Chief of Party

CHIEF OF PARTY, NEPAL

Position Summary

RTI's International Education Division is supporting education development around the world by strengthening education policy, management and practice in order to achieve measurable improvement in teaching and learning. From our well-established reputation in education system strengthening, to innovative work in early grade assessment and learning, RTI is improving education quality, relevance and efficiency through implementation of projects funded by USAID, DFID, Australian Aid and other donors and clients.

The International Education Division is currently accepting applications for Chief of Party for an anticipated USAID-funded five-year project to improve early grade reading in Nepal. This is a full-time position with residency in Nepal.

The Chief of Party (COP) will provide overall technical and administrative leadership and expertise for the project and will serve as the primary liaison with USAID/Nepal on management and technical matters.S/he will be responsible for the overall management and implementation of the program and report directly to the designated USAID Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and RTI’s home office. The COP will take a leadership role in the coordination of program activities among a diverse group of stakeholders and beneficiaries: Ministry of Education staff, civil society representatives, community members, other implementing partners and USAID personnel. The COP position requires political gravitas as s/he will interact with numerous Government of Nepal institutions and senior-level national and county-level government officials. The COP will have demonstrated ability to work in complex, politically charged environments, to work across different cultures, and to manage diverse teams to deliver impact within agreed timelines.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Oversees a large, complex program to improve the reading skills of primary level students in Nepal, through the project’s three Intermediate Results:Improved Early Grade Reading Instruction, Improved National and District Early Grade Reading Service Delivery and Increased Family and Community Support for Early Grade Reading.
• Responsible for project development from inception to deployment. 
• Plans, organizes, and supervises the overall activities under the project. 
• Responsible for project management and configuration, technical work, scheduling, and managing costs associated with the project.
• Ensures that all activities conform to the terms and conditions of project requirements, including cost, schedule and quality parameters. 
• Interfaces with clients, conferring with USAID management on strategic issues to maximize impact and scale, minimize costs, and maximize efficiency and sustainability in achieving project requirements.
• Manages and controls funds and other resources for the project and associated sub-contractsand grants under contract as required. 
• Prepares status reports, budget information and other documentation as needed.
• Leads the project in coordination among USAID and key stakeholders, and other implementing partners. 

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience in relevant technical fields such as educational policy,planning, curriculum development and teacher professional development.
• Ph.D. or Ed.D.and technical familiarity with early grade reading preferred.
• At least 15 years of experience in relevant management, supervisory, technical experience working with programs that are of a similar scope and scale to this program is required (at least 10 of these years must be in a management/leadership position). 
• At least ten years’ experience in the education sector, preferably in similar development contexts as Nepal. 
• Ample experience in program design, policy dialogue, strategic planning andimplementation, education reform and national-level quality improvement. 
• Demonstrated experience and knowledge of capacity development, professionaldevelopment, and systems strengthening. 
• Experience and demonstrated capacity to build andsustain partnerships to achieve development results.
• Professional proficiency and fluency in written and spokenEnglish. Proficiency in Nepali is preferred, but not required. 

To Apply: Qualified candidates are invited to apply at www.rti.org/job15693.  

Candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Only short listed applicants will be contacted. RTI is proud to be an EEO/AA employer M/F/D/V.