Vacancy: Research Director/Chief of Party

Company Profile

International Business & Technical Consultants, Inc. (IBTCI), a U.S. based international development consulting company established in 1987, has worked in over one hundred countries and implemented over three hundred projects. IBTCI serves government agencies, private sector companies and several donor agencies. IBTCI specializes in Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) across many sectors including, but not limited to, conflict and crisis, democracy and governance, economic growth, education, environment, and global health.

Job Description

• Department/Location:  Long-term Remote, with some travel to and in West Africa


• Reports To:   PELA Project Director  


• Type:  Regular Full-Time


• Classification:  Exempt

Overview

IBTCI seeks a Research Director/Chief of Party (RD/COP) for USAID’s Peace through Evaluation, Learning, and Adapting (PELA) Task Order (TO) in Ghana. The purpose of this activity is to support USAID/West Africa (USAID/WA) to be a more effective, efficient and adaptable operating unit in achieving the development objective of strengthening systems of non-violent conflict management in West Africa. The activity will strengthen USAID’s effectiveness implementing its projects; coordinating its activities; learning from its experiences; and serving as an information, communication, and thought leader regarding peace promotion and countering violent extremism (CVE) in the West Africa region. This position is based in Accra, Ghana with a period of performance of approximately 16 months.

Essential Duties/Tasks and Responsibilities:  

• Leads the PELA field office with management support from the Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP);


• Provides vision, leadership, and guidance on PELA under the direction of the Project Director;


• Provides technical expertise (research, writing, training, and facilitating) in CVE, in strengthening systems of non-violent conflict management and peace promotion, and other related topics;


• Assumes overall responsibility to ensure that Task Order objectives are successfully met and that all deliverables are completed on schedule;


• Meets weekly with the PELA Home Office team;


• Ensures compliance with U.S. Government rules and regulations;


• Serves as the primary point of contact (meeting routinely) with USAID for activity design and implementation and management, with support from the DCOP;


• Manages the preparation and presentation of PELA work plans and all reports (including quarterly and annual reports), with support from the DCOP;


• Works closely with the DCOP in implementing the Activity, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (AMELP);


• May be required to travel to and in West Africa and internationally to implement select PELA activities, such as training events, pause and reflect workshops, field studies, etc.


• Performs all fiduciary duties in a responsible and professional manner;


• Reports to the PELA Project Director;


• Provides quality control, ensuring that all products delivered under PELA are technically sound and of publishable quality; and


• Supervises the Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) and the work of the Research Coordinator

Working Environment:  Work is typically performed in an office environment.

Physical Requirements:  This is largely a sedentary position that requires the ability to speak, hear, see, and lift small objects up to 20 lbs.

Supervisory Responsibility:  This position does have supervisory responsibilities.

Travel:  Travel to other countries in the West Africa region is required up to 30 percent of the time.

Required Skills or Experience

• Experience working on or managing USAID-funded contracts or cooperative agreements and demonstrated knowledge of relevant USAID reporting requirements, policies, and regulations;


• Demonstrated knowledge of Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) programming;


• Experience establishing and supporting networks;


• Ability to work well under limited supervision and to work with a virtual team;


• Articulate and professional, able to communicate in a clear, positive fashion with clients and colleagues, both verbally and in writing;


• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail;


• Ability to be flexible and adapt to shifting client tasks and priorities;


• Oral and written proficiency in French;


• Ability to successfully manage and mentor/develop staff in a multi-country setting; and


• Previous experience working in cross-cultural settings strongly preferred.

Minimum Requirements:

• At least 10 years of experience successfully conducting or managing donor-funded analytic research and learning activities; MERL; CLA, and/or program support mechanisms;


• At least 4 years of direct program/subject matter experience in CVE, peace promotion, or non-violent conflict management;


• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, including experience preparing high-quality reports and presentations. 


• Education: Master’s degree in political science, sociology, monitoring and evaluation, public administration, international relations, conflict resolution and peacebuilding or related field required. PhD preferred.