TNC seeks a Chief of Party (COP) to lead a five-year $10m USAID-funded Global Development Alliance (GDA) project for the Greater Kafue Ecosystem (GKE) of Zambia. The project will leverage private sector partner resources and expertise to achieve integrated outcomes for biodiversity conservation, economic prosperity, human well-being, and governance in and around four Game Management Areas in the eastern sector of the GKE. The project will engage private, public, and community sector stakeholders in activities that address threats and barriers to the conservation of the Kafue’s natural resource base. The COP position is term-limited for five years contingent on TNC being awarded the contract. Reporting to the Zambia program Director, the position will be based at TNC Lusaka office in Zambia.

 

The COP oversees all aspects of a major multi-sectoral project encompassing a large, complex geography and a wide range of diverse stakeholders. S/he leads and manages the HEARTH project team and serves as the principal contact to external project stakeholders including USAID, private Alliance partners, other project partners, and public ministries. The COP manages the relationship with USAID and is responsible for all performance, reporting, administration and compliance related to the project. S/he will provide technical support to all components of the project and ensure that Kafue HEARTH coordinates activities with other USAID funded projects that have complementarity with HEARTH, and with TNC’s wider Zambia conservation program.

• Provides technical leadership for and supervisory management of the large, complex and multi-sectoral USAID/Zambia-funded Kafue HEARTH project
• Responsible for project compliance, financial oversight, operations and quality assurance for all activities including budgeting and financial reporting
• Serves as the primary project liaison with USAID, communicates regularly with USAID and USAID funded activities and attend all USAID partner meetings 
• Supervises the monitoring of key deliverables, outputs and outcomes as per Work Plans and grantee/contractor agreements.
• Cultivates and develops partnerships with key stakeholders including government agencies, the project’s private sector Alliance partners, implementing partners, collaborating partners and communities
• Recruits, retains and manages high quality and effective multi-disciplinary staff with responsibility for performance management, training and career development and provides assistance to all levels of personnel on expertise related issues and requests.
• Manages all the project’s sub-contracts 
• Prepares and submits annual work plans and quarterly and annual performance reports, and ensure progress towards program objectives, including through field visits
• Supervises and provides technical input into the project’s monitoring, evaluation, research and learning functions and supervises compliance with USAID MEL requirements including data quality assessments and data entry into USAID portals
• Provides robust technical input and support to all components of the project and the staff and partners responsible for them, ensuring the project achieves lasting and meaningful outcomes and results
• Disseminates best practices; provides training and analysis to best implement organizational measures of success; and develops key partnerships with public and private organizations in order to identify and resolve technical issues and to widely communicate solutions, innovative scientific methods and tools to address the natural system and human wellbeing needs of the project area
• Makes independent strategic decisions frequently based on analysis, ambiguous information, experience and judgment.
• May require frequent travel domestically and evening and weekend hours.
• May work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations and under physically demanding circumstances.