Deputy Chief of Party

Job Description

Project Description:The Transforming the Assessment and Inspection of Food Businesses in Egypt (TAIB) project is a six-year $8.5M project funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that is expanding domestic and international trade of Egyptian food products through supporting the establishment and scale-out of a new government entity, the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA). The project began in September 2018 and is expected to conclude in June 2024.

PositionSummary:The Deputy Chief of Partyreportsdirectlyto the COP and supports the Chief of Party across all aspects of project implementation, including, but not limited to technical delivery, financial management and budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, operations, compliance and employee management. The Deputy Chief of Party will manage relationships with key Egyptian stakeholders including NFSA, Chamber of Food Industries (CFI), Food Export Council (FEC) and Agriculture Export Council (AEC), to develop and coordinate impactful technical assistance interventions. The Deputy Chief of Party will oversee the delivery of technical assistance, ensuring that project activities are carried out in a timely and efficient manner to exceed annual targets. S/he will support the COP to develop and finalize project deliverables including the work plan, monthly and annual budgets, and semi-annual reports to USDA. In absence of the COP, the Deputy Chief of Party will serve in an Acting Chief of Party capacity and assume responsibility for day-to-day management of the project and be accountable to both USDA and HQ.

• Serve as the liaison and relationship manager between the project and the leadership of key stakeholders including NFSA, CFI, FEC and AEC.
• Manage the development, design and implementation of technical assistance. Oversee the development of scopes of work, support the recruitment and selection of consultants, and supervise their work and approving time sheets and deliverables.
• Manage all technical staff on the project and provide oversight and leadership to ensure that activities are designed and executed on time and within budget, with a focus on maximizing impact and promoting sustainability. Ensures technical soundness of project interventions.
• Support the COP in the development of project deliverables including annual work plan, monthly and annual budgets, and semi-annual reports to USDA.
• Proactively recognize implementation challenges and problem solve with the COP and operational and technical staff to identify corrective actions to ensure the project fulfills annual targets.
• Ensure project activities comply with LOL policies and that technical information is captured, recorded and stored according to the project’s internal MEL Plan and in accordance with LOL policies.
• Represent TAIB and Venture37 with private and public sector stakeholders.
• Promote a collaborative organizational culture and foster staff professional development through both internal and external capacity building opportunities.
• Liaise frequently with counterparts and key stakeholders involved in the food safety sector in Egypt to include government of Egypt counterparts, United States Department of Agriculture attaches, private sector trade organizations and companies, other development projects and research institutions.
• Participate in regular project management communications (teleconference, written monthly status updates, etc.) with Land O’Lakes HQ.
• In the absence of the Chief of Party, assume responsibility for the day-to-day management of the program.

Job Requirements

• At least 7 years of progressive work experience on donor funded projects.
• Demonstrated strong relationships with key project stakeholders including NFSA, CFI, FEC and AEC.
• Demonstrated experience in at least one of TAIB’s three technical areas: organizational capacity, food inspection, or food policy.
• Demonstrated experience managing a team.
• Proven ability to work in a collaborative team environment.
• Demonstrated ability to adaptively manage technical implementation of project activities.
• Demonstrated experience in managing technical assistance interventions and developing project work plans and reports for donor funded projects.
• Fluency in spoken and written English and Arabic

Preferred Qualifications:

• At least 10 years of progressive work experience on donor funded projects.
• Previous experience serving in a management role for a United States’ Government supported program.
• Demonstrated experience with program operations including monitoring and evaluation and procurement.

The position reports to the Chief of Party. The position supervises local technical staff.