Deputy Chief of Party, Cordaid DRC

Introduction

Cordaid works to end poverty and exclusion. We do this in the world’s most fragile and conflict-affected areas. We engage communities to rebuild trust and resilience and increase people’s self-reliance. Where poverty, conflict and exclusion divide societies, we connect people and communities. Cordaid is one of the leading Civil Society Organizations in the Netherlands, working in fragile contexts on Health, Resilience, Private Sector Development, Humanitarian Aid and Security & Justice. Cordaid has over 500 staff, working at Global Office in the Netherlands and in offices across the most fragile countries in the world. Within Cordaid we work on the basis of trust, accountability, cooperation and solution orientation. For the Cordaid Country office in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cordaid is looking for a Deputy Chief of Party based in Goma. Introduction Cordaid has been operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for 40 years, successfully implementing programs in Health, Education, Lobby and advocacy, emergency, community resilience and security and justice. The DRC 2020 budget is around 65 million USD. Cordaid DRC employs over 200 national and 8 international staff operating out from Kinshasa, Bukavu, Gemena, Kananga, Goma and Bunia. Cordaid has also 15 sub-offices around the country.

Position and responsibility

The Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) ESPER (Ensemble pour la Sécurité et la Paix à l’Est de la RDC) project will lead the implementation, management and monitoring and evaluation of the project, adhering to Cordaid program quality standards. The DCOP ESPER will lead the project with partners in the consortium, ensuring compliance with Cordaid and donors’ requirements by effectively leveraging support from MEL (monitoring, evaluation and learning), technical advisors and management quality staff. He/she will play a key role in the overall leadership and management in Goma.

Objectives of the posting Project Management (ESPER)

• Support the Chief of Party (COP) in providing strategic and technical leadership and direction, defining and implementing activities to achieve the greatest impact toward project goals and objectives; serve as Acting COP in case of absence;
• Assist and support the COP for day-to-day project management of ESPER within time, scope and budget;
• Represent Cordaid within the consortium on operational level;
• Responsible as direct line manager of the Cordaid staff based in Goma, Bukavu, Uvira and Bunia working for ESPER;
• Develop and implement an M&E strategy, tools and approaches for the programme that ensures technically sound and consistent implementation and monitoring of the project;
• Coordinate the monitoring of project activities, ensuring that activities are carried out or as planned or adjusted/adapted as needed;
• Oversee the effective collection of robust qualitative and quantitative data in the project, to support the reporting process;
• In coordination with the M&E officer, train consortium and implementing partner staff on key M&E approaches used in the project;
• Provide management, guidance, monitoring and technical oversight of ESPER throughout the project cycle to ensure project design, start-up, implementation and close-out are in line with Cordaid quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices;
• In liaison with Cordaid’s Programme Director, support the development of programme learning identify opportunities for learning, research and publications;
• Facilitates the dissemination of promising practices and lessons learned to contribute to the agency knowledge management agenda;
• Oversee technical assistance and capacity-strengthening activities for staff and partner organizations to enhance programme quality and impact;
• As Project Owner, ensure the reporting of the project to Program Director and in Cordaid’s systems;
• Agree with all contributors to program success deliverables, with a large amount of intercultural sensitivity;
• Understand partners and matches desired results and contextual factors;
• Stimulate progress and makes necessary adjustments to realize the program within given boundary conditions; scope, time, budget and quality.

Strategy leadership

• Contribute to the development and implementation of an effective Cordaid in Country Strategy;
• Contribute to the development of the Country Strategic Report and the Annual Country Report;
• Coordinates Security and Justice Cordaid’s programs in Eastern DRC, in cooperation with the Program Director;
• Identify and establish contacts with or organizations and explores representation for potential areas for collaboration, taking into account the mission statement of Cordaid and the possibilities within the program.

Financial management

• Control the program budget ensuring expenditures are in line with the yearly approved budget;
• Regularly reports to donor on budget realization and acts pro-actively to comply with the portfolio budget.

Field & Partner visits

• Monitor the achievements of the project with partners through regular field visits;
• Review field reports;
• Analyze field data and formulate conclusions, discussion points and recommendations for all stakeholders.

Supported partners

• Identify the need for support with partner organizations and translates this into (customised) forms of support, taking into account (large differences in) the background and circumstances of (individuals in) partner organizations.

Program reports

• Collect information within the program and reports about the results, specifics, budget and expenditures and possible deviations following required reporting standards, providing solutions to minimize impact of deviations.

Personnel management

• Lead and coach the multidisciplinary, intercultural and inter-gender project team on a day to day basis in accordance with the management style and social policy of Cordaid, focused on productivity, employee development and satisfaction;
• Ensures efficient use of resources and controls quality of work;
• Acquisition & bid Support bid teams and bid projects of calls for proposals and tenders when necessary.

Qualifications

• Master's Degree in the relevant sector;
• Minimum of 10 years’ experience in the relevant sector, especially M&E;
• Good experience in project grants management;
• Demonstrated ability to write high-quality reports;
• Staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment;
• Extensive knowledge of management styles, program management, international cooperation with local partners, country/region of the Country Office, techniques, reporting standards and languages;
• At least 6 years of experience in managing complex professional programs/projects/offices of international organizations or companies;
• Knowledge of the project field of expertise RBF and Stabilization is an important additional knowledge;
• Social skills to agree on deliverables, ensure progress with local staff and to support local partners;
• Behavioural values and skills: trust, accountability, problem-solving, cooperation, team building, negotiation, conflict management, collaboration, flexibility, creativity;
• Writing skills in French and English to clearly formulate program and project proposals, plans and reports;
• Knowledge of the legal framework that governs Cordaid’s operations, as required by the local and national government and by major donors (Dutch Government, EU, UN, …) .

Specifics of station

The position will be based in Goma, Province of North Kivu, but will require around 30% travel to Eastern DRC offices based on the priorities and competing needs of the project. This is an accompanied posting.