Caucasus countries are strongly encouraged to apply. This position is contingent on funding.

The COP will provide vision, leadership and guidance for a team of CLA and MEL professionals in Armenia, and coordinate with local, national, and international institutions and other stakeholders. The COP will provide technical oversight on all types of CLA and MEL activities and deliverables, as well as manage personnel and a multi-million-dollar budget. The ideal candidate would be knowledgeable on CLA tools and approaches and MEL, be familiar with both qualitative and quantitative data and methods, and have strong capacity-building skills.

The COP will travel frequently across Armenia to oversee project management and technical operations and ensure project tasks and objectives are met.

The COP will be the primary liaison with USAID/Armenia and will be the authority on the implementation of the contract. As the primary point of contact with USAID, the COP will lead the implementer’s team and manage day-to-day activity implementation. They will ensure all assistance is technically sound and appropriate, supervise all personnel, and report regularly on activity progress. The COP will also manage the preparation and presentation of work plans, MEL plans, and reports. Ideally, the COP will be an Armenian national or a professional familiar with the Caucasus region and Armenia in particular with sound management experience.

/en/chief-of-party-cop

Job responsibilities

• Provide operational and technical oversight to all CLA and MEL project planning, implementation, and evaluation activities, ensuring that the activity tasks are completed and the objectives of the activity are successfully met. Supervise development, adaptation, and integration of CLA tools and approaches.
• Manage technical assistance and training activities.
• Ensure that all work/work products provided under the contract are technically sound and meet activity and contractual requirements.
• Serve as the primary point of contact with and represent the project to USAID, implementing partners, host country officials, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Provide leadership and quality control on performance monitoring and evaluation capacity building, collaborating, learning, and adapting, performance and impact evaluations, sector assessments, baseline assessment, evaluation design and methodology, and research and analysis.
• Supervise partner capacity-building activities in M&E.
• Work with the team to strategically deploy staff and consultants.
• Manage the preparation and presentation of proposed implementation plans and all reports.
• Ensure the quality and timeliness of all contract deliverables and work products.
• Assume responsibility for the budget, working closely with the financial manager to ensure cost-effective management, financial projections, and systems to ensure proper use of funds.
• Directly or indirectly supervise all project staff and consultants.
• Mentor and support the professional development of all staff and consultants.
• Ensure adherence to all relevant US Government (USG), CRRC, and host country rules, regulations, and laws, including those related to procurement labor and employment.

Required qualifications

• Minimum of a Master's degree in relevant fields: social science and humanities, public policy, management, sociology, monitoring and evaluation, education.
• At least 10 years of program management of development projects, capacity building, research, and stakeholder engagement.
• Deep familiarity with USAID CLA practices.
• At least 3 years of experience related to M&E design and principles, research, statistics and/or monitoring projects related to development.
• Previous CoP experience with USAID-funded award
• Demonstrated experience implementing USAID cooperative agreements and ADS 201.
• Working knowledge of USG-funded program management, policies, regulations, and procedures.
• Experience in strengthening the capacities of diverse teams as part of a localization, learning and evidence strategy.
• Ability to lead in CLA, capacity development and training, evaluations, and assessments.
• Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills.
• Fluency in English; and fluency in Armenian is an asset.
• Strong team leadership and team management skills.
• Proven ability to manage project management and technical operations.
• Capacity to oversee the preparation and presentation of work plans, MEL plans, and reports.
• Technical expertise in one or more thematic areas (e.g. democracy and governance, conflict resolution; economic growth; organizational development, youth and development).
• Ability to leverage strong networks with international and local experts, particularly the latter, in learning, monitoring, evaluation, research, economic growth, health, education, etc.
• Ideally, the candidate will be an Armenian national or a professional familiar with the Caucasus region and, in particular, Armenia.
• Frequent travel across Armenia is required.

Required candidate level: C level

Additional information