Chief of Party, USAID Armenia Food Security Program

About Palladium:

 Palladium is a global leader in the design, development, and delivery of Positive Impact - the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities, and civil society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental, and financial benefits.For the past 50 years, we have been making Positive Impact possible. With a team of more than 2,500 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of more than 35,000 technical experts, Palladium has improved - and is committed to continuing to improve - economies, societies and most importantly, people's lives. Palladium is a child-safe organization, and screens applicants for suitability to work with children. We also provide equal employment to all participants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran, or marital status.

This Proposal Opportunity:

The position will be on the upcoming Armenia Food Security Program a 5-Year USAID-funded activity with the potential following components: (a) increased efficiency and production of critical crops for domestic consumption; (b) agriculture sector management; (c) disaster preparedness and resilience; (d) rapid response to unanticipated events or disasters that threaten the Armenian food system. The Chief of Party will be ultimately responsible for the efficient and effective oversight of all elements of the Activity.
Her/his primary responsibilities are to provide overall leadership, management, and general technical direction of the Contract, ensuring an integrated vision among different components and actors, and a focus on achieving the results defined in the Contract. This individual must identify issues and risks related to Contract implementation in a timely manner and suggest appropriate adjustments. This individual must act as the key liaison with USAID/Armenia and all other counterparts, implementing partners and stakeholders involved with the Contract. The position requires significant coordination skills, broad general and technical knowledge, an ability to cope with multiple interests and challenges, experience in developing countries, and skills to ensure coherence and consistency in the face of urgent deadlines.

Location: Yerevan, Armenia

Primary Roles and Responsibilities:

The Chief of Party will be responsible for the following:

Provide overall strategic vision, direction, leadership, and management of the program, including leading the development and implementation of annual workplans
Develop an effective integrated approach of program components, partners, private sector actors, and other stakeholders
Serve as principal liaison with USAID staff, other implementing partners, host country government actors and other private and public sector stakeholders to exchange information and develop professional relationships
Monitor program indicators, evaluate program results, and guide program implementation to deliver results and impact
Oversee effective use of resources, on-time delivery of project activity reports and partner deliverables, and overall compliance with USAID regulations and Palladium policies and procedures
Develop systems that support collaborating, learning and adapting (CLA) approach, including establishing a culture of adaptive management
Administer the program’s financial oversight and procedures, ensuring compliance with established Palladium's accounting principles and USAID regulations
Identify issues and risks related to program implementation in a timely manner and suggest appropriate program adjustments
Represent Palladium and the program to the public and donor community

Key Competencies Required:

Bachelor’s degree in economics, business administration, international development, or related field required; master’s degree preferred.
Demonstrated experience managing large, dynamic, and complex projects with a focus on agriculture value chain and/or agricultural market systems development programs
Experience implementing programs in the E&E region; focus on the agriculture sector preferred
Excellent interpersonal, diplomacy, and leadership skills, including the ability to manage high-level relationships and complex regional dynamics
Significant project management experience, including direct supervision of professional and support staff and assembling teams working on multifaceted, complex international development programs. 
Experience with USAID required. Additional experience with other international donors preferred
Proven ability to form collaborative relationships with intergovernmental, government representatives, and other stakeholders.
Proactive problem-solving, decision-making and good judgment skills
Professional proficiency in written and oral English, Russian language in addition is preferred.
Ability to communicate effectively with managers, colleagues, and clients

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.   

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com.  

Safeguarding - We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse.  All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.