Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP), USAID/Nepal Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (NEPAL/MEL) Platform Contract

Job Title:  Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP), USAID/Nepal Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (NEPAL/MEL) Platform Contract

Location:  Katmandu, Nepal

Date:  Five-year project.  Start date TBD.

Overview

WI-HER, LLC (Women Influencing Health, Education and Rule of Law) is an economically and socially disadvantaged, woman-owned small business based in the Washington D.C. area. WI-HER partners with international donors, national governments, non-governmental organizations and others to solve problems and improve lives.   With a deep expertise in analysis, evaluation, qualitative and quantitative research, and M&E, we build capacity among individuals and teams to assess, identify, address, monitor, evaluate and achieve evidence-based solutions that last.   WI-HER has experience across multiple development sectors, including health and nutrition; democracy, human rights and governance; education; and agriculture and trade.  We understand the complex challenges that cut across all sectors in development contexts, and particularly in the fragile environments of humanitarian crisis, conflict, and disease outbreaks, and economic transition.  WI-HER is familiar and comfortable in fragile and transition environments and understands that these contexts require creative solutions and unique skills in and approaches to communication, community building, and social and gender inclusion.

Job Profile

WI-HER, LLC is actively seeking a Deputy Chief of Party for an anticipated five-year United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) program in Nepal. The program will support and facilitate USAID’s capacity to leverage MEL approaches to improve development outcomes and will strengthen the organizational capacity of USAID/Nepal’s strategic partners.

The Deputy Chief of Party will work closely with the Chief of Party in overseeing the technical management and day-to-day oversight of the project, remaining in close contact with USAID and the government of Nepal.  DCOP will provide overall technical leadership, management, and technical direction to the project supporting the DCOP and should bring demonstrated experience working in areas such as performance management, organizational development, strategic decision-making, quality control, and project learning. In addition to facilitating learning and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, the DCOP will be responsible for building relationships with a variety of project stakeholders, including USAID, the government of Nepal, academic institutions, private sector organizations and civil society organizations. The DCOP will have strong leadership and management skills. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated experience achieving results, with strong strategic vision and an understanding of systems approaches to programming. 

S/he will be responsible for overall project management, external representation, data collection, monitoring, report generation, evaluation and related tasks. S/he will work closely with the project Chief of Party to ensure the quality control, strategic vision, and overall responsiveness of technical assistance provided under the contract.  

The position will be full-time and be based in Kathmandu, Nepal with regular travel throughout the country.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership to all aspects of the project, ensuring activities and deliverables are completed on time, at top quality, and within budget
• Support the Chief of Party (COP) in operational, and managerial oversight
• Collaborate in working relationships with the Government of Nepal and USAID/Nepal as required, along with relevant in-country stakeholders
• Provide technical guidance and direction for staff and consultants
• Promote sustainability of project activities through effective networking, building connections to other programs, capacity building of project staff, and institutional strengthening in support of the journey to self-reliance
• Ensure documentation and dissemination of findings, impact, innovations, and lessons learned
• Support the COP to ensure that all activities are undertaken in full compliance with WI-HER standard operating procedures, USAID policies and regulations, and local policies and laws

Qualifications (Education, Knowledge and Experience)

• A graduate degree in a social science, organizational development, development studies or a related field highly preferred;
• At least eight 8 years progressively more responsible experience in managing technical projects with USAID and other donors. 
• Prior experience as a senior leader working on USAID-funded projects
• Experience with managing USAID budgets is a plus
• Significant experience with MEL and CLA standards and practices required;
• Experience building MEL capacities of USAID staff, implementing partners, and government counterparts, as well as operational capacities of organizations highly preferred.

Skills

• Demonstrated competencies in project management and technical leadership, including staff management, budget management, work plan design and management of on-time deliverables, and oversight and compliance, 
• Competencies in applying a variety of participatory and strengths-based learning design and delivery approaches, blended learning and evidence-based learning theory preferred;
• Skills and experience in evaluation methodology, statistical analysis, experimental design, and/or data collection and analysis;
• Strong preference for candidates that have conducted research in the following sectors: Education, Health, Governance, and in Agriculture
• Experience in developing and managing relationships with host-country governments at different levels, as well as a variety of private and public-sector organizations, academic institutions, and other stakeholders in Nepal highly preferred;
• Experience in performance monitoring, tracking data quality, data management, and/or training in performance management topics a plus;
• Strong planning, organization, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills;
• Competency writing reports, analyses, proposals, and/or other technical communications;
• Strong communication, including public speaking skills; both verbal and written English skills.

EEO Statement: WI-HER, LLC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer 

To apply or inquire, please send CV and cover letter with email subject line“DCOP Position Nepal/MEL” to: Apply@wi-her.org