Vacancy: Country Lead, Policy LINK Ghana Program

Company Profile

Job Description

Project Background

The Feed the Future Policy LINK project will strengthen the capacity of local actors and institutions to lead and manage the agricultural transformation process and contribute effectively and collectively to improved, broad-based food security policy outcomes.

Specifically, the program aims to strengthen food security policy systems by investing in and reinforcing productive human and social capital and developing strategic partnerships that help bring these innovations and capacity investments to scale in order to achieve a critical mass of local actors with the ability and opportunity to effect positive policy change through collective action.

Policy LINK’s general approach is grounded in facilitative leadership and collaborative governance, which emphasize engaging stakeholders from civil society and public and private sectors in consensus-oriented decision making, collaborative problem solving, and adaptive learning.

Policy LINK in Ghana

USAID/Policy LINK Ghana is a five-year activity with the overall objective of fostering behavior change that strengthens the capacity and ability of Ghanaian stakeholders to participate in a more transparent, inclusive, and evidence-based agriculture and food security policy process that leads to improved food and nutrition outcomes and broad-based economic growth. Specifically, the activity will facilitate the transition towards a policy development paradigm driven by multiple stakeholders.

This approach to policymaking will strengthen the capacities of Ghana’s main agricultural policy system actors and institutions, and support them to engage stakeholders traditionally excluded from decision-making, including academia, financial institutions, the judiciary, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private sector representatives from the national, regional, and local levels.

This approach is underpinned by Policy LINK’s overarching theory of change focused on increasing human and social capital, engaging policy system actors in collaborative processes, and developing mechanisms for collaborative governance and dynamic learning systems and platforms to sustain collective action.

Position Objectives

The Ghana Country Lead is a senior leadership position based in Accra and responsible for overall planning, delivery, monitoring, and reporting of the Policy LINK program in Ghana at the national, regional, and community levels.

The Ghana Country Lead will ensure effective program management, administrative supervision, high level representation, and technical excellence in the all the activities implemented by Policy LINK. Furthermore, the Lead will ensure project activities are consistent with the goals and objectives of the Policy LINK’s overall program, the Ghana Mission buy-in, and USAID Ghana Mission. The Lead will promote the use of proven Policy LINK tools and approaches and ensure the high technical quality of activities, emphasizing the principles of facilitative leadership and collaborative governance.

The Lead will supervise national staff and serve as the central point of interlocution between the Ghana team, other Policy LINK country offices and Senior Management. Position objectives are summarized as follows:

• Overall program management, delivery and achievement of program activities and deliverables per the activity description, workplan, and organizational policies and procedures.


• Managing stakeholder relationships to advance technical engagement in a coordinated and coherent manner.


• Consistent and responsive communication and liaison with the USAID Ghana Mission to ensure Mission needs are addressed and Mission POCs are appropriately and consistently informed and consulted on key project activities.


• Providing technical leadership to the Policy LINK Ghana team, including support with design, operations, training and facilitation, mentoring and relationship management.


• Serving as the local bank signatory and reviewing and approving the work of Policy LINK’s finance and procurement teams in Ghana. Ensuring systems are in place for proper administrative management in compliance with DAI and USAID policies and procedures.


• Coordinating and leveraging specialized technical expertise from Policy LINK and DAI.


• S/he will continually reinforce Policy LINK’s agreed-upon core purpose and principles, and ensure all decision-making is rooted in those purpose and principles. S/he will contribute to foster a learning environment in which personal and team growth is supported, with a shared understanding that the “team” always comes before the “individual.”

Responsibilities

The Ghana Country Lead will be responsible for the following anticipated tasks, though others may be added as appropriate:

Technical Program Management

• Maintain continuous interface with USAID Mission and implementing partners to advance program objectives.


• Manage overall design, delivery, and accomplishment of program deliverables in Ghana in accordance with Policy LINK and USAID guidelines. Provide facilitative leadership and support to partners to improve coordination, collaborative governance, collective impact, and better achievement of technical objectives.


