Chief of Party, USAID/Ghana Youth Activity at IREX

Summary Of Position

IREX seeks qualified Chief of Party (COP) candidates to support the USAID-funded Ghana Youth Activity. The Activity will support rural and urban youth in northern Ghana with a range of sustainable opportunities, tools, and support systems that enable youth to improve their livelihoods, increase their abilities to contribute as both economically and socially productive individuals, promote peace, and become engaged community members. The activity will give special attention to the needs of girls, the disabled, and other disadvantaged groups. Based in Accra, the COP will oversee all aspects of program implementation, providing a vision for the program and ensuring that objectives are met on time and within budget.

Summary of Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic and technical leadership to the program, including a comprehensive vision for transformational outcomes for the activity’s three intermediate results:
  • Increase high quality economic opportunities for youth;
  • Increase appropriate, high-quality, timely health care for youth; and
  • Strengthen youth engagement in communities.
• Serve as principal liaison with USAID and develop productive collaborative relationships with a wide range of key stakeholders including government officials, other donors and implementers, civil society and private sector partners, program beneficiaries, and others.
• Develop strong collaborative, supportive, and mutually respectful relationships with diverse team members, with other leaders at IREX, and with leaders at key stakeholder and partner organizations.
• Ensure program activities are implemented on schedule, within budget, and coordinated to maximize efficiency and effectiveness across regions.
• Oversee program budgeting and forecasting, financial management, compliance and subgrants management.
• Oversee monitoring, evaluation, learning, and reporting to ensure the program adapts as needed to meet objectives and learning is acquired and shared broadly to maximize impact and sustainability.
• Oversee and help to drive a private sector engagement strategy.
• Integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout program implementation while also promoting an evidence-based positive youth development approach.
• Supervise, manage, and mentor program staff; lead recruitment of specialized technical staff.
• Represent IREX publicly and support its organizational development.
• Ensure that IREX’s safety and security policies and procedures are applied to all program and staff operations.
• Other duties, as assigned.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Ghanaian citizenship or residency with work authorization to be able to work in Ghana is required.
• At least eight (8) years of relevant experience leading youth-focused programs with a master’s degree in a relevant field such as business, economics, education, international development, non-profit management, etc.; or a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field with at least 10 years or relevant experience also considered. Successful track record of at least five (5) years supervising, managing, and implementing USAID-funded programs and or other related donor-funded programming, with at least 5 years of experience managing programs in Africa.
• Proven leadership qualities including a leadership style that is empowering to team members, and instills diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Demonstrated experience supporting youth leaders to spur inclusive economic growth and/or promote good governance in their communities.
•  Proven coaching and mentoring approach to management and leadership to collaborate effectively with others and build the capacities of those in the program leadership team.
• Excellent management, communication, representational, and organizational skills. 
• Demonstrated capacity to develop collaborative, supportive, and mutually respectful relationships with other diverse adult and youth leaders.
• Demonstrated entrepreneurial mindset, to plan strategically and creatively to meet program objectives, with a focus on innovation. 
• Ability to establish strong working relationships with senior officials in government, with youth-led organizations, civil society organizations, international donors, and other stakeholders.
• Fluency in written and spoken English; language skills in local Ghanaian languages highly preferred.
• Ghana nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.