Chief of Party: Advancing Partnership for Improved Learning Activity

Opportunity International is seeking qualified Chief of Party candidates for a USAID-funded Activity, Advancing Partnerships for Improved Learning (APIL) in northern Ghana. The Activity pilots best practices for strengthening low-fee private schools (LFPS) in northern Ghana to improve learning outcomes, business practices and sustainability.

The COP will be responsible for supervising the implementation of the Work Plan, providing quality

control of products prepared by the project team and any sub awardees and providing expert guidance to USAID. The Chief of Party will have significant leadership, management and development experience; a demonstrated track record in successfully managing government relations; demonstrated experience in private sector and market-based approaches to development; and experience in the education sector.

This position is based in Tamale, Ghana and is available immediately.

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide overall technical and administrative leadership of the Activity.

• Serves as the primary liaison with USAID/Ghana, the Government of Ghana and private sector

  education programming stakeholders.

• Ensure quality control over programmatic functions, including development of work plans,

  budgets, quarterly/annual reports, and ensuring effective implementation of program strategy as articulated in the workplan.

• Provide technical direction and oversight in the design, implementation, and monitoring of high-quality work plans and budgets.

• Oversee all project operations, staff, and sub awardees to ensure activities are on track, and are delivered on schedule and on budget.

• Ensure adherence to USAID, project, corporate and Ghanaian policies and procedures

  governing all technical work— including cost, schedule, procurement and quality parameters.

• Work with the award’s agreement officer’s representative to address challenges and

  opportunities to maximize impact and scale, minimize costs, and maximize efficiency and

  sustainability to achieve targeted results.

• Demonstrate diplomacy and leadership to foster an atmosphere of teamwork, productivity,

  creativity, fairness, and innovation.

• Other related duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum of a master’s degree in education, finance, international development, or another

  relevant discipline

• At least 10-years of experience overseeing education, finance, private sector development or

  related activities in challenging environments, preferably in Ghana or in the region.

• At least 5 years of experience in a senior-level leadership position (i.e., Chief of Party, Country

  Director) on programs that involved direction over USAID-funded activities

• High level of interpersonal, technical, and analytical skills, including a demonstrated ability to

  interact effectively and collaborate with a broad range of public and private sector counterparts and other key stakeholders.

• Demonstrated ability to organize and effectively and efficiently navigate the rules and

  regulations of US Government awards.

• Knowledge of USAID’s legal and policy restrictions, and compliance requirements, including

  procurement.

• Familiarity with USAID’s reporting requirements and experience with developing

  quarterly/annual reports.

• Experience recruiting and managing consultants and overseeing quality control.

• Ability to build and motivate diverse teams with proven leadership, interpersonal, and

  intercultural skills.

• Cultural sensitivity and experience working in multicultural environments.

• Written and oral fluency in English

• Strong analytical and computer skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and web-based research)

• Responsiveness to communications

• Decisive and comfortable making executive decisions

• An understanding of and a commitment to advancing the mission, vision and values of

  Opportunity International

ABOUT OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL

Opportunity International is a global non-profit that has been empowering people to work their way out of poverty since 1971. Opportunity provides 18.7 million people with innovative financial resources, training, and support to grow their small businesses and send their children to school. In 2022, Opportunity International and its partners helped fund 5,600 schools that reached 1.6 million children, and they released more than $2.6 billion in capital across 30 countries. Discover more at opportunity.org or join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.

ABOUT EDUFINANCE

Opportunity EduFinance is a nimble, fast-moving, and rapidly expanding core function of Opportunity International’s global footprint. EduFinance aims to get more children into better quality schools. It does this by increasing access to capital for affordable private schools and parents, and by boosting the capacity of school leaders and teachers in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). It does this in over 25 countries and is growing rapidly.