Chief of Party, McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition

CARE seeks a Chief of Party (COP) for an anticipated USDA-funded five-year, $25-35 million McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition (FFECN) for Ecuador. The expected start date is October 2026 running through September of 2031. The principal objectives of McGovern-Dole FFECN programs are as follows:

Strategic Objective 1: Improved literacy of school-age children;

Strategic Objective 2: Increased use of health, nutrition, and dietary practices; and

By providing school meals, teacher training, government capacity-building, and related education and nutrition support, the FFECN project will boost school enrollment, increase attendance, and improve reading outcomes and literacy results, as well as improve the nutrition, health, and wellbeing of primary school students. The project will also ensure graduation from USDA support by strengthening school meal resource allocation, capacity, and accountability system to achieve education, health, and nutrition objectives.

Job Summary

The COP will be responsible for overall project leadership, management, and technical direction of staff and consultants, project activities, monitoring, reporting and evaluation, and partner coordination. The COP will serve as a key liaison with USDA, all government counterparts, and local partners. The COP will manage and supervise the work of program personnel and subcontractors/subgrantees and ensure that all program assistance is technically sound and appropriate. The COP will also oversee program work planning, performance management, and strategic communication.

This is a Key Personnel position, subject to USDA approval. It is also subject to project award and funding.

Application Deadline: May 8, 2026

Responsibilities:

Program Leadership & Management 30%

• Provide overall strategic leadership for the program’s execution, ensuring it aligns with the objectives, timeline, and USDA requirements.

• Manage the project’s operational, financial, and administrative priorities, direct the planning and budgeting processes in line with CARE’s standard operating procedures, ensure adherence to USDA policies and regulations, and relevant national policies and laws.

• Serve as the primary point of contact for all stakeholders, including donors, government counterparts, local authorities, implementing partners, and the community.

• Ensure effective risk management and troubleshooting, reducing the risk of fraud or misuse, especially as related to commodity management and logistics.

• Supervise and mentor senior/ technical staff as well as any hired consultants or additional staff supporting the program. Motivate teams to deliver results by establishing a strong and dynamic team, open communication, and leading by example.

• Ensure quality documentation systems and ultimately be responsible for all required USDA deliverables.

Team Leadership and Capacity Building 20%

• Lead and manage the program’s team, ensuring clear roles and responsibilities are assigned, and that every staff member has a clear understanding of the integrated nature of the program.

• Provide technical guidance and support to program staff to enhance their capacity and ensure smooth implementation.

• Foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment that ensures efficient communication and teamwork.

• Identify any training sessions (as necessary) for staff on best practices, program guidelines, and relevant protocols.

Monitoring and Evaluation 15%

• Support quality data collection for all project assessments and studies that translate into high quality reports and deliverables for USDA.

• Ensure that data collection and reporting systems are set up to measure the effectiveness of the program and ensure donor requirements are met.

• Regularly review program data and adapt strategies as needed for successful implementation.

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication 15%

• Build and maintain productive working relationships with USDA’s points of contact in-country and at USDA’s regional post, as well as with the host government counterparts, project partners, and key stakeholders. Serve as the primary liaison among all project stakeholders.

• Build strong community buy-in for the school feeding program to ensure its sustainability.

• Represent the program at high-level meetings, workshops, and conferences as needed.

Compliance and Reporting 15%

• Ensure full compliance with all local laws, regulations, and donor guidelines relevant to the program’s implementation.

• Ensure oversight of proper financial management and accountability, including monitoring of budgets and expenditures.

• Prepare and submit regular reports to senior CARE management on overall program status, financial health, and other key performance indicators.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in international development, education, agriculture, public health, economics, business or related field preferred.

• 10-12 years of relevant senior experience in international development as Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, or in a senior management role on projects of similar scope and scale.

• Technical experience in and understanding of school feeding programming, food security, education and child nutrition.  

• Experience managing USDA or USAID cooperative agreements and/or contracts.

• Strong financial management, budgeting and project operations/administrative oversight abilities, and experience managing budgets over $20 million USD.

• Experience recruiting, developing, and managing staff and teams.

• Demonstrated skills building and maintaining relationships with host governments, donors, other donor-funded projects and stakeholders, local organizations, and partners. 

• Fluency in English required (spoken and written).

• Spanish language fluency (preferred) or professional working proficiency required (spoken and written).

• Strong oral and written communication skills; excellent demonstrated inter-cultural, interpersonal, and negotiation skills.

• Demonstrated commitment to the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Harassment, and Abuse.

• Strong experience overseeing M&E systems for USG-funded projects, including Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) principles and approaches preferred.