Chief of Party, USAID/Malawi, Investing in Diversified Agriculture-led Growth Poles Full Time

Chief of Party, USAID/Malawi, Investing in Diversified Agriculture-led Growth Poles for Inclusive, Sustainable and Resilient Wealth Creation (Growth Poles) Activity

About Palladium:

Palladium is a global company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to health, water, power, and infrastructure; build enduring, sustainable, and transformative institutions and market systems to address global challenges; and conserve the natural world. We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of 4,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.

This Opportunity:

The purpose of this activity is to accelerate environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable, resilient, and more inclusive wealth generation in Malawi by mobilizing rural-based private sector investments and partnerships with anchor firms and their surrounding communities, smallholder organizations, cooperatives, and MSMEs in a growth pole approach, with a focus on ensuring benefits are inclusive of smallholders, youth, and women. Malawian talent is strongly encouraged to apply.

You and Your Career:

If you are a problem-solver, collaborator, and doer, and you have expertise in donor-funded program management, agricultural productivity, and private sector engagement, we are interested in hearing from you. We are a learning organization and provide growth opportunities from the start.  We pride ourselves on giving you the freedom, resources, and guidance to chart a
fulfilling career!

Reporting and Supervision:

The COP will have primary supervisory responsibility over the Growth Poles project team and will liaise regularly with the HQ Project Director.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• The Chief of Party (COP) shall provide overall strategic leadership and oversight to the activity. S/he shall have depth and breadth of technical expertise and experience, a solid professional reputation, interpersonal skills, and professional relationships to fulfill the requirements of the activity description. The Chief of Party must have significant experience managing large and complex activities and demonstrated experience working with and through the private sector. Primary duties and responsibilities include:
• Provides overall leadership, strategic guidance, vision, and management to staff and the overall project team, including staff, consultants, and partner organizations.
• Ensures project inputs, program strategy, external representation and coordination with project counterparts, USAID, host country contacts, other donors within the sector and other programs as necessary.
• Establishes quality control standards in-line with the country, USAID and Palladium’s standards.
• Ensures the strategic and functional integration of all technical areas as well as strong collaboration with donors, other implementing partners, and counterparts
• Leads Private Sector Engagement approach to ensure the project is leveraging local private sector investment, knowledge, and networks.
• Serve as the project’s primary point of contact with USAID, other implementing partners, and other stakeholders; ensure alignment and harmonization with other programming where appropriate, including public/private sector partnerships.
• Oversee budget implementation and financial management, working closely with the deputy chief of party and finance and director; ensure the project’s preparedness for USAID audit.
• Lead and manage staff professional development to build their capacity and strengthen competency and professional development.
• Represents the project to USAID, senior policymakers, and in professional and donor forums.

Key Competencies Required:

• A Masters’ degree or higher in a related field.
• Minimum of 15 years of experience in international development, including experience related to agriculture value chain competitiveness, agribusiness management, and private sector development.
• At least 5 years’ experience as a Chief of Party or similar senior level, managing large and complex donor-funded or USG activities of this size and scope (in terms of dollar amount and number of people managed), in developing countries and preferably in the Southern or Eastern African region.
• Excellent managerial and operational experience, preferably in managing large donor projects involving coordination with multiple implementing partners or institutions in the Southern and Eastern African region, and sub-recipient / complex partnering relationships.
• Minimum 8 years’ experience in developing activity work-plans, budgets, managing implementation, staff, and short-term technical assistance, preferably working with USG and/or other large donor funded projects.
• Demonstrated skills on problem solving, collaboration, creativity, and willingness to innovate, management skills and history of productive involvement with a wide range and levels of organizations (government, private sector, NGOs, research institutions).

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion – Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding – We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse.  All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.