• Provide overall leadership to the Policy LINK Ghana team, including staff located in regional offices, if any. This will include oversight and support to the Policy LINK Ghana team by providing supervision, technical advice and executive decision making to ensure they effectively implement activities. In addition, the team lead will be sensitive to staff needs for development, motivation and implement actions to enhance broader team motivation and cohesion.


• Contribute to program efforts to facilitate and implement activities that are inclusive, gender sensitive, and responsive to local context in target regions.


• Coordinate regular internal team meetings and debriefs to set targets, review progress, leverage lessons, and ensure successful implementation of program activities.


• Ensure overall proper documentation, monitoring, and reporting of the status and performance program implementation in Ghana, including setting targets, monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and learning, including providing regular updates and submission of program reports internally or to USAID and partners as appropriate.


• Ensure effective management of consultants and service providers to produce high quality deliverables.


• As part of Policy LINK senior management, the buy-in lead will consult regularly with and be responsive to Policy LINK’s other senior managers, ensuring that the Ghana team is an integral part of the Policy LINK’s global team.

Administrative Program Management

• Ensure that accurate budget updates from the Policy LINK office in Ghana are communicated to the global management team, including technical implementation and general administrative expenses.


• Serve as the primary local bank signatory for payments originating in Ghana up to the threshold specified in Policy LINK’s Project Schedule of Authorities.


• Provide a thorough review of documentation prepared by staff performing finance and procurement tasks, ensuring that necessary systems are put in place and actions are taken to procure, and pay local vendors contracted to provide technical and operational goods and services. Actions should be compliant with Policy LINK, USAID, and local requirements.


• Ensure local staff and teams are adequately supported to execute program activities and have access to appropriate opportunities for mentoring and coordination with the Policy LINK core team located in Bethesda, Maryland, Kenya, and worldwide.


• S/he will also contribute actively to recruitment efforts throughout the contracted period of performance by serving on agreed-upon interview panels, according to Policy LINK’s recruitment policy and process. Responsibilities of interview panel members may include, but not be limited to:
  
  
  
  • Contributing to position shortlists
  
  
  • Developing or editing interview questions
  
  
  • Serving as a “panel lead” for certain recruitment efforts
  
  
  • Conducting oral reference checks
  
  
  
  


• The Country Lead will ensure that local staff understand and embody Policy LINK principles, management, and standard operating procedures, and that they are put in place for effective implementation and management of Policy LINK program in Ghana.

Reporting

The Ghana Country Lead will report to the Policy LINK Chief of Party.

Supervisory Responsibilities

The Ghana Country Lead will supervise the local Ghana program team. Direct reports at this time are anticipated to include (subject to revision): Program/Policy Advisor, Embedded Government Advisor 1, Embedded Government Advisor 2, and Operations & Finance Manager. The Operations & Finance Manager will supervise the Program/Admin/Logistics Coordinator and Accountant.

Required Skills or Experience

Local Ghanaian candidates, particularly women, are encouraged to apply. Additional qualifications include:

• Minimum of a Master’s degree or equivalent experience in development or relevant field, including economics, agricultural economics, public policy, business management, or similar relevant area;


• Ten (10) years of progressive/ leadership experience in program management, the agricultural policy process, stakeholder engagement, capacity strengthening of individuals and institutions, and organizational development;


• Experience in the Ghanaian policy context;


• A good understanding of donor-funded compliance requirements, including prior experience maintaining productive and responsive communication and reviewing and approving procurement actions and financial transactions;


• Strong leadership, program management, and coordination skills with ability to mentor and building strong cross-functional and cross-organization teams; and to design and rollout program activities;


• Demonstrated ability to build strong relationships through facilitative leadership, engaging senior organization leadership, and build strong partnership with diverse partners;


• Strong strategic thinking and organizational skills with ability to work in a complex, rapidly changing environment and respond to changing donor and partner demands;


• Experience in organizing and facilitating multi stakeholder planning and learning events and conferences;


• Good oral and written communication in English;


• Good computing capabilities with working knowledge of MS Word and Excel; and


• Deep familiarity with Ghana, and willingness to travel throughout the country.