Deputy 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 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 Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) plays a key role in supporting the Chief of Party (COP) to effectively manage and implement the project activities.
Her/his primary responsibilities may include oversight of small grants programming; financial, procurement, and budgeting management; human resources, subcontractor management; and project start-up and close-out.

Location: Yerevan, Armenia

Primary Roles and Responsibilities:

The Deputy Chief of Party will be responsible for the following:

Serve as a member of the senior leadership team of the program and support the Chief of Party in oversight of project staff and activities
Co-lead and oversee programmatic functions, i.e., development of work plans, budgets, quarterly/annual reports, and ensure effective implementation of program strategy
Maintain effective and open communication throughout the project with Chief of Party, USAID, Project Director, Component Leads, project operations teams, and other relevant stakeholders  
Represent the project at meetings and events with the government and other public and private stakeholders 
Work with the Chief of Party and other project staff to continuously refine implementation processes by integrating lessons learned and best practices
Ensure that program implementation is in accordance with Palladium’s and USAID’s regulations and procedures
In collaboration with the local staff in-country, identify program opportunities and potential local partners as needed
In collaboration with the M&E team, ensure relevant staff use, maintain and regularly upload data to the project M&E system
Serve as Acting Chief of Party as needed

Key Competencies Required:

Bachelor’s degree in business, agriculture, economics, finance, or other closely related field relevant to the role; master’s degree preferred.
At least 5 – 7 years of relevant program management experience implementing economic growth and/or agricultural development programs in Armenia
At least 3 years of senior management experience on programs funded by USAID or other donor agencies. Familiarity with the policies, procedures, and reporting requirements of USAID or other donor agencies
Financial management experience including budgeting, financial management (tracking, reporting, accounting, and procurement).
Experience in activity and grants design and implementation, as well as monitoring and documenting project activities and outcomes
Professional proficiency in written and oral English and Armenian, Russian language in addition is preferred.

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